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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/10974-0.txt b/10974-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..10f1938 --- /dev/null +++ b/10974-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,6408 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 10974 *** + +[Illustration: IN THE DESERT SUNRISE] + + + +A RIDE TO INDIA + +ACROSS PERSIA AND BALUCHISTÁN. + + + +BY + + + +HARRY DE WINDT, F.R.G.S., + +AUTHOR OF "FROM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND," ETC. + + + +WITH ILLUSTRATIONS + +BY + +HERBERT WALKER _FROM SKETCHES BY THE AUTHOR_. + + + + +1891. + + + + +TO + +AUDLEY LOVELL, ESQUIRE, + +COLDSTREAM GUARDS, + +THIS VOLUME + +IS + +DEDICATED. + + + + +CONTENTS + +CHAPTER + +I. TIFLIS--BAKU + +II. THE CASPIAN--ASTARÁ--RÉSHT + +III. RÉSHT--PATCHINAR + +IV. PATCHINAR--TEHERÁN + +V. TEHERÁN + +VI. TEHERÁN--ISPAHÁN + +VII. ISPAHÁN--SHIRÁZ + +VIII. SHIRÁZ--BUSHIRE + +IX. BALUCHISTÁN--BEILA + +X. BALUCHISTÁN--GWARJAK + +XI. KELÁT--QUETTA--BOMBAY + +APPENDIX + +MAP + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. + + * * * * * + +IN THE DESERT SUNRISE + +TIFLIS + +A DIRTY NIGHT IN THE CASPIAN + +ASTARÁ, RUSSO-PERSIAN FRONTIER + +CROSSING THE KHARZÁN + +TEHERÁN + +PERSIAN DANCING-GIRL + +POST-HOUSE AT KUSHKU BAIRA + +A CORPSE CARAVAN + +A DAY IN THE SNOW + +A FAMILY PARTY + +YEZDI-GHAZT + +THE CARAVANSERAI, MEYUN KOTAL + +SONMIANI + +OUR CAMP AT OUTHAL + +MALAK + +A "ZIGRI" AT GWARJAK + +NOMAD BALUCH TENT + +JEBRI + +KELÁT + +PALACE OF H.H. THE KHAN KELÁT + +THE KHAN OF KELÁT + + + + +A RIDE TO INDIA. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +TIFLIS--BAKU. + + +"Ceci non!" + +A spacious apartment, its polished _parquet_ strewn with white +bearskins and the thickest and softest of Persian rugs; its panelled +walls hung with Oriental tapestries, costly daggers, pistols, and +shields of barbaric, but beautiful, workmanship, glistening with gold +and silver. Every detail of the room denotes the artistic taste of the +owner. Inlaid tables and Japanese cabinets are littered with priceless +porcelain and _cloisonné_, old silver, and diamond-set miniatures; the +low divans are heaped with cushions of deep-tinted satin and gold; +heavy violet plush curtains drape the windows; while huge palms, +hothouse plants, and bunches of sweet-smelling Russian violets occupy +every available nook and corner. The pinewood fire flashes fitfully +on a masterpiece of Vereschágin's, which stands on an easel by the +hearth, and the massive gold "ikon," [A] encrusted with diamonds and +precious stones, in the corner. A large oil painting of his Majesty +the Czar of Russia hangs over the marble chimneypiece. + +It is growing dark. Already a wintry wilderness of garden without, +upon which snow and sleet are pitilessly beating, is barely +discernible. By the window looms, through the dusk, the shadowy shape +of an enormous stuffed tiger, crouched as if about to spring upon a +spare white-haired man in neat dark green uniform, who, seated at a +writing-table covered with papers and official documents, has just +settled himself more comfortably in a roomy armchair. With a pleasant +smile, and a long pull at a freshly lit "papirosh," he gives vent to +his feelings with the remark that heads this chapter. + +There is silence for a while, unbroken save by the crackle of blazing +logs and occasional rattle of driving sleet against the window-panes. +It is the 5th of January (O.S.). I am at Tiflis, in the palace of +Prince Dondoukoff Korsákoff, Governor of the Caucasus, and at the +present moment in that august personage's presence. + +"Ceci non!" repeats the prince a second time, in answer to my request; +adding impatiently, "They should know better in London than to send +you to me. The War Minister in St. Petersburg alone has power to grant +foreigners permission to visit Central Asia. You must apply to him, +but let me first warn you that it is a long business. No"--after a +pause--"no; were I in your place I would go to Persia. It is a country +replete with interest." + +I know, from bitter experience of Russian officials, that further +parley is useless. Making my bow with as good a grace as possible +under the circumstances, I take leave of the governor and am escorted +by an aide-de-camp, resplendent in white and gold, through innumerable +vestibules, and down the great marble staircase, to where my sleigh +awaits me in the cutting north-easter and whirling snow. Gliding +swiftly homewards along the now brilliantly lit boulevards, I realize +for the first time that mine has been but a wild-goose chase after +all; that, if India is to be reached by land, it is not _viâ_ Merv and +Cábul, but by way of Persia and Baluchistán. + +The original scheme was a bold one, and I derive some consolation in +the thought that the journey would most probably have ended in defeat. +This was the idea. From Tiflis to Baku, and across the Caspian to +Ouzoun Áda, the western terminus of the Trans-Caspian Railway. Thence +by rail to Merv and Bokhára, and from the latter city direct to India, +_viâ_ Balkh and Cábul, Afghanistán. A more interesting journey can +scarcely be conceived, but Fate and the Russian Government decreed +that it was not to be. Not only was I forbidden to use the railway, +but (notwithstanding the highest recommendation from the Russian +Ambassador in London) even to set foot in Trans-Caspia. + +The old adage, "delay is dangerous," is never so true as when applied +to travel. The evening of my interview with the governor, I had +resolved, ere retiring to rest, to make for India _viâ_ Teherán. +My route beyond that city was, perforce, left to chance, and the +information I hoped to gain in the Shah's capital. + +Tiflis, capital of the Caucasus, is about midway between the Black +and Caspian seas, and lies in a valley between two ranges of low but +precipitous hills. The river Kúr, a narrow but swift and picturesque +stream spanned by three bridges, bisects the city, which is divided in +three parts: the Russian town, European colony, and Asiatic quarter. +The population of over a hundred thousand is indeed a mixed one. +Although Georgians form its bulk, Persia contributes nearly a quarter, +the rest being composed of Russians, Germans, French, Armenians, +Greeks, Tartars, Circassians, Jews, Turks, and Heaven knows what +besides. [B] + +Tiflis is a city of contrasts. The principal boulevard, with its +handsome stone buildings and shops, tramways, gay cafés, and electric +light, would compare favourably with the Nevski Prospect in St. +Petersburg, or almost any first-class European thoroughfare; and yet, +almost within a stone's throw, is the Asiatic quarter, where the +traveller is apparently as far removed from Western civilization as in +the most remote part of Persia or Turkestán. The Armenian and Persian +bazaars are perhaps the most interesting, I doubt whether the streets +of Yèzd or Bokhára present so strange and picturesque a sight, such +vivid effects of movement and colour. Every race, every nationality, +is represented, from the stalwart, ruddy-faced Russian soldier in flat +white cap and olive-green tunic, to the grave, stately Arab merchant +with huge turban and white draperies, fresh from Bagdad or +Bussorah. Georgians and Circassians in scarlet tunics and silver +cartridge-belts, Turks in fez and frock-coat, Greeks and Albanians in +snowy petticoats and black gaiters, Khivans in furs and quaint conical +lamb's-wool hats, Tartars from the Steppes, Turkomans from Merv, +Parsees from Bombay, African negroes,--all may be seen in the Tiflis +Bazaar during the busy part of the day. + +But woe to the luckless European who, tempted by the beauty of their +wares, has dealings with the wily Persian merchant. There is a proverb +in Tiflis that "It takes two Jews to rob an Armenian, two Armenians +to rob a Persian," and the "accursed Faringi" is mercilessly swindled +whenever he ventures upon a bargain. + +With the exception of the aforesaid boulevard, the European quarter of +Tiflis presents the same mixture of squalor and grandeur found in most +Russian towns, St. Petersburg not excepted. There is the same dead, +drab look about the streets and houses, the same absence of colour, +the same indescribable smell of mud, leather, and drainage, familiar +to all who have visited Asiatic Russia. I had intended remaining a +couple of days, at most, in Tiflis, but my stay was now indefinitely +prolonged. Such a severe winter had not been known for years. The +mountain passes into Persia were reported impassable, and the line to +Baku had for some days been blocked with snow. + +My Russian Christmas (which falls, O.S., on our 6th of January) was +not a cheerful one. A prisoner in a stuffy bedroom of the Hôtel de +Londres, I sat at the window most of the day, consuming innumerable +glasses of tea and cigarettes, watching the steadily falling snow, and +wondering whether the weather would ever clear and allow me to escape +from a place so full of unpleasant associations, and which had brought +me so much disappointment and vexation. The loud laughter and +bursts of song that ascended every now and then from the crowded +_salle-á-manger_ (for the Hôtel de Londres is the "Maison Dorée" of +Tiflis) only served to increase my depression and melancholy. Had +there been a train available, I verily believe I should have taken a +ticket then and there, and returned to England! + +But morning brings consolation in the shape of blue sky and dazzling +sunshine. The snow has ceased, apparently for good. Descending +to breakfast full of plans for the future, I find awaiting me an +individual destined to play an important part in these pages--one +Gerôme Realini, a Levantine Russian subject, well acquainted with the +Persian language--who offers to accompany me to India as interpreter. +His terms are moderate, and credentials first-rate. The latter include +one from Baker Pasha, with whom he served on the Turkoman frontier +expedition. More for the sake of a companion than anything else, I +close with Gerôme, who, though he does not understand one word of +English, speaks French fluently. + +There is a very natural prejudice against the Levantine race, but my +new acquaintance formed an exception to the rule. I never had reason +to regret my bargain; a better servant, pluckier traveller, or +cheerier companion no man could wish for. Gerôme had just returned +from a visit to Bokhára, and his accounts of Central Asia were +certainly not inviting. The Trans-Caspian railway was so badly laid +that trains frequently ran off the line. There was no arrangement for +water, travellers being frequently delayed three or four hours, +while blocks of ice were melted for the boiler; while the so-called +first-class carriages were filthy, and crowded with vermin. The +advance of Holy Russia had apparently not improved Merv, which had +become, since its annexation, a kind of inferior Port Said, a refuge +for the scum, male and female, of St. Petersburg, Moscow, and Odessa. +Drunkenness and debauchery reigned paramount. Low gambling-houses, +_café chantants_, and less reputable establishments flourished under +the liberal patronage of the Russian officers, who, out of sheer +_ennui_, ruined their pockets and constitutions with drunken +orgies, night and day. There was no order of any kind, no organized +police-force, and robberies and assassinations took place almost +nightly. Small-pox was raging in the place when Gerôme left it; also a +loathsome disease called the "Bouton d'alep "--a painful boil which, +oddly enough, always makes its appearance upon the body in odd +numbers, never in even. It is caused by drinking or washing in +unboiled water. Though seldom fatal, there is no cure for the +complaint but complete change of climate. + +We now set about making preparations for the journey. Provisions, +saddlery, both had to be thought of; and, having laid in a small stock +of Liebig, tea, biscuits, chocolate, and cigarettes (for space was +limited), I proceeded, under Gerôme's guidance, to purchase a saddle. +Seventy-five roubles bought a capital one, including bridle. Here let +me advise those visiting Persia to follow my example, and buy their +saddlery in Tiflis. There is a heavy duty payable on foreign saddles +in Russia, and they are not one whit better, or indeed so well suited +to the purpose, as those made in the Caucasus. + +One hears a deal, in Europe, of the beauty of the Circassian and +Georgian women. Although I remained in Tiflis over a week, I did not +see a single pretty woman among the natives. As in every Russian town, +however, the "Moushtaïd," or "Bois de Boulogne" of Tiflis, was daily, +the theatre nightly, crowded with pretty faces of the dark-eyed, +oval-faced Russian type. The new opera-house, a handsome building near +the governor's palace, is not yet completed. + +The Hôtel de Londres was the favourite _rendezvous_ after the play. +Here till the small hours assembled nightly the _élite_ of European +Tiflis. Russian and Georgian officers in gorgeous uniforms of dark +green, gold lace, and astrachan; French and German merchants with +their wives and daughters; with a sprinkling _demi-mondaines_ from +Odessa or Kharkoff, sipping tea or drinking kummel and "kakèti" at the +little marble tables, and discussing the latest scandals. Kakèti, a +wine not unlike Carlowitz, is grown in considerable quantities in +the Caucasus. There are two kinds, red and white, but the former is +considered the best. Though sound and good, it is cheap enough--one +rouble the quart. Tobacco is also grown in small quantities in parts +of Georgia and made into cigarettes, which are sold in Tiflis at three +kopeks per hundred. But it is poor, rank stuff, and only smoked by the +peasantry and droshki-drivers. + +[Illustration: TIFLIS] + +Tiflis has a large and important garrison, but is not fortified. Its +topographical depôt is one of the best in Russia, and I managed, not +without some difficulty, to obtain from it maps of Afghanistán and +Baluchistán. The latter I subsequently found better and far more +accurate than any obtainable in England. The most insignificant +hamlets and unimportant camel-tracks and wells were set down with +extraordinary precision, especially those in the districts around +Kelát. + +There is plenty of sport to be had round Tiflis. The shooting is +free excepting over certain tracts of country leased by the Tiflis +shooting-club. Partridge, snipe, and woodcock abound, and there are +plenty of deer and wild boar within easy distance of the capital. Ibex +is also found in the higher mountain ranges. For this (if for no other +reason) Tiflis seems to be increasing in popularity every year for +European tourists. It is now an easy journey of little over a week +from England, with the advantage that one may travel by land the whole +way from Calais. This route is _viâ_ Berlin, Cracow, Kharkoff, and +Vladikavkas, and from the latter place by coach (through the Dariel +Gorge) to Tiflis. + +The purchase of a warm astrachan bonnet, a bourka, [C] and bashlik, [D] +completed my outfit. It now consisted of two small portmanteaus (to be +changed at Teherán for saddle-bags), a common canvas sack for sleeping +purposes, and a brace of revolvers. Gerôme was similarly accoutred, +with the exception of the portmanteaus. My interpreter was evidently +not luxuriously inclined, for his _impedimenta_ were all contained in +a small black leather hand-bag! All being ready, eleven o'clock on the +night of the 12th of January found us standing on the platform of the +Tiflis railway station, awaiting the arrival of the Baku train, which +had been delayed by a violent storm down the line. + +I received a letter from the governor a few hours before my departure, +wishing me _bon voyage_, and enclosing a document to ensure help and +civility from the officials throughout his dominions. It may seem +ungrateful, but I felt that I could well have dispensed with this, +especially as I was leaving his Excellency's government at Baku, a +distance of only ten hours by rail. + +It was again snowing hard, and the east wind cut through my bourka as +if it had been a thin linen jacket. Seeking shelter in the crowded, +stuffy waiting-room, we solaced ourselves with cigarettes and vodka +till past 2 a.m., when the train arrived. Another delay of two hours +now occurred, the engine having broken down; but the carriages, like +those of most Russian railways, were beautifully warmed, and we slept +soundly, undisturbed by the howling of the wind and shouting of +railway officials. When I awoke, we were swiftly rattling through +the dreary monotonous steppe country that separates Tiflis from the +Caspian Sea. + +The Russians may, according to English ideas, be uncivilized in many +ways, but they are undoubtedly far ahead of other European nations, +with the exception perhaps of France, as regards railway travelling. +Although the speed is slow, nothing is left undone, on the most +isolated lines, to ensure comfort, not to say luxury. Even in this +remote district the refreshment-rooms were far above the average in +England. At Akstafá, for instance, a station surrounded by a howling +wilderness of steppe and marsh; well-cooked viands, game, pastry, and +other delicacies, gladdened the eye, instead of the fly-blown buns +and petrified sandwiches only too familiar to the English railway +traveller. The best railway buffet I have ever seen is at Tiumen, the +terminus of the Oural railway, and actually in Siberia. + +Railway travelling has, however, one drawback in this part of +Russia, which, though it does not upset the arrangements of a casual +traveller, must seriously inconvenience the natives--the distance of +stations from towns. We drank tea, a couple of hours or so before +arriving at Baku, at a station situated more than one hundred +versts [E] from the town of its name. The inhabitants of the latter +seldom availed themselves of the railway, but found it easier, except +in very bad weather, to drive or ride to the Caspian port. + +The dull wintry day wears slowly away, as we crawl along past +league upon league of wild steppe land. The _coup d'oeil_ from our +carriage-window is not inspiriting. It rests upon a bare, bleak +landscape, rolling away to the horizon, of waves of drab and +dirty-green land, unbroken save for here and there a pool of stagnant +water, rotting in a fringe of sedge and rush, or an occasional flock +of wild-fowl. At rare intervals we pass, close to the line, a Tartar +encampment. Half a dozen dirty brown tents surrounded by horses, +camels, and thin shivering cattle, the latter covered with coarse +sack-clothing tied round their bellies to protect them from the +cutting blast that sweeps from the coast across this land of +desolation. None of the human population are visible, and no wonder. +It must be cold enough outside. Even in this well-warmed compartment +one can barely keep feet and fingers from getting numbed. + +It is almost dark when, towards six o'clock, there appears, far ahead, +a thin streak of silver, separating the dreary brown landscape from +the cold grey sky. + +"We have nearly arrived, monsieur," says Gerôme. "There is the Caspian +Sea." + + +[Footnote A: The sacred image of the Saviour or Holy Virgin.] + +[Footnote B: The name Tiflis is derived from _Tbilis Kalaki_, or "Hot +Town," so called from the hot mineral springs near which it stands.] + +[Footnote C: _Bourka_, a long sleeveless coat made of goatskin.] + +[Footnote D: _Bashlik_, the soft camel-hair hood and neckerchief in +one, worn by Russian soldiers.] + +[Footnote E: A _verst_ is about three-quarters of a mile.] + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +THE CASPIAN--ASTARÁ--RÉSHT. + + +I arrived in Baku on (the Russian) New Year's Eve, and found railway +officials, porters, and droshki-drivers all more or less fuddled with +drink in consequence. With some difficulty we persuaded one of the +latter to drive us to the hotel, a clean and well-appointed house, a +stone's throw from the quay. Our Isvostchik [A] was very drunk. His +horses, luckily for us, were quiet; for he fell off his box on the +way, and smilingly, but firmly, declined to remount. Gerôme then +piloted the troika safely to our destination, leaving Jehu prone in +the mud. + +Baku, a clean, well laid-out city of sixty thousand inhabitants, is +the most important town on the shores of the Caspian. Its name is said +to be derived from the Persian words _bad_, "the wind," and _kubeda_, +"beaten," signifying "Wind-beaten;" and this seems credible, for +violent storms are prevalent along the coast. The town is essentially +European in character. One can scarcely realize that only fifty years +ago a tumble-down Persian settlement stood on the spot now occupied +by broad, well-paved, gas-lit streets, handsome stone buildings, +warehouses, and shops. Baku has, like Tiflis, a mixed population. +Although Russians and Tartars form its bulk, France, Germany, Italy, +Greece, Turkey, and Persia are all represented, most of the Europeans +being employed in the manufacture of petroleum. The naphtha springs +are said to yield over 170,000 tons of oil yearly. + +A French engineer, Mr. B----, whose acquaintance I made at the hotel, +described Baku as terribly monotonous and depressing to live in after +a time. There is not a tree or sign of vegetation for miles round the +town--nothing but bleak, desolate steppe and marsh, unproductive of +sport and cultivation, or, indeed, of anything save miasma and fever. +In summer the heat, dust, and flies are intolerable; in winter the sun +is seldom seen. There is no amusement of any kind--no _café_, no band, +no theatre, to go to after the day's work. This seemed to distress the +poor Parisian exile more than anything, more even than the smell of +oil, which, from the moment you enter until you leave Baku, there is +no getting away from. Although the wells are fully three miles away, +the table-cloths and napkins were saturated with it, and the very +food one ate had a faint sickly flavour of naphtha. "I bathed in the +Caspian once last summer," said Mr. B------, despairingly, "and did +not get the smell out of my skin for a week, during which time my +friends forbade me their houses! Mon Dieu! Quel pays!" + +The steamer for Enzelli was to leave at eleven. Having wished my +French friend farewell, and a speedy return to his native country, we +set out for the quay. The night was fine, but away to our left dense +clouds of thick black smoke obscured the lights of the town and +starlit sky, while the furnaces of the "Tchornigorod" [B] blazed out +of the darkness, their flames reflected in the dark waters of the +Caspian, turning the little harbour into a lake of fire. + +The landing stage is crowded with passengers--a motley crowd of +Russian officials, soldiers, peasants, and Tartars. With difficulty we +struggle through the noisy, drunken rabble, for the most part engaged +in singing, cursing, fighting, and embracing by turns, and succeed at +last in finding our ship, the _Kaspia_, a small steamer of about a +hundred and fifty tons burthen. The captain is, fortunately for us, +sober, which is more than can be said of the crew. Alongside us lies +the _Bariatinsky_, a large paddle-steamer bound for Ouzounada, the +terminus of the Trans-Caspian Railway. She also is on the point of +departure, and I notice, with relief, that most of the crowd are +making their way on board her. + +The passenger-steamers on the Caspian are the property of the +Caucase-Mercure Company, a Russian firm. They are, with few +exceptions, as unseaworthy as they are comfortless, which says a great +deal. All are of iron, and were built in England and Sweden, sent to +St. Petersburg by sea, there taken to pieces and despatched overland +to Nijni-Novgorod, on the Volga. At Nijni they were repieced and taken +down the Volga to the Caspian. + +The _Bariatinsky_ was first away, her decks crammed with soldiers +bound for Central Asia. They treated us to a vocal concert as the ship +left port, and I paced the moonlit deck for some time, listening to +the sweet sad airs sung with the pathos and harmony that seems born +in every Russian, high or low. I retired to rest with the "Matoushka +Volga," a boat-song popular the length and breadth of Russia, ringing +in my ears. + +There are no private cabins on board the _Kaspia_. I share the stuffy +saloon with a greasy German Jew (who insists on shutting all the +portholes), an Armenian gentleman, his wife, and two squalling +children, a Persian merchant, and Gerôme. + +The captain's cabin, a box-like retreat about eight feet square, +leads out of our sleeping-place, which is also used as a drawing and +dining-room. As the latter it is hardly desirable, for the German and +Persian are both suffering violently from _mal-de-mer_ before we +have been two hours out, and no wonder. Though there is hardly a +perceptible swell on, the tiny cock-boat rolls like a log. To make +matters worse, the _Kaspia's_ engines are worked by petroleum, and the +smell pursues one everywhere. + +The passage from Baku to Enzelli (the port of Résht) is usually made +in a little over two days in _fine weather_. All depends upon the +latter, for no vessel can enter if it is blowing hard. There is a +dangerous bar with a depth of barely five feet of water across the +mouth of the harbour, and several Europeans, impatient of waiting, +have been drowned when attempting to land in small boats. "I +frequently have to take my passengers back to Baku," said Captain +Z---- at the meal he was pleased to call breakfast; "but I think we +shall have fine weather to-morrow." I devoutly hoped so. + +Little did I know what was in store for us; for the glass at midday +was falling-fast, and at 2 p.m., when we anchored off Lenkorán, it +was snowing hard and blowing half a gale. + +The western coasts of the Caspian are flat and monotonous. There are +two ports of call between Baku and Enzelli--Lenkorán, a dismal-looking +fishing-village of mud huts, backed by stunted poplars and a range of +low hills; and Astará, the Russo-Persian frontier. Trade did not seem +very brisk at either port. We neither landed nor took in cargo at +either. A few small boats came out to the ship with fish to sell. The +latter is bad and tasteless in the Caspian, with the exception of +the sturgeon, which abounds during certain seasons of the year. The +fisheries are nearly all leased by Russians, who extract and export +the caviar. There is good shooting in the forests around Lenkorán, and +tigers are occasionally met with. The large one in the possession of +Prince Dondoukoff Korsákoff, mentioned in the first chapter, was shot +within a few miles of the place. + +We arrived off Astará about 6.30 that evening. It was too dark to see +anything of the place, but I had, unfortunately for myself, plenty +of opportunities of examining it minutely a couple of days later. We +weighed anchor again at nine o'clock, hoping, all being well, to reach +Enzelli at daybreak. The sea had now gone down, and things looked more +promising. + +My spirits rose at the thought of being able to land on the morrow. I +was even able to do justice to the abominable food set before us at +dinner--greasy sausages and a leathery beefsteak, served on dirty +plates and a ragged table-cloth that looked as if it had been used to +clean the boiler. But the German Jew had recovered from his temporary +indisposition, the cadaverous Persian had disappeared on deck, and +the Armenian children had squalled themselves to sleep, so there +was something, at least, to be thankful for. Captain Z----, a tall, +fair-haired Swede, who spoke English fluently, had been on this line +for many years, and told us that for dangerous navigation, violent +squalls, and thick fogs the Caspian has no equal. Many vessels are +lost yearly and never heard of again. He also told us of a submarine +city some miles out of Baku, called by the natives "Tchortorgorod," or +"City of the Devil." "In calm, sunny weather," said Z----, "one can +distinctly make out the streets and houses." The German Jew, of a +facetious disposition, asked him whether he had not also seen people +walking about; but Z---- treated the question with contemptuous +silence. + +Man is doomed to disappointment. I woke at daylight next morning; to +find the _Kaspia_ at anchor, pitching, rolling, and tugging at her +moorings as if at any moment the cable might part. Every now and again +a sea would crash upon the deck, and the wind, howling through the +rigging, sounded like the yelling of a thousand fiends. Hurrying on +deck, I learn the worst. A terrific sea is running, and the glass +falling every hour. One could scarcely discern, through the driving +mist, the long low shore and white line of breakers that marked the +entrance to Enzelli. To land was out of the question. No boat would +live in such a sea. "I will lay-to till this evening," said Captain +Z---- "If it does not then abate, I fear you must make up your mind +to return to Baku, and try again another day." A pleasant prospect +indeed! + +[Illustration: A DIRTY NIGHT IN THE CASPIAN] + +I have seldom passed a more miserable twenty-four hours. The weather +got worse as the day wore on. Towards midday it commenced snowing; but +this, instead of diminishing the violence of the gale, seemed only to +increase it. Even the captain's cheery, ruddy face clouded over, as he +owned that he did not like the look of things. "Had I another anchor, +I should not mind," he said; calmly adding, "If this one parts, we +are lost!" I thought, at the time, he might have kept this piece +of information to himself. Meanwhile nothing was visible from the +cabin-windows but great rollers topped with crests of foam, which +looked as if, every moment, they would engulf the little vessel. But +she behaved splendidly. Although green seas were coming in over the +bows, flooding her decks from stem to stern, and pouring down the +gangway into the saloon, the _Kaspia_ rode through the gale like a +duck. To venture on deck was impossible. One could barely sit, much +less stand, and the atmosphere of the saloon may be better imagined +than described. Every aperture tightly closed; every one, with the +exception of the captain, Gerôme, and myself, sea-sick; no food, no +fire, though we certainly did not miss the former much. + +About ten o'clock Z---- weighed anchor and stood out to sea. It would +not be safe, he said, to trust to our slender cable another night. +About midnight I struggled on deck, to get a breath of fresh air +before turning in. The night was fine and clear, but the sea around +black as ink, with great foaming white rollers. The decks, a foot +deep in snow, were deserted save by Z---- and the steersman, whose +silhouettes stood out black and distinct against the starlit sky as +they paced the rickety-looking little bridge flanked by red and green +lights. The Enzelli lighthouse was no longer visible. The latter is +under the care of Persians, who light it, or not, as the humour takes +them. This is, on dark nights, a source of considerable danger to +shipping; but, though frequently remonstrated with by the Russian +Government, the Shah does not trouble his head about the matter. + +Three routes to Teherán were now open to us: back to Baku, thence to +Tiflis, and over the mountains to Talriz,--very dubious on account of +the snow; the second, from Baku to Astrabad, and thence _viâ_ Mount +Demavend,--still more dubious on account of bad landing as well as +blocked passes; there remained to us Astará, and along the sea-beach +(no road) to Enzelli, with swollen rivers and no post-horses. All +things considered, we resolved to land at Astará, even at the risk of +a ducking. Daylight found us there, anchored a mile from the shore, +and a heavy swell running. But there is no bar here; only a shelving +sandy beach, on which, even in rough weather, there is little +danger. Some good-sized boats came out to the _Kaspia_ with fish and +vegetables, and we at once resolved to land. Anything sooner than +return to Baku! + +"There is no road from Astará," said Z----, "and deep rivers to cross. +You will be robbed and murdered like the Italian who travelled this +way three years ago! He was the last European to do so." + +Gerôme remembers the incident. In fact, he says, the murdered man was +a friend of his, travelling to Teherán with a large sum of money. +Unable to land at Résht, and impatient to reach his destination, he +took the unfrequented route, was waylaid, robbed, tied to a tree, and +left to starve. "He was alone and unarmed, though," says my companion; +adding with a wink, "Let them try it on with us!" + +Seeing remonstrance is useless, Z---- wishes us God-speed. The +good-natured Swede presses a box of Russian cigarettes into my hand +as I descend the ladder--a gift he can ill afford--and twenty minutes +later our boat glides safely and smoothly on Persian soil. + +It was a lovely day, and the blue sky and sunshine, singing of birds, +and green of plain and forest, a pleasant relief to the eye and senses +after the cold and misery of the past two days. Astará (though the +port of Tabriz) is an insignificant place, its sole importance lying +in the fact that it is a frontier town. On one side of the narrow +river a collection of ramshackle mud huts, neglected gardens, foul +smells, beggars, and dogs--Persia; on the other, a score of neat stone +houses, well-kept roads and paths, flower-gardens, orchards, a pretty +church, and white fort surrounded by the inevitable black-and-white +sentry-boxes, guarded by a company of white-capped Cossacks--Russia. I +could not help realizing, on landing at Astará, the huge area of this +vast empire. How many thousand miles now separated me from the last +border town of the Great White Czar that I visited--Kiakhta, on the +Russo-Chinese frontier? + +Surrounded by a ragged mob, we walked to the village to see about +horses and a lodging for the night. The latter was soon found--a +flat-roofed mud hut about thirty feet square, devoid of chimney or +furniture of any kind. The floor, cracked in several places, was +crawling with vermin, and the walls undermined with rat-holes; but in +Persia one must not be particular. Leaving our baggage in the care of +one "Hassan," a bright-eyed, intelligent-looking lad, and instructing +him to prepare a meal, we made for the bazaar, a hundred yards away, +through a morass, knee deep in mud and abomination of all kinds, to +procure food. + +A row of thirty or forty mud huts composed the "bazaar," where, having +succeeded in purchasing tea, bread, eggs, and caviar, we turned our +attention to horseflesh. + +An old Jew having previously agreed to convert, at exorbitant +interest, our rouble notes into "sheis" and keráns, negotiations for +horses were then opened by Gerôme, and, as the _patois_ spoken in +Astará is a mixture of Turkish and Persian, with a little Tartar +thrown in, his task was no easy one, especially as every one spoke at +once and at the top of their voices. We discovered at last that but +few of the villagers owned a horse, and those who did were very +unwilling to let the animal for such an uncertain journey. "Who is +going to guarantee that the 'Farangis' will not steal it?" asked one +ragged, wild-looking fellow in sheepskins and a huge lamb's-wool cap. +"Or get it stolen from them?" added another, with a grin. "They can +have my old grey mare for two hundred keráns, but you won't catch me +letting her for hire," added a third. + +With the aid of our friend, the Jew, however, we finally persuaded +the sheepskin gentleman (a native of Khiva) to change his mind. After +considerable haggling as to price, he disappeared, to return with two of +the sorriest steeds I ever set eyes on. "We ought to reach Enzelli in +about three days, if we do not get our throats cut," said the Khivan, who +was to accompany us, encouragingly. + +Hassan had been busy in our absence; he had prepared an excellent +pilaff, and sent to Russian Astará for some kakèti wine, which was +brought over in a goatskin. This, with our own provisions bought in +the morning, furnished a substantial and much-needed meal. Persian +native bread is somewhat trying at first to a weak digestion. It is +unleavened, baked in long thin strips, and is of suet-like consistency. +The hut, like most native houses in Persia, had no chimney, the only +outlet for the smoke being through the narrow doorway. This necessitates +lying flat on one's back in the clear narrow space between smoke and +flooring, or being suffocated--a minor inconvenience as compared with +others in Persian travel. + +The Khivan arrived with the horses at six next morning. By seven +o'clock we were well on the road, which for the first ten miles or so +led by the sea-shore, through dense thickets of brushwood, alternating +with patches of loose drifting sand. I was agreeably disappointed in +the ponies; for though it was deep, heavy going, they stepped out well +and freely. The clear sunshine, keen air, and lovely scenery seemed to +have the same inspiriting effect on them as on ourselves. + +The _coup d'oeil_ was indeed a lovely one. To our right a glorious +panorama of palm, forest, and river stretched away for miles, bounded +on the horizon by a chain of lofty precipitous mountains, their snowy +peaks white and dazzling against the deep cloudless blue, their +grassy slopes and rocky ravines hidden, here and there, by grey mists +floating lazily over depths of dark green forest at their feet. To our +left broad yellow sands, streaked with seaweed and dark driftwood, and +cold grey waters of the Caspian Sea--colourless and dead even under +this Mediterranean sky, and bringing one back, so to speak, from a +beautiful dream to stern reality. + +About midday we came to a broad but fordable river, which the Khivan +called the Chulàmak. We all crossed in safety, notwithstanding the +deep holes our guide warned us against, and which, as the water was +thick and muddy, gave Gerôme and myself some anxiety. The stream was +about fifty yards across and much swollen by the snow. Landing on the +other side ahead of my companions, I rode on alone, and presently +found myself floundering about girth-deep in a quicksand. It was only +with great difficulty that we extricated the pony. These quicksands +are common on the shores of the Caspian, and natives, when travelling +alone, have perished from this cause. + +Nothing occurred worthy of notice till about 3 p.m., when we reached +the river Djemnil. An arm of the sea more accurately describes this +stream, which is (or was at the time of which I write) over three +hundred yards across. Here we had some difficulty with the Khivan, +who was for encamping till morning. I, however, strongly objected to +sleeping _a la belle étoile_, especially as the sky had now clouded +over, and it was beginning to snow. Partly by conciliation, partly +by threats, we at last persuaded him to make the attempt, following +closely in his wake. It was nasty work. Twice our horses were carried +off their feet by the strong current running out to sea (we were +only a quarter of a mile from the mouth); and once we, or rather the +horses, had to swim for it; but we reached the opposite shore in under +half an hour, wet and numbed to the waist, but safe. At seven we were +snugly housed for the night at Katvesera, a so-called village of three +or four mud hovels, selecting the best (outwardly) for our night's +lodging. We were badly received by the natives. Neither money nor +threats would induce them to produce provisions of any kind, so we +fell back on sticks of chocolate and Valentine's meat-juice. The +latter I never travel without--it is invaluable in uncivilized and +desert countries. + +The inhabitants of Katvesera are under a score in number, and live +chiefly on fish, though I noticed in the morning that a considerable +quantity of land was under cultivation--apparently rice and barley. +They were a sullen, sulky lot, and we had almost to take the hut +by force. The Khivan, Gerôme, and myself took it in turns to watch +through the night. It was near here that the Italian was assassinated. + +A start was made at daybreak. The weather had now changed. A cutting +north-easter was blowing, accompanied with snow and sleet. We forded, +about 11 a.m., the Kokajeri river, a mountain stream about thirty +yards wide, unfordable except upon the sea-beach. At midday we halted +at Tchergári, a fishing-village on the shores of the Caspian. + +Tchergári contains about two hundred inhabitants, mostly fishermen +employed by a Russian firm. The houses, built of tree-trunks plastered +with mud, had roofs of thatched reed, and were far more substantial +and better built than any I had yet seen in Persia. Fearing a +reception like that of the previous evening, we had intended riding +straight through the place to our destination for the night, when a +European advanced to meet us through the snow. Mr. V----, a Russian, +and overseer of the fishery, had made his hut as comfortable as +circumstances would admit, and we were soon seated before a blazing +fire (with a chimney!), discussing a plate of steaming shtchi, [C] +washed down by a bottle of kakèti. Roast mutton and pastry followed, +succeeded by coffee and vodka (for we had the good luck to arrive at +our host's dinner-hour). By the time cigarettes were under way we felt +fully equal to the long cold ride of fifteen miles that separated us +from our night's halting-place, Alalá Résht itself seemed at least +thirty miles nearer than it had before dinner. + +"You are bold," said Mr. V----, in French, "to attempt this journey +at this time of year. I do not mean as regards footpads and +robbers reports concerning them are always greatly exaggerated; but +the rivers are in a terrible state. There is one just beyond Alalá, +that I know you cannot cross on horseback. I will send a man on at +once to try and get a boat for you, and you can pull the horses after +you. There is an Armenian at Alalá, who will give you a lodging +to-night" Mr. V---- 's good fare and several glasses of vodka +considerably shortened our ride, and we arrived at Alalá before dark, +where a hearty welcome awaited us. Turning in after a pipe and two +or three glasses of tea, we slept soundly till time to start in the +morning. The outlook from our snug resting-place was not inviting--the +sky of a dirty grey, blowing hard, and snowing harder than ever. + +Alalá contains about eight hundred inhabitants. The land surrounding +it is thickly cultivated with rice and tobacco. Neither are, however, +exported in any quantity, the difficulties of transport to Astará or +Enzelli being so great. + +It is somewhat puzzling to a stranger to get at the names of places on +the southern shores of the Caspian. Most of the villages are known +by more than one, but Alalá rejoices in as many _aliases_ as an old +gaol-bird, viz. Alalá, Asalim, and Navarim. + +Thanks to our Russian friend, a boat and a couple of men were awaiting +us at the big river (I could not ascertain its name). Entering it +ourselves, we swam the horses over one by one. It took us the best +part of two hours. Though only two hundred yards wide, they were off +their legs nearly the whole way. What we should have done without Mr. +V---- 's aid I know not. + +Towards sundown the high tower of the Shah's palace at Enzelli came +in sight. At last the neck of this weary journey was broken, and +to-morrow, all being well, we should be at Résht. The road is winding, +and it was not till past ten o'clock that we rode through the silent, +deserted streets to the caravanserai, a filthier lodging than any we +had yet occupied. But, though devoured by vermin, I slept soundly, +tired out with cold and fatigue. We dismissed the Khivan with a +substantial _pour-boire_. He had certainly behaved extremely well for +one of his race. + +Enzelli is an uninteresting place. It has but two objects of interest +(in Persian eyes)--the lighthouse (occasionally lit) and a palace of +the Shah, built a few years since as a _pied-à-terre_ for his Majesty +on the occasion of his visits to Europe. It is a tawdry gimcrack +edifice, painted bright blue, red, and green, in the worst possible +taste. The Shah, on returning from Europe last time, is said to have +remarked to his ministers on landing at Enzelli, "I have not seen +a single building in all Europe to compare with this!" Probably +not--from one point of view. + +The Caspian may indeed be called a Russian lake, for although the +whole of its southern coast is Persian, the only Persian vessel +tolerated upon it by Russia is the yacht of the Shah, a small steamer, +the gift of the Caucase-Mercure Company, which lies off Enzelli. Even +this vessel is only permitted to navigate in and about the waters of +the Mourdab ("dead water"), a large lake, a kind of encroachment of +the sea, eighteen to twenty miles broad, which separates Enzelli from +Peri-Bazar, the landing-place for Résht, four miles distant. The +imperial yacht did once get as far as Astará (presumably by mistake), +but was immediately escorted back to Enzelli by a Russian cruiser. +There is, however, a so-called Persian fleet--the steamship +_Persepolis_, anchored off Bushire, in the Persian Gulf, and the +_Susa_, which lies off Mohammerah. The former is about six hundred +tons, and carries four Krupp guns; but the latter is little better +than a steam-launch. Both have been at anchor for about four years, +and are practically unseaworthy and useless. + +We embarked at nine o'clock, in a boat pulled by eight men. The +crossing of the Mourdab is at times impossible, owing to the heavy +sea; but this time luck was with us, and midday saw us at Peri-Bazar, +where there is no difficulty in procuring riding-horses to take one +into Résht. The country between the two places was formerly morass and +jungle, but on the occasion of the Shah's visit to Europe about twenty +years ago, a carriage-road was made--not a good one, for such a +thing does not exist in Persia--but a very fair riding-track (in dry +weather). We reached Résht wet to the skin, the snow having ceased and +given way to a steady downpour of rain. + +Résht bears the unpleasant reputation of being the most unhealthy city +in Persia. Its very name, say the natives, is derived from the word +_rishta_, "death." "If you wish to die," says a proverb of Irak, "go +to Résht!" The city, which had, at the beginning of the century, a +population of over sixty thousand inhabitants, now has barely thirty +thousand. This certainly looks as if there were some truth in the +foregoing remarks; and there is no doubt that, on the visitation of +the plague about ten years ago, the mortality was something frightful. +A great percentage of deaths are ascribed to Résht fever--a terrible +disease, due to the water and the exhalations from the marshes +surrounding the city. It is certainly the dampest place in the world. +The sun is seldom seen, and one's clothes, even on a dry, rainless +day, become saturated with moisture. + +The town is, nevertheless, prettily situated in a well-wooded country. +It would almost be imposing were it not for the heavy rains and dews, +which cause a rapid decay of the buildings. The latter are mostly of +red brick and glazed tiles. + +Résht is the depôt for goods to and from Persia--chiefly silks. +Tobacco is also grown in yearly increasing quantities. Several Russian +firms have opened here for the manufacture of cigarettes, which, +though they may find favour among the natives, are too hot and coarse +for European tastes. They are well made and cheap enough--sevenpence a +hundred. + +In addition to the native population, Résht contains about five +hundred Armenians, and a score or so of Europeans. Among the latter +are a Russian and a British vice-consul. To the residence of the +latter we repaired. Colonel Stewart's kindness and hospitality are a +byword in Persia, and the Sunday of our arrival at Résht was truly a +day of rest after the discomfort and privations we had undergone since +leaving Baku. + + +[Footnote A: _Isvostchik_, a cab-driver.] + +[Footnote B: "Tchornigorod," or "Black Town," so called from the smoke +that hangs night and day over the oil-factories.] + +[Footnote C: Russian cabbage-soup.] + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +RÉSHT--PATCHINAR. + + +Day broke gloomily enough the morning following the day of our arrival +at Résht. The snow, still falling fast, lay over two feet deep in +the garden beneath my window, while great white drifts barred the +entrance-gates of the Consulate. About eight o'clock our host made his +appearance, and, waking me from pleasant dreams of sunnier climes, +tried to dissuade me from making a start under such unfavourable +circumstances. An imperial courier had just arrived from Teherán, and +his report was anything but reassuring. The roads were in a terrible +state; the Kharzán, a long and difficult pass, was blocked with snow, +and the villages on either side of it crowded with weather-bound +caravans. + +The prospect, viewed from a warm and comfortable bed, was not +inviting. Anxiety, however, to reach Teherán and definitely map out +my route to India overcame everything, even the temptation to defer a +journey fraught with cold, hunger, and privation, and take it easy for +a few days, with plenty of food and drink, to say nothing of cigars, +books, and newspapers, in the snug cosy rooms of the Consulate. "You +will be sorry for it to-morrow," said the colonel, as he left the room +to give the necessary orders for our departure; adding with a smile, +"I suppose a wilful man must have his way." + +There are two modes of travelling in Persia: marching with a caravan, +a slow and tedious process; and riding post, or "chapar." The latter, +being the quickest, is usually adopted by Europeans, but can only +be done on the Government post-roads, of which there are five: from +Teherán to Résht, Tabriz, Meshéd, Kermán, and the Persian Gulf +port, Bushire. These so-called roads are, however, often mere +caravan-tracks, sometimes totally hidden by drifting sand or snow. +In the interior of the country the hard sun-baked soil is usually +trackless, so that the aid of a "Shagird Chapar," or post-boy, becomes +essential. + +The distance between the "Chapar khanehs," as the tumble-down sheds +doing duty for post-houses are called, is generally five farsakhs, or +about twenty English miles; but the Persian farsakh is elastic, and +we often rode more, at other times less, than we paid for. Travel is +cheap: one kerán per farsakh (2-1/2_d_. a mile) per horse, with a +_pour-boire_ of a couple of keráns to the "Shagird" at the end of the +stage. + +Given a good horse and fine weather, Persian travel would be +delightful; but the former is, unfortunately, very rarely met with. +Most of the post-horses have been sold for some vice which nothing but +constant hard work will keep under. Kickers, rearers, jibbers, shyers, +and stumblers are but too common, and falls of almost daily occurrence +on a long journey. Goodness knows how many Gerôme and I had between +Résht and the Persian Gulf. + +Notwithstanding these drawbacks, the speed attained by the wretched +half-starved animals is little short of marvellous. Nothing seems +to tire them. We averaged fifty miles a day after leaving Teherán, +covering, on one occasion, over a hundred miles in a little over +eleven hours. This is good work, considering the ponies seldom exceed +fourteen hands two inches, and have to carry a couple of heavy +saddle-bags in addition to their rider. Gerôme must have ridden quite +fourteen stone. + +About ten o'clock the horses arrived, in charge of a miserable-looking +Shagird, in rags and a huge lamb's-wool cap, the only warm thing about +him. It was pitiful to see the poor wretch, with bare legs and feet, +shivering and shaking in the cutting wind and snow. The ponies, too, +looked tucked up and leg-weary, as if they had just come off a long +stage (which, indeed, they probably had) instead of going on one. + +"Don't be alarmed; they are the proverbial rum 'uns to look at," said +our host, who would not hear of our setting out without saddle-bags +crammed with good things: cold meat, sardines, cigarettes, a couple of +bottles of brandy, and a flask of Russian vodka. But for these we must +literally have starved _en route_. + +"Good-bye. Good luck to you!" from the colonel. + +"En avant!" cries Gerôme, with a deafening crack of his heavy chapar +whip. We are both provided with this instrument of torture--a thick +plaited thong about five feet long, attached to a short thick wooden +handle, and terminating in a flat leathern cracker of eight or ten +inches. A cut from this would make an English horse jump out of his +skin, but had little or no effect on the tough hides of our "chapar" +ponies. The snow is almost up to the knees of the latter as we labour +through the gateway and into the narrow street. Where will it be on +the Kharzán Pass? + +Résht is picturesquely situated. It must be a lovely place in +summer-time, when fertile plains of maize, barley, and tobacco stretch +away on every side, bounded by belts of dark green forest and chains +of low well-wooded hills, while the post-road leads for miles through +groves of mulberry trees, apple orchards, and garden-girt villas, half +hidden by roses and jasmine. But this was hardly a day for admiring +the beauties of nature. Once out of the suburbs and in the open +country, nothing met the eye but a dreary wilderness of white earth +and sullen grey sky, that boded ill for the future. The cold was +intense. Although dressed in the thickest of tweeds and sheepskin +jacket, sable pelisse, enormous "bourka," and high felt boots, it was +all I could do to keep warm even when going at a hand gallop, varied +every hundred yards or so by a desperate "peck" on the part of my +pony. + +The first stage, Koudoum, five farsakhs from Résht, was reached about +three o'clock in the afternoon. This was my first experience of a Chapar +khaneh. The Shagird informed us that it was considered a very good one, +and was much frequented by Europeans in summer-time--presumably, +judging from the holes in the roof, for the sake of coolness. Let me +here give the reader a brief description of the accommodation provided +for travellers by his Imperial Majesty the Shah. The Koudoum Chapar +khaneh is a very fair example of the average Persian post-house. + +Imagine a small one-storied building, whitewashed, save where wind +and rain have disclosed the brown mud beneath. A wooden ladder (with +half the rungs missing) leads to the guest-chamber, a large bare +room, devoid of furniture of any kind, with smoke-blackened walls +and rotten, insecure flooring. A number of rats scamper away at our +approach. I wonder what on earth they can find to eat, until Gerôme +points out a large hole in the centre of the apartment. This affords +an excellent view of the stables, ten or twelve feet below, admitting, +at the same time, a pungent and overpowering odour of manure and +ammonia. A smaller room, a kind of ante-chamber, leads out of this. As +it is partly roofless, I seek, but in vain, for a door to shut out the +icy cold blast. Further search in the guest-room reveals six large +windows, or rather holes, for there are no shutters, much less +window-panes. It is colder here, if anything, than outside, for the +draughts are always at once; but we must in Persia be thankful +for small mercies. There is a chimney, in which a good log fire, +kindled by Gerôme, is soon blazing. + +Lunch and a nip of the colonel's vodka work wonders, and we are +beginning to think, over a "papirosh," that Persia is not such a bad +place after all, when the Shagird's head appears at the window. There +are only two horses available for the next stage, but a third has been +sent for from a neighbouring village, and will shortly arrive. As +night is falling fast, I set out with the Shagird for the next +station, Rustemabad, leaving Gerôme, who has already travelled the +road and knows it well, to follow alone. + +It is still snowing fast, but my mount is a great improvement on that +of the morning, luckily, for the stage is a long one, and we have a +stiff mountain to climb before reaching our destination for the night. + +We ride for three hours, slowly and silently, over a plain knee-deep +in snow. About half-way across a tinkle of bells is heard, clear and +musical, in the distance. Presently a large caravan looms out of the +dusk--fifty or sixty camels and half a dozen men. The latter exchange +a cheery "Good night" with my guide. Slowly the ungainly, heavily +laden beasts file past us, gaunt and spectral in the twilight, the +bells die away on the still wintry air, and we are again alone on the +desolate plain--not a sign of life, not a sound to be heard, but +the crunching of snow under our horses' feet, and the occasional +pistol-like crack of my guide's heavy whip. + +It is almost dark when we commence the ascent of the mountain on the +far side of which lies Rustemabad. The path is rough and narrow, and +in places hewn out of the solid rock. Towards the summit, where a +slip or false step would be fatal, a dark shapeless mass appears, +completely barring the pathway, on the white snow. Closer inspection +reveals a dead camel, abandoned, doubtless, by the caravan we +have just passed, for the carcase is yet warm. With considerable +difficulty, but aided by the hard slippery ground, we drag it to the +brink of the precipice, and send it crashing down through bush and +briar, to fall with a loud splash into a foaming torrent far below. +During this performance one of the ponies gets loose, and half an hour +is lost in catching him again. + +So the journey wore on. Half-way down on the other side of the +mountain, my pony stumbled and shot me head first into a pool of +liquid mud, from which I was, with some difficulty, extricated wet +through and chilled to the bone. The discomfort was bad enough, but, +worse still, my sable pelisse, the valuable gift of a Russian friend, +was, I feared, utterly ruined. + +It was nearly nine o'clock when we reached Rustemabad, to find rather +worse quarters than we had left at Koudoum. To make matters worse, +I had no change of clothes, and the black, ill-smelling mud had +penetrated to the innermost recesses of my saddle-bags, which did +not tend to improve the flavour of the biscuits and chocolate that +constituted my evening meal. No food of any kind was procurable at +the post-house, and all our own provisions were behind with Gerôme. +Luckily, I had stuck to the flask of vodka! + +With the help of the postmaster, a decrepit, half-witted old man, and +the sole inmate of the place, I managed to kindle a good fire, and set +to work to dry my clothes, a somewhat uncomfortable process, as it +entailed my remaining three-parts naked for half the night in an +atmosphere very little above zero. The sables were in a terrible +state. It was midnight before the mud on them was sufficiently dry to +brush off, as I fondly hoped, in the morning. + +Gerôme did not turn up till one o'clock a.m., his horse not having +arrived at Koudoum till past seven. He had lost his way twice, and had +almost given up all hopes of reaching Rustemabad till daylight, when +my fire, the only light in the place, shone out of the darkness. The +poor fellow was so stiff and numbed with fatigue and cold that I had +to lift him off his horse and carry him into the post-house. He was +a sorry object, but I could not refrain from smiling. My companion's +usually comical, ruddy face wore a woebegone look, while long +icicles hung from his hair, eyebrows, and moustaches, giving him the +appearance of a very melancholy old Father Christmas. + +Morning brought a cloudless blue sky and brilliant sunshine. My first +thought on awaking was for the pelisse. Summoning the old postmaster, +I confided the precious garment to him, with strict injunctions to +take it outside, beat it well with a stick, and bring it back to me to +brush. In the mean time, we busied ourselves with breakfast and a +cup of steaming cocoa, for a long ride was before us. It was still +bitterly cold, with a strong north-easter blowing. The thermometer +marked (in the sun) only one degree above zero. + +Rustemabad, a collection of straggling, tumble-down hovels, contains +about four or five hundred inhabitants. The post-house, perched on +the summit of a steep hill, is situated some little distance from +the village, which stands in the centre of a plateau, bounded on the +south-west by a chain of precipitous mountains. The country around is +fertile and productive, being well watered by the Sefid Roud (White +River). Rice is largely grown, but to-day not a trace of vegetation is +visible; nothing but the vast white plain, smooth and unbroken, save +where, here and there, a brown village blurrs its smooth surface, an +oasis of mud huts in this desert of dazzling snow. + +An exclamation from Gerôme suddenly drew my attention to the +postmaster, who stood at the open doorway, my pelisse in hand. I was +then unused to the ways and customs of the Persian peasantry, or +should have known that it was but labour lost to make one spring at +the old idiot, and, twining my fingers in his throat, shake him till +he yelled for mercy. Nothing but a thick stick has the slightest +effect upon the Shah's subjects; and I was, for a moment, sorely +tempted to use mine. The reader must own that I should have been +justified. It was surely enough to try the patience of a saint, for +the old imbecile had deliberately walked down to the river, made +a hole in the ice, and soaked the garment in water to the waist, +reducing it to its former condition of liquid slime. This was _his_ +method of getting the mud off. I may add that this intelligent +official had _assisted me in the drying process up till midnight_. + +There was no help for it; nothing to be done but cut off the damaged +portion from the waist to the heels--no easy matter, for it was frozen +as stiff as a board. "It will make a better riding-jacket now," said +Gerôme, consolingly; "but this son of a pig shall not gain by it," he +added, stamping the ruined remains into the now expiring fire. + +The village of Patchinar, at the foot of the dreaded Kharzán Pass, was +to be our halting-place for the night. The post-road, after leaving +Rustemabad, leads through the valley of the Sefid Roud river, in +which, by the way, there is excellent salmon-fishing. About six miles +from Rustemabad is a spot called by the natives the "Castle of the +Winds," on account of the high winds that, even in the calmest +weather, prevail there. Although, out on the plain, there was a +scarcely perceptible breeze, we had to literally fight our way against +the terrific gusts that swept through this narrow gorge. Fortunately, +it was a fine day, but the fine powdery snow whirled up and cut into +our eyes and faces, and made travelling very unpleasant. + +These violent wind-storms have never been satisfactorily accounted +for. They continue for a certain number of hours every day, summer +and winter, increasing in force till sunset, when they abate, to rise +again the following dawn. On some occasions horses, and even camels, +have been blown over, and caravans are sometimes compelled to halt +until the fury of the storm has diminished. + +Crossing a ridge of low hills, we descended into the valley of +Roudbar, a quiet and peaceful contrast to the one we had just left. +The wind now ceased as if by magic. Much of the snow had here +disappeared under the warm sunshine, while before us, nestling in +a grove of olive trees, lay the pretty village, with its white +picturesque houses and narrow streets shaded by gaily striped awnings. +It was like a transformation-scene, this sudden change from winter, +with its grey sky and cold icy blast, to the sunny stillness and +repose of an English summer's day. We rode through the bazaar, a busy +and crowded one for so small a place. A large trade is done here in +olives. Most of it is in the hands of two enterprising Frenchmen, who +started business some years ago, and are doing well. + +We managed to get a mouthful of food at Menjil while the horses were +being changed. + +Colonel S---- had especially warned us against sleeping here, the +Chapar khaneh being infested with the Meana bug, a species of camel +tick, which inflicts a poisonous and sometimes dangerous wound. It is +only found in certain districts, and rarely met with south of Teherán. +The virus has been known, in some cases, to bring on typhoid fever, +and one European is said to have died from its effects. For the truth +of this I cannot vouch; but there is no doubt that the bite is always +followed by three or four days' more or less serious indisposition. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +PATCHINAR--TEHERÁN. + + +Our troubles commenced in real earnest at Patchinar, a +desolate-looking place and filthy post-house, which was reached at +sunset. The post from Teherán had just arrived, in charge of a +tall strapping fellow armed to the teeth, in dark blue uniform and +astrachan cap, bearing the Imperial badge, the lion and sun, in brass. +The mail was ten days late, and had met with terrible weather on the +Kharzán. They had passed, only that morning, two men lying by the +roadway, frozen to death. The poor fellows were on their way to +Teherán from Menjil, and had lain where they fell for two or three +days. "You had far better have remained at Résht," added our +informant, unpleasantly recalling to my mind the colonel's prophecy, +"You will be sorry for this to-morrow!" + +Notwithstanding hunger and vermin, we managed to enjoy a tolerable +night's rest. The post-house was warm at any rate, being windowless. +Patchinar was evidently a favourite halting-place, for the dingy walls +of the guest-room were covered with writing and pencil sketches, the +work of travellers trying to kill time, from the Frenchman who +warned one (in rhyme) to beware of the thieving propensities of the +postmaster, to the more practical Englishman, who, in a bold hand, +had scrawled across the wall, "_Big bugs here!_" I may add that my +countryman was not exaggerating. + +There was no difficulty in getting horses the next morning. The post, +which left for Résht before we were stirring, had left us seven +sorry-looking steeds, worn out with their previous day's journey +through the deep snow-drifts of the Kharzán. By nine o'clock we were +ready to start, notwithstanding the entreaties of the postmaster, +whose anxiety, however, was not on our account, but on that of the +horses. + +"I don't believe I shall ever see them again!" he mumbled mournfully, +as we rode out of the yard. "And who is to repay me for their loss? +You will be dead, too, before sundown, if the snow catches you in the +mountains!" + +But there seemed no probability of such a contingency. The sky was +blue and cloudless, the sun so bright that the glare off the snow soon +became unbearable without smoked goggles. The promise of an extra +kerán or two if we reached the end of the stage by daylight had a +wonderful effect on the Shagird. Though it was terribly heavy going, +and the snow in places up to our girths, we covered the five miles +lying between Patchinar and the foot of the Kharzán in a little over +three hours--good going considering the state of the road. We were as +often off the former as on it, for there was nothing to guide one; +nothing but telegraph poles and wires were visible, and these are +occasionally laid straight across country away from the track. + +Our destination for the night was the village of Kharzán, which is +situated near the summit of the mountain, about six thousand feet +high. The ascent is continuous and precipitous. An idea may be gained +of the steepness by the fact that we now left the valley of the Shah +Roud, barely one thousand feet above sea-level, to ascend, in a +distance of about twelve miles, over six thousand feet. + +The Kharzán Pass is at all times dreaded by travellers, native and +European, even in summer, when there are no avalanches to fear, +snow-drifts to bar the way, or ice to render the narrow, tortuous +pathway even more insecure. A serious inconvenience, not to say +danger, is the meeting of two camel caravans travelling in opposite +directions on the narrow track, which, in many places, is barely ten +feet broad, and barely sufficient to allow two horses to pass each +other, to say nothing of heavily laden camels. But to-day we were safe +so far as this was concerned. Not a soul was to be seen in the clefts +and ravines around, or on the great white expanse stretched out +beneath our feet, as we crept cautiously up the side of the mountain, +our guide halting every ten or fifteen yards to probe the snow with a +long pole and make sure that we had not got off the path. + +A stiff and tedious climb of nearly seven hours brought us to within a +mile of the summit. Halting for a short time, we refreshed ourselves +with a couple of biscuits and a nip of brandy, and proceeded on our +journey. We had now arrived at the most dangerous part of the pass. +The pathway, hewn out of the solid rock, and about ten feet wide, was +covered with a solid layer of ice eight or ten inches thick, over +which our horses skated about in a most uncomfortable manner. There +was no guard-rail or protection of any sort on the precipice side. All +went well for a time, and I was beginning to congratulate myself on +having reached the summit without-accident, when Gerdme's horse, just +in front of me, blundered and nearly lit on his head. "Ah, son of a +pig's mother!" yelled the little Russian in true Cossack vernacular, +as the poor old screw, thoroughly done up, made a desperate peck, +ending in a slither that brought him to within a foot of the brink. +"That was a close shave, monsieur!" he continued, as his pony +struggled back into safety, "I shall get off and walk. Wet feet are +better than a broken neck any day!" + +The words were scarcely out of his mouth, when a loud cry from +the Shagird, and a snort and struggle from the pack-horse behind, +attracted my attention. This time the beast had slipped with a +vengeance, and was half-way over the edge, making, with his fore +feet, frantic efforts to regain _terra firma_ while his hind legs and +quarters dangled in mid-air. There was no time to dismount and render +assistance. The whole thing was over in less than ten seconds. The +Shagird might, indeed, have saved the fall had he kept his head +instead of losing it. All he could do was, with a loud voice and +outstretched arms, to invoke the assistance of "Allah!" We were not +long in suspense. Slowly, inch by inch, the poor brute lost his hold +of the slippery ground, and disappeared, with a shrill neigh of +terror, from sight. For two or three seconds we heard him striking +here and there against a jutting rock or shrub, till, with a final +thud, he landed on a small plateau of deep snow-drifts at least +three hundred feet below. Here he lay motionless and apparently +dead, while we could see through our glasses a thin stream of +crimson flow from under him, gradually staining the white snow +around. + +[Illustration: CROSSING THE KHADZÁN] + +A cat is popularly supposed to have nine lives. After my experience +of the Persian post-horse, I shall never believe that that rough and +ill-shaped but useful animal has less than a dozen. The fall I +have described would assuredly have killed a horse of any other +nationality, if I may use the word. It seemed, on the contrary, to +have a tonic and exhilarating effect on this Patchinar pony. Before we +could reach him (a work of considerable difficulty and some risk) he +had risen to his feet, given himself a good shake, and was nibbling +away at a bit of gorse that peeped through the snow on which he had +fallen. A deep cut on the shoulder was his only injury, and, curiously +enough, our portmanteaus, with the exception of a broken strap, were +unharmed. There was, luckily, nothing breakable in either. + +Kharzán, a miserable village under snow for six months of the year, +was reached without further mishap. There is no post-house, and the +caravanserai was crowded with caravans. Before sundown, however, we +were comfortably installed in the house of the head-man of the place, +who spread carpets of soft texture and quaint design in our honour, +regaled us with an excellent "pilaff," and produced a flask of Persian +wine. The latter would hardly have passed muster in Europe. The cork +consisted of a plug of cotton-wool plastered with clay; the contents +were of a muddy-brown colour. "It is pure Hamadán," said our host with +pride, as he placed the bottle before us. "Perhaps the sahib did not +know that our country is famous for its wines." It was not altogether +unpalatable, something like light but rather sweet hock; very +different, however, in its effects to that innocent beverage, and one +could not drink much with impunity. Its cheapness surprised me: +one shilling a quart bottle. That, at least, is the price our host +charged--probably more than half again its real value. + +The winegrowers of Hamadán have many difficulties to contend with; +among others, the severe cold. In winter the wine is kept in huge +jars, containing six or seven hundred bottles. These are buried in +the ground, their necks being surrounded by hot beds of fermenting +horse-dung, to keep the wine from freezing. But even this plan +sometimes fails, and it has to be chopped out in solid blocks and +melted for drinking. + +Kharzán has a population of about a thousand inhabitants. It was here +that Baker Pasha was brought some years ago in a dying condition, +after being caught in a wind-storm on the Kharzán Pass, and lay for +three days in the house we were lodging at. Our old friend showed us a +clasp-knife presented him by the colonel, who on that occasion nearly +lost both his feet from frost-bite. Captains Gill and Clayton, [A] of +the Royal Engineers and Ninth Lancers, were with him, but escaped +unharmed. + +Stiff and worn out with the events of the day, we soon stretched +ourselves in front of the blazing fire in anticipation of a good +night's rest; but sleep was not for us. In the next room were a party +of Persian merchants from Astrakhan on their way to Bagdad _viâ_ +Teherán, who had been prisoners here for five days, and were now +carousing on the strength of getting away on the morrow. A woman was +with them--a brazen-faced, shrill-voiced Armenian, who made more noise +than all the rest put together. Singing, dancing, quarrelling, and +drinking went on without intermission till long past midnight, our +neighbours raising such a din that the good people of Kharzán, a +quarter of a mile away, must have turned uneasily in their slumbers, +and wondered whether an army of fiends had not broken loose. Towards 1 +a.m. the noise ceased, and we were just dropping to sleep, when, at +about half-past two in the morning, our drunken friends, headed by the +lady, burst into our apartment, with the information, in bad Russian, +that a gang of fifty men sent that morning to clear a path through +the deep snow had just returned, and the road to Mazreh was now +practicable. The caravans would be starting in an hour, they +added. "And you'd better travel with them," joined in the lady, +contemptuously, "or you will be sure to get into trouble by +yourselves." A reply more forcible than polite from Gerôme then +cleared the apartment; and, rekindling the now expiring embers, we +prepared for the road. + +We set out at dawn for the gate of the village, where the caravans +were to assemble. It was still freezing hard, and the narrow streets +like sheets of solid ice, so that our horses kept their legs with +difficulty. We must have numbered fifty or sixty camels, and as many +mules and horses, all heavily laden. + +Daybreak disclosed a weird, beautiful scene: a sea of snow, over which +the rising sun threw countless effects of light and colour, from the +cold slate grey immediately around us, gradually lightening to the +faintest tints of rose and gold on the eastern horizon, where stars +were paling in a cloudless sky. Portrayed on canvas, the picture would +have looked unnatural, so brilliant were the hues thrown by the rising +sun over the land-, or rather snow-scape. The cold, though intense, +was not unbearable, for there was fortunately no wind, and the spirits +rose with the crisp, bracing air, brilliant sunshine, and jangle of +caravan bells, as one realized that Teherán was now well within reach, +and the dreaded Kharzán a thing of the past. Gerôme gave vent to his +feelings with a succession of roulades and operatic airs; for my +little friend had a very good opinion of his vocal powers, which I, +unfortunately, did not share. But he was a cheery, indefatigable +creature, and of indomitable pluck, and one gladly forgave him this, +his only failing. + +It was terribly hard work all that morning, and Gerôme had four, I +three, falls, on one occasion wrenching my right ankle badly. Some +of the drifts through which we rode must have been at least ten or +fifteen feet deep. Some tough faggots thrown over these afforded a +footing, or we should never have got over. Towards midday Mazreh +was sighted; and we pushed on ahead, leaving the caravan to its own +devices. The going was now better, and it was soon far behind us, the +only object visible from the low hills which we now ascended, the +camels and mules looking, from this distance, like flies crawling over +a huge white sheet. + +Lunch at Mazreh consisted of damp, mouldy bread, and some sweet, +sickly liquid the postmaster called tea. Procuring fresh horses +without difficulty, we set out about 3 p.m. for Kazvin. It was not +till 10 p.m. that we were riding through the great gate of that city, +which the soldier on guard consented, with some demur, to open. + +Kazvin boasts a hotel and a boulevard! The latter is lit by a dozen +oil-lamps; the former, though a palatial building of brick, with +verandahs and good rooms, is left to darkness and the rats in the +absence of travellers. Having groped our way for half an hour or so +about a labyrinth of dark, narrow streets, we presently emerged on the +dimly lit boulevard (three of the oil-lamps had gone out), and rode +up to the melancholy looking hostelry at the end. Failing to obtain +admission, we burst open the door, and made ourselves as comfortable +as circumstances would allow. Food was out of the question; drink, +saving some villainous raki of Gerôme's, also; but there was plenty +of firewood, and we soon had a good fire in the grate. This hotel +was originally built by the Shah for the convenience of himself +and ministers when on his way to Europe. It is only on these rare +occasions that the barn-like building is put in order. Visions of +former luxury were still visible in our bedroom in the shape of a +bedstead, toilet-table, and looking-glass. "But we can't eat _them_!" +said Gerôme, mournfully. + +Kazvin, which now has a population of 30,000, has seen better days. It +was once capital of Persia, with 120,000 inhabitants. Strolling out in +the morning before breakfast, I found it well and regularly built, and +surrounded by a mud wall, with several gates of beautiful mosaic, now +much chipped and defaced. + +Being the junction of the roads from Tabriz on the west, and Résht on +the north to the capital, is now Kazvin's sole importance. The road to +Teherán was made some years ago at enormous expense by the Shah; but +it has now, in true Persian style, been left to fall into decay. It is +only in the finest and driest weather that the journey can be made on +wheels, and this was naturally out of the question for us. A +railway was mooted some time since along this, the only respectable +carriage-road in Persia--but the project was soon abandoned. + +The post-houses, however, are a great improvement on any in other +parts of the country. At Kishlak, for instance, we found a substantial +brick building with a large guest-room, down the centre of which ran +a long table with spotless table-cloth, spread out with plates +of biscuits, apples, nuts, pears, dried fruits, and sweetmeats, +beautifully decorated with gold and silver paper, and at intervals +decanters of water--rather cold fare with the thermometer at a few +degrees above zero. The fruits and biscuits were shrivelled and +tasteless, having evidently been there some months. It reminded me of +a children's doll dinner-party. With the exception of these Barmecide +feasts and some straw-flavoured eggs, there was nothing substantial to +be got in any of the post-houses till we reached our destination. + +About four o'clock on the 27th we first sighted the white peak of +Mount Demavend, and by three o'clock next day were within sight of the +dingy brown walls, mud houses, and white minarets of the city of the +Shah--Teherán. + + +[Footnote A: Both have since met violent deaths. Captain Gill was +murdered by natives with Professor Palmer near Suez, and Captain +Clayton killed while playing polo in India.] + + + +CHAPTER V. + +TEHERÁN. + + +A brilliant ball-room, pretty faces, smart gowns, good music, and +an excellent supper;--thus surrounded, I pass my first evening in +Teherán, a pleasant contrast indeed to the preceding night of dirt, +cold, and hunger. + +But it was not without serious misgivings that I accepted the +courteous invitation of the German Embassy. The crossing of the +Kharzán had not improved the appearance of dress-clothes and shirts, +to say nothing of my eyes being in the condition described by +pugilists as "bunged up," my face of the hue of a boiled lobster, the +effects of sun and snow. + +One is struck, on entering Teherán, with the apparent cleanliness of +the place as compared with other Oriental towns. The absence of heaps +of refuse, cess-pools, open drains, and bad smells is remarkable to +one accustomed to Eastern cities; but this was perhaps, at the time of +my visit, due to the pure rarified atmosphere, the keen frosty air, of +winter. Teherán in January, with its cold bracing climate, and Teherán +in June, with the thermometer above ninety in the shade, are two very +different things; and the town is so unhealthy in summer, that all +Europeans who can afford to do so live on the hills around the +capital. + +The environs are not picturesque. They have been likened to those of +Madrid, having the same brown calcined soil, the same absence of trees +and vegetation. The city, viewed from outside the walls, is ugly and +insignificant, and, on a dull day, indistinguishable at no great +distance. In clear weather, however, the beehive-like dwellings and +rumbling ramparts stand out in bold relief against a background of +blue sky and dazzling snow-mountains, over which towers, in solitary +grandeur, the peak of Mount Demavend, [A] an extinct volcano, over +20,000 feet high, the summit of which is reported by natives to be +haunted. The ascent is gradual and easy, and has frequently been made +by Europeans. + +Teherán is divided into two parts--the old city and the new. In the +former, inhabited only by natives, the streets are narrow, dark, and +tortuous, leading at intervals into large squares with deep tanks of +running water in the centre. The latter are characteristic of Persia, +and have in summer a deliciously cool appearance, the coping of the +fountain being only an inch or so in height, and the water almost +flush with the ground. The new, or European quarter, is bisected by +a broad tree-lined thoroughfare, aptly named the "Boulevard des +Ambassadeurs," for here are the legations of England, France, and +Germany. The Russian Embassy, a poor building in comparison with +the others, stands in another part of the town. Hard by the English +Embassy is the Hôtel Prevôt, kept by a Frenchman of that name, once +confectioner-in-chief to his Majesty the Shah. Here we took up our +quarters during our stay in the capital. + +At the extremity of the Boulevard des Ambassadeurs is the "Place des +Canons," so called from the old and useless cannon of various ages +that surround it. The square is formed by low barn-like barracks, +their whitewashed walls decorated with gaudy and rudely drawn pictures +of Persian soldiers and horses. Beyond this again, and approached by +an avenue of poplar trees, lit by electric light, is the palace of the +Shah, with nothing to indicate the presence in town of the sovereign +but a guard of ragged-looking, unkempt Persians in Russian uniform +lounging about the principal gateway. + +The Persian soldier is not a credit to his country. Although drilled +and commanded by European officers, he is a slouching, awkward fellow, +badly paid, ill fed, and not renowned for bravery. The ordinary +infantry uniform consists of a dark-blue tunic and trousers with red +facings, and a high astrachan busby with the brass badge of the lion +and sun. To a stranger, however, the varied and grotesque costumes +in which these clowns are put by their imperial master is somewhat +confusing. One may see, for instance, Russian cossacks, French +chasseurs, German uhlans, and Austrian cuirassiers incongruously mixed +up together in the ranks on parade. His army is the Shah's favourite +toy, and nothing affords the eccentric monarch so much amusement as +constant change of uniform. As the latter are manufactured in and sent +out from the countries they represent, the expense to the state is +considerable. + +The first Europeans to instruct this rabble were Frenchmen, but +England, Russia, Germany, and Austria have all supplied officers and +instructors within the past fifty years, without, however, any +good result. Although the arsenal at Teherán is full of the latest +improvements in guns and magazine rifles, these are kept locked up, +and only for show, the old Brown Bess alone being used. The Cossack +regiment always stationed at Teherán, ostensibly for the protection of +the Shah, and officered by Russians, is the only one with any attempt +at discipline or order, and is armed with the Berdán rifle. + +The Teherán bazaar is, at first sight, commonplace and uninteresting. +Though of enormous extent (it contains in the daytime over thirty +thousand souls), it lacks the picturesque Oriental appearance of those +of Cairo or Constantinople, where costly and beautiful wares are set +out in tempting array before the eyes of the unwary stranger. Here +they are kept in the background, and a European must remain in +the place for a couple of months or so, and make friends with the +merchants, before he be even permitted to see them. The position is +reversed. At Stamboul the stranger is pestered and worried to buy; +at Teherán one must sometimes entreat before being allowed even to +inspect the contents of a silk or jewel stall. Even then, the owner +will probably remain supremely indifferent as to whether the "Farangi" +purchase or not. This fact is curious. It will probably disappear with +the advance of civilization and Mr. Cook. + +[Illustration: TEHERÁN] + +Debouching from the principal streets or alleys of the bazaar, which +is of brick, are large covered caravanserais, or open spaces for the +storage of goods, where the wholesale merchants have their +warehouses. The architecture of some of these caravanserais is very +fine. The cool, quiet halls, their domed roofs, embellished with +delicate stone carving, and blue, white, and yellow tiles, dimly +reflected in the inevitable marble tank of clear water below, are +a pleasant retreat from the stifling alleys and sun-baked streets. +Talking of tanks, there seems to be no lack of water in Teherán. I was +surprised at this, for there are few countries so deficient in this +essential commodity as Persia. It is, I found, artificially supplied +by "connaughts," or subterranean aqueducts flowing from mountain +streams, which are practically inexhaustible. In order to keep a +straight line, shafts are dug every fifty yards or so, and the earth +thrown out of the shaft forms a mound, which is not removed. Thus +a Persian landscape, dotted with hundreds of these hillocks, often +resembles a field full of huge ant-hills. The mouths of these shafts, +left open and unprotected, are a source of great danger to travellers +by night. Teherán is provided with thirty or forty of these aqueducts, +which were constructed by the Government some years ago at enormous +expense and labour. + +As in most Eastern cities, each trade has its separate alley or +thoroughfare in the Teherán bazaar. Thus of jewellers, silk mercers, +tailors, gunsmiths, saddlers, coppersmiths, and the rest, each +have their separate arcade. The shops or stalls are much alike in +appearance, though they vary considerably in size. Behind a brick +platform, about three feet wide and two feet in height, is the shop, +a vaulted archway, in the middle of which, surrounded by his wares, +kalyan [B] or cigarette in mouth, squats the shopkeeper. There are no +windows. At night a few rough boards and a rough Russian padlock are +the sole protection, saving a smaller apartment at the back of each +stall, a kind of strong-room, guarded by massive iron-bound doors, +in which the most valuable goods are kept. There is no attempt at +decoration; a few only of the jewellers' shops are whitewashed inside, +the best being hung with the cheapest and gaudiest of French or German +coloured prints. The stalls are usually opened about 6.30 a.m., and +closed at sunset. An hour later the bazaar is untenanted, save for +the watchmen and pariah dogs. The latter are seen throughout the day, +sleeping in holes and corners, many of them almost torn to pieces from +nightly encounters, and kicked about, even by children, with impunity. +It is only at night that the brutes become really dangerous, and when, +in packs of from twenty to thirty, they have been known to attack and +kill men. Occasionally the dogs of one quarter of the bazaar attack +those of another, and desperate fights ensue, the killed and wounded +being afterwards eaten by the victors. It is, therefore, unsafe to +venture out in the streets of Teherán after dark without a lantern and +good stout cudgel. + +From 11 to 12 a.m. is perhaps the busiest part of the day in the +bazaar. Then is one most struck with the varied and picturesque types +of Oriental humanity, the continuously changing kaleidoscope of +native races from Archangel to the Persian Gulf, the Baltic Sea to +Afghanistán. + +Nor are contrasts wanting. Here is Ivanoff from Odessa or Tiflis, in +the white peaked cap and high boots dear to every Russian, haggling +over the price of a carpet with Ali Mahomet of Bokhára; there +Chung-Yang, who has drifted here from Pekin through Siberia, with a +cargo of worthless tea, vainly endeavouring to palm it off on that +grave-looking Parsee, who, unfortunately for the Celestial, is not +quite such a fool as he looks. Such a hubbub never was heard. +Every one is talking or shouting at the top of their voices, women +screaming, beggars whining, fruit and water sellers jingling their +cymbals, while from the coppersmiths' quarter hard by comes a +deafening accompaniment in the shape of beaten metal. Occasionally a +caravan of laden camels stalk gravely through the alleys, scattering +the yelling crowd right and left, only to reassemble the moment it has +passed, like water in the wake of a ship. Again it separates, and a +sedan, preceded by a couple of gholams with long wands, is carried +by, and one gets a momentary glimpse of a pair of dark eyes and +henna-stained finger-tips, as a fair one from the "anderoon" [C] +of some great man is carried to her jeweller's or perfumer's. The +"yashmak" is getting very thin in these countries, and one can form a +very fair estimate of the lady's features (singularly plain ones) as +the sedan swings by. Towards midday business is suspended for a while, +and the alleys of the bazaar empty as if by magic. For nearly a whole +hour silence, unbroken save by the snarling of some pariah dog, the +hiss of the samovar, and gurgle of the kalyan, falls over the place, +till 2 p.m., when the noise recommences as suddenly as it ceased, and +continues unbroken till sunset. + +On the whole, the bazaar is disappointing. The stalls for the sale of +Persian and Central Asian carpets, old brocades and tapestries, and +other wares dear to the lover of Eastern art, are in the minority, +and must be hunted out. Manchester goods, cheap calicoes and prints, +German cutlery, and Birmingham ware are found readily enough, and form +the stock of two-thirds of the shops in the carpet and silk-mercers' +arcade. + +It is by no means easy to find one's way about. No one understands +a word of English, French, or German, and had it not been for my +knowledge of Russian--which, by the way, is the one known European +language among the lower orders--I should more than once have been +hopelessly lost. + +Europeans in Teherán lead a pleasant though somewhat monotonous life. +Summer is, as I have said, intolerable, and all who can seek refuge in +the hills, where there are two settlements, or villages, presented by +the Shah to England and Russia. Winter is undoubtedly the pleasantest +season. Scarcely an evening passes without a dance, private +theatricals, or other festivity given by one or other of the +Embassies, entertainments which his Imperial Majesty himself +frequently graces with his presence. + +There is probably no living sovereign of whom so little is really +known in Europe as Nasr-oo-din, "Shah of Persia," "Asylum of the +Universe," and "King of Kings," to quote three of his more modest +titles. Although he has visited Europe twice, and been made much of in +our own country, most English people know absolutely nothing of the +Persian monarch's character or private life. That he ate _entrées_ +with his fingers at Buckingham Palace, expressed a desire to have the +Lord Chamberlain bowstrung, and conceived a violent and unholy passion +for an amiable society lady somewhat inclined to _embonpoint_, we are +most of us aware; but beyond this, the Shah's _vie intime_ remains, to +the majority of us at least, a sealed book. This is perhaps a pity, +for, like many others, Nasr-oo-din is not so black as he is painted, +and, notwithstanding all reports to the contrary, is said, by those +who should know, to be one of the kindest-hearted creatures breathing. + +The government of Persia is that of an absolute monarchy. The Shah +alone has power of life and death, and, even in the most remote +districts, the assent of the sovereign is necessary before an +execution can take place. The Shah appoints his own ministers. +These are the "Sadr-Azam," or Prime Minister; the "Sapar-Sala," +Commander-in-chief; "Mustof-al-Mamalak," Secretary of State, and +Minister of Foreign Affairs. These are supposed to represent the Privy +Council, but they very seldom meet, the Shah preferring to manage +affairs independently. The total revenue of the latter has been +estimated at seven million pounds sterling. + +Nasr-oo-din, who is now sixty-five years of age, ascended the throne +in 1848. His reign commenced inauspiciously with a determined attempt +to assassinate him, made by a gang of fanatics of the Babi sect. The +plot, though nearly successful, was frustrated, and the conspirators +executed; but it is said that the Shah has lived in constant dread of +assassination ever since. He is hypochondriacal, and, though in very +fair health, is constantly on the _qui vive_ for some imaginary +ailment. The post of Court physician, filled for many years past by +Dr. Tholozan, a Frenchman, is no sinecure. + +The habits of the Shah are simple. He is, unlike most Persians of high +class, abstemious as regards both food and drink. Two meals a day, +served at midday and 9 p.m., and those of the plainest diet, washed +down by a glass or two of claret or other light wine, are all he +allows himself. When on a hunting-excursion, his favourite occupation, +the Shah is even more abstemious, going sometimes a whole day without +food of any kind. He is a crack shot, and is out nearly daily, when +the weather permits, shooting over his splendid preserves around +Teherán. There is no lack of sport. Tiger and bear abound; also +partridge, woodcock, snipe, and many kinds of water-fowl; but the +Shah is better with the rifle than the fowling-piece. The Shah is +passionately fond of music, and has two or three string and brass +bands trained and conducted by a Frenchman. When away on a long +sporting-excursion, he is invariably accompanied by one of these +bands. + +Were it not for the running attendants in scarlet and gold, and the +crimson-dyed [D] tail of his horse, no one would take the slim, swarthy +old gentleman in black frock-coat, riding slowly through the streets, +and beaming benignly through a huge pair of spectacles, for the +great Shah-in-Shah himself. Yet he is stern and pitiless enough when +necessary, as many of the Court officials can vouch for. But few have +escaped the bastinado at one time or another; but in Persia this is +not considered an indignity, even by the highest in the land. The +stick is painful, certainly, but not a disgrace in this strange +country. + +Nasr-oo-din has three legal wives, and an unlimited number of +concubines. Of the former, the head wife, Shuku-Es-Sultana, is his own +cousin and the great-granddaughter of the celebrated Fatti-Ali-Shah, +whose family was so large that, at the time of his death, one hundred +and twenty of his descendants were still living. Shuku-Es-Sultana is +the mother of the "Valliad," or Crown Prince, now Governor of Tabriz. +The second wife is a granddaughter of Fatti-Ali-Shah; and the third +(the Shah's favourite) is one Anys-u-Dowlet. The latter is the best +looking of the three, and certainly possesses the greatest influence +in state affairs. Of the concubines, the mother of the "Zil-i-Sultan" +("Shadow of the King") ranks the first in seniority. The Zil-i-Sultan +is, though illegitimate, the Shah's eldest son, and is, with the +exception of his father, the most influential man in Persia, the +heir-apparent (Valliad) being a weak, foolish individual, easily led, +and addicted to drink and the lowest forms of sensuality. + +With the exception of eunuchs, no male person over the age of ten is +permitted in the seraglio, or anderoon, which is constantly receiving +fresh importations from the provinces. Persians deny that there are +any European women, but this is doubtful. The harems of Constantinople +and Cairo are recruited from Paris and Vienna; why not those of +Teherán? The indoor costume of the Persian lady must be somewhat +trying at first to those accustomed to European toilettes. The +skirt, reaching only to the knee, is full and _bouffé_, like an +opera-dancer's, the feet and legs generally bare. The only becoming +part of the whole costume is the tightly fitting zouave jacket of +light blue or scarlet satin, thickly braided with gold, and the gauze +head-dress embroidered with the same material, and fastened under the +chin with a large turquoise, ruby, or other precious stone. + +Some of the women (even among the concubines) are highly educated; can +play on the "tar", [E] or harmonica, sing, and read and write poetry; +but their recreations are necessarily somewhat limited. Picnics, +music, story-telling, kalyan and cigarette smoking, sweetmeat-making, +and the bath, together with somewhat less innocent pastimes, form the +sum total of a Persian concubine's amusements. Outside the walls of +the anderoon they are closely watched and guarded, for Persians +are jealous of their women, and, even in the most formal social +gatherings, there is a strict separation of the sexes. Its imperial +master occasionally joins in the outdoor amusements of his harem; +indeed, he himself invented a game a few years since, which sounds +more original than amusing. A slide of smooth alabaster about twenty +feet long, on an inclined plane, was constructed in one of his +bath-houses. Down this the Shah would gravely slide into the water, +followed by his seraglio. The sight must have been a strange one, +the costumes on these occasions being, to say the least of it, scanty! + +[Illustration: PERSIAN DANCING-GIRL] + +The Shah's greatest failing is, perhaps, vacillation. He is constantly +changing his mind, on trifling matters chiefly, for his northern +neighbours take care that he is more consistent in affairs of state. +Two or three times, between his visits to Europe in 1871 and 1889, he +has started with great pomp and a large retinue for the land of the +"Farangi," but, on arrival at Résht, has returned to Teherán, without +a word of warning to his ministers, or apparent reason for his sudden +change of plans. These "false starts" became a recognized thing after +a time, and when, in 1888, his Majesty embarked on his yacht and set +sail for Baku, it came as a surprise, pleasant or otherwise, to his +subjects at Teherán. The final undertaking of the journey may +have been advised by his astrologers, for the Shah is intensely +superstitious, and never travels without them. Nor will he, on any +account, start on a journey on a Friday, or the thirteenth day of the +month. + +The palace of Teherán is, seen from the outside, a shapeless, +ramshackle structure. The outside walls are whitewashed, and covered +with gaudy red and blue pictures of men and horses, the former in +modern military tunics and shakos, the latter painted a bright red. +The figures, rudely drawn, remind one of a charity schoolboy's +artistic efforts on a slate, but are somewhat out of place on the +walls of a royal residence. The interior of the "Ark," as it is +called, is a pleasant contrast to the outside, although even here, in +the museum, which contains some of the finest gems and _objets d'art_ +in the world, the various objects are placed with singular disregard +of order, not to say good taste. One sees, for instance, a tawdrily +dressed mechanical doll from Paris standing next to a case containing +the "Darai Nor," or "Sea of Light," a magnificent diamond obtained +in India, and said to be the largest yet discovered, though somewhat +inferior in quality to the "Koh-i-noor." A cheap and somewhat +dilapidated cuckoo-clock and toy velocipede flank the famous globe of +the world in diamonds and precious stones. This, the most costly and +beautiful piece of workmanship in the place, is about eighteen inches +in diameter, and is said to have cost eight millions of francs. The +different countries are marked out with surprising accuracy and +detail,--Persia being represented by turquoises, England by diamonds, +Africa by rubies, and so on, the sea being of emeralds. + +The museum itself is about sixty feet in length by twenty-five feet +broad, its ceiling composed entirely of looking-glasses, its parquet +flooring strewn with priceless Persian rugs and carpets. Large +oil-paintings of Queen Victoria, the Czar of Russia, and other +sovereigns, surround the walls, including two portraits of her Majesty +the Ex-Empress Eugenie. It would weary the reader to wade through a +description of the Jade work and _cloisonné_, the porcelain of all +countries, the Japanese works of art in bronze and gold, and last, but +not least, the cut and uncut diamonds and precious stones, temptingly +laid out in open saucers, like _bonbons_ in a confectioner's shop. The +diamonds are perhaps the finest as regards quality, but there is +a roughly cut ruby surmounting the imperial crown, said to be the +largest in the world. + +Though it was very cold, and the snow lay deep upon the ground, my +stay at Teherán was not unpleasant. The keen bracing air, brilliant +sunshine, and cloudless blue sky somewhat made amends for the sorry +lodging and execrable fare provided by mine host at the Hôtel Prevôt. +I have seldom, in my travels, come across a French inn where, be the +materials ever so poor, the landlord is not able to turn out a decent +meal. I have fared well and sumptuously at New Caledonia, Saigon, and +even Pekin, under the auspices of a French innkeeper; but at Teherán +(nearest of any to civilized Europe) was compelled to swallow food +that would have disgraced a fifth-rate _gargotte_ in the slums of +Paris. Perhaps Monsieur Prevôt had become "Persianized"; perhaps +the dulcet tones of Madame P., whose voice, incessantly rating her +servants, reminded one of unoiled machinery, and commenced at sunrise +only to be silenced (by exhaustion) at sunset, disturbed him at his +culinary labours. The fact remains that the _cuisine_ was, to any but +a starving man, uneatable, the bedroom which madame was kind enough to +assign to me, pitch dark and stuffy as a dog-kennel. + +A long conference with General S--, an Austrian in the Persian +service, decided my future movements. The general, one of the highest +geographical authorities on Persia, strongly dissuaded my attempting +to reach India _viâ_ Meshéd and Afghanistán. "You will only be stopped +and sent back," said he; "what is the use of losing time?" I resolved, +therefore, after mature deliberation, to proceed direct to Ispahán, +Shiráz, and Bushire, and from thence by steamer to Sonmiani, on the +coast of Baluchistán. From the latter port I was to strike due north +to Kelát and Quetta, and "that," added the general, "will bring you +across eighty or a hundred miles of totally unexplored country. You +will have had quite enough of it when you get to Kelát--if you ever +_do_ get there," he added encouragingly. + +The route now finally decided upon, preparations were made for a start +as soon as possible. Portmanteaus were exchanged for a pair of light +leather saddle-bags, artistically embellished with squares of bright +Persian carpet let in at the side, and purchased in the bazaar for +twenty-two keráns, or about seventeen shillings English money. In +these I was able to carry, with ease, a couple of tweed suits, half a +dozen flannel shirts, three pairs of boots, and toilet necessaries, to +say nothing of a box of cigars and a small medicine-chest. Gerôme +also carried a pair of bags, containing, in addition to his modest +wardrobe, our stores for the voyage--biscuits, Valentine's meat juice, +sardines, tea, and a bottle of brandy; for, with the exception of eggs +and Persian bread, one can reckon upon nothing eatable at the Chapar +khanehs. There is an excellent European store shop at Teherán, and had +it not been for limited space, we might have regaled on turtle soup, +aspic jellies, quails, and _pâté de foie gras_ galore throughout +Persia. Mr. R. N----, an _attaché_ to the British Legation at Teherán, +is justly celebrated for his repasts _en voyage_, and assured me that +he invariably sat down to a _recherché_ dinner of soup, three courses, +and iced champagne, even when journeying to such remote cities as +Hamadán or Meshéd, thereby proving that, if you only take your time +about it, you may travel comfortably almost anywhere--even in Persia. + + +[Footnote A: The word _Demavend_ signifies literally "abundance of +mist," so called from the summit of this mountain being continually +wreathed in clouds.] + +[Footnote B: A pipe similar to the Turkish "hubble-bubble," wherein +the tobacco is inhaled through plain or rose water.] + +[Footnote C: Harem.] + +[Footnote D: A badge of royalty in Persia.] + +[Footnote E: A stringed instrument played in the same way as the +European guitar.] + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +TEHERÁN--ISPAHÁN. + + +We are already some farsakhs [A] from Teherán when day breaks on the +4th of February, 1889. The start is not a propitious one. Hardly have +we cleared the Ispahán gate than down comes the Shagird's horse as +if he were shot, breaking his girths and rider's thumb at the same +moment. Luckily, we are provided with rope, and Persian saddles are +not complicated. In ten minutes we are off again; but it is terribly +hard going, and all one can do to keep the horses on their legs. +Towards midday the sun slightly thaws the surface of the frozen snow, +and makes matters still worse. Up till now the pace has not been +exhilarating. Two or three miles an hour at most. It will take some +time to reach India at this rate! + +Four or five hours of this work, and there is no longer a sign of life +to be seen on the white waste, saving, about a mile ahead of us, +a thin wreath of grey smoke and half a dozen blackened tents--an +encampment of gypsies. Far behind us the tallest minarets of the +capital are dipping below the horizon, while to the left the white and +glittering cone of Demavend stands boldly out from a background of +deep cloudless blue. Though the sun is powerful--so much so, indeed, +that face and hands are already swollen and blistered--the cold in the +shade is intense. A keen, cutting north-easter sweeps across the white +waste, and, riding for a time under the shadow of a low ridge of +snow, I find my cigar frozen to my lips--nor can I remove it without +painfully tearing the skin. Gerôme is in his element, and, as a +natural consequence, my spirits fall as his rise. The slowness of +our progress, and constant stumbling of my pony, do not improve the +temper, and I am forced at last to beg my faithful follower to desist, +for a time at least, from a vocal rendering of "La Mascotte" which +has been going on unceasingly since we left Teherán. He obeys, but +(unabashed) proceeds to carry on a long conversation with himself in +the Tartar language, with which I am, perhaps happily, unacquainted. +Truly he is a man of unfailing resource! + +But even his angelic temper is tried when, shortly afterwards, we ride +past the gipsy encampment As he dismounts to light a cigarette out +of the wind, one of the sirens in a tent catches sight of the little +Russian, and in less than half a minute he is surrounded by a mob of +dishevelled, half-naked females, who throw their arms about him, pull +his hair and ears, and try, but in vain, to secure his horse and drag +him into a tent. These gipsies are the terror of travellers in Persia, +the men, most of them, gaining a precarious living as tinkers and +leather-workers, with an occasional highway robbery to keep their +hand in, the women living entirely by thieving and prostitution. The +gentlemen of the tribe were, perhaps luckily for us, away from home on +this occasion. One of the women, a good-looking, black-eyed girl, was +the most persistent among this band of maenads, and, bolder than the +rest, utterly refused to let Gerôme get on his pony, till, white with +passion, the Russian raised his whip. This was a signal for a general +howl of rage. "Strike me if you dare!" said the girl, her eyes ablaze. +"If you do you will never reach the next station." But in the confusion +Gerôme had vaulted into his saddle, and, setting spurs to our horses, +we galloped or scrambled off as quick as the deep snow would allow us. +"Crapule va!" shouted the little man, whose cheek and hair still bore +traces of the struggle. "Il n'y a qu'en Perse qu'on fait des chameaus +comme cela!" + +Ispahán is about seventy farsakhs distant from Teherán. The journey +has, under favourable conditions, been ridden in under two days, but +this is very unusual, and has seldom been done except for a wager by +Europeans. In our case speed was, of course, out of the question, with +the road in the state it was. The ordinary pace is, on an average, six +to eight miles an hour, unless the horses are very bad. It was nearly +a week, however, before we rode through the gates of Ispahán, and even +this was accounted a fair performance considering the difficulties we +had to contend with. + +Towards sunset the wind rose--a sharp north-easter that made face and +ears feel as if they were being flogged with stinging-nettles. It was +not until dusk that we reached Rabat Kerim, a small mud village, with +a filthy windowless post-house. But a pigstye would have been welcome +after such a ride, and the vermin which a flickering oil-lamp revealed +in hundreds, on walls and flooring, did not prevent our sleeping +soundly till morning. My thermometer marked only one degree above zero +when we retired to rest, and the wood was too damp to light a fire. +But we are in Persia! + +It is only fair, however, to say that the road we were now travelling +is not the regular post-road, which lies some distance to the eastward +of Rabat Kerim, but was now impassable on account of the snow. +The smaller track joins the main road at Koom. By taking the less +frequented track, we were unable to go through the "Malak al Niote," +or "Valley of the Angel of Death," which lies about half-way between +the capital and Koom. The valley is so called from its desolate and +sterile appearance, though, if this be so, the greater part of Persia +might with reason bear the same name. Be this as it may, the Shagirds +and natives have the greatest objection to passing through it after +dark. A legend avers that it is haunted by monsters having the bodies +of men and heads of beasts and birds. Surrounded by these apparitions, +who lick his face and hands till he is unconscious, the traveller is +carried away--where, history does not state--never to return. + +If the first day's work had been hard, it was child's play compared to +the second. The track, leading over a vast plain, had recently been +traversed by a number of camel caravans, which had transformed it into +a kind of Jacob's ladder formed by holes a couple of feet deep in the +snow. As long as the horses trod into them all went well, but a few +inches to the right or left generally brought them blundering on to +their noses. The reader may imagine what a day of this work means. The +strain on mind and muscle was almost unbearable, to say nothing of the +blinding glare. Yet one could not but admire, during our brief pauses +for rest, the picture before us. The boundless expanse of sapphire +blue and dazzling white, with not a speck to mar it, save where, +occasionally, the warm sun-rays had, here and there, laid bare chains +of dark rocks, giving them the appearance of islands in this ocean of +snow. + +At Pitché, the midday station, no horses were to be had; so, +notwithstanding that deep snow-drifts lay between us and Kushku Baïra, +the halt for the night, we were compelled, after a couple of hours' +rest, to set out on the ponies that had brought us from Rabat Kerim. +More perhaps by good luck than anything else, we reached the latter +towards 9 p.m. A bright starlit night favoured us, and, with the +exception of a couple of falls apiece, we were none the worse. We +found, too, to our great delight, a blazing fire burning in the +post-house, kindled by some caravan-men. But there is always a saving +clause in Persia. No water was to be had for love or money till the +morning, and, knowing the raging thirst produced by melted snow, we +had to forget our thirst till next day. + +[Illustration: POST-HOUSE AT KUSHKU BAIRA] + +A pleasant surprise also was in store for us. Two or three miles +beyond Kushku Baïra we were clear of snow altogether. Not a vestige +of white was visible upon the bare stony plain. Nothing but dull drab +desert, stretching away on every side to a horizon of snow-capt hills, +recalling, by their very whiteness, the miseries of the past two days. +"Berik Allah!" [B] cried Gerôme. "We have done with the snow now." +"Inshallah!" [C] I replied, though with an inward conviction that we +should see it again further on, and suffer accordingly. + +The sacred city of Koom [D] is one of the pleasantest recollections I +retain of the ride between the capital and Ispahán. It was about two +o'clock on the afternoon of the 6th of February that, breasting a +chain of low sandy hills, the huge golden dome of the Tomb of Fatima +became visible. We were then still four miles off; but, even with our +jaded steeds, the ride became what it had not yet been--a pleasure. +The green sunlit plains of wheat and barley, interspersed with bars of +white and red poppies, the picturesque, happy-looking peasantry, the +strings of mule and camel caravans, with their gaudy trappings and +clashing bells,--all this life, colour, and movement helped to give +one new hope and energy, and drown the dreary remembrance of past +troubles, bodily and mental. Even the caravans of corpses sent to Koom +for interment, which we passed every now and again, failed to depress +us, though at times the effluvia was somewhat overpowering, many of +the bodies being brought to the sacred city from the most remote +parts of Persia. Each mule bore two dead bodies, slung on either +side, like saddle-bags, and one could clearly trace the outline of +the figure wrapped in blue or grey cloth. A few of the friends and +relatives of some of the deceased accompanied this weird procession, +but the greater number of the dead had been consigned to the care +of the muleteers. The latter, in true chalvadar [E] fashion, were +stretched out flat on their stomachs fast asleep, their heads lolling +over their animals, arms and legs dangling helplessly, while the +caravan roamed about the track unchecked, banging their loads against +each other, to the silent discomfiture of the unfortunate mourners. + +[Illustration: A CORPSE CARAVAN] + +Koom is said to cover nearly twice as much ground as Shiráz, but more +than half the city is in ruins, the Afghans having destroyed it in +1722. The principal buildings are mainly composed of mosques and +sepulchres (for Koom is second only to Meshéd in sanctity), but +most of them are in a state of decay and dilapidation. The mosque +containing the Tomb of Fatima is the finest, its dome being covered +with plates of silver-gilt--the natives say of pure gold. The sacred +character of this city is mainly derived from the fact that Fatima, +surnamed "El Masouna" ("Free from sin"), died here many years ago. The +tradition is that Fatima was on her way to the city of Tus, whither +she was going to visit her brother, Imám Riza. On arrival at Koom, she +heard of his death, which caused her to delay her journey and take up +her residence here for a time, but she shortly afterwards sickened, +and died of a broken heart. A mausoleum was originally built of a very +humble nature, but, by order of Shah Abbas, it was enlarged and richly +ornamented inside and out. Fatti-Ali-Shah and Abbas the Second are +both buried here; also the wife of Mahomet Shah, who died in 1873, +having had the dome of the mosque covered with gold. There is a legend +among natives that Fatima's body no longer lies in the mosque, but was +carried bodily to heaven shortly after death. + +The population of Koom, which now amounts to little more than between +ten and twelve thousand, was formerly much larger. Like many other +Persian cities--saving, perhaps, Teherán--it retains but little of +its greatness, either as regards art or commerce. The bazaar is, +notwithstanding, extensive and well supplied. Koom is noted for the +manufacture of a white porous earthenware, which is made into flasks +and bottles, some of beautiful design and workmanship. + +The city is entered from the north by a substantial stone bridge, +spanning a swift but shallow river. It presents, at first sight, much +more the appearance of a Spanish or Moorish town than a Persian one. +The dirty brown mud huts are replaced by picturesque white houses, +with coloured domes, gaily striped awnings, and carved wooden +balconies overhanging the stream. Riding through the city gate, we +plunge from dazzling sunshine into the cool semi-darkness of the +bazaar, through which we ride for at least a quarter of an hour, when +a sudden turning brings us once more into daylight in the yard of a +huge caravanserai, crowded with mule and camel caravans. + +The apartment or cell allotted to us was, however, so filthy that we +decided to push on at once to Pasingán, the next stage, four farsakhs +distant. Koom is noted for the size and venom of its scorpions; and +the dim recesses of the dark, cobwebby chamber, with its greasy +walls and smoke-blackened ceiling, looked just the place for these +undesirable bedfellows. + +So we rode on again into the open country, past crowds of beggars and +dervishes at the eastern gate, as usual, busily engaged, as soon as +they saw us coming, at their devotions. Clear of the city walls, one +sees nothing on every side but huge storks. They are held sacred by +the natives, being supposed to migrate to Mecca every year. I heard at +Ispahán that, notwithstanding the outward austerity and piety of +the people of Koom, there is no town in Persia where so much secret +depravity and licentiousness are carried on as in the "Holy City." + +The stage from Koom to Pasingán was accomplished in an incredibly +short time; and I may here mention that this was the only occasion +upon which, in Persia, I was ever given a fairly good horse. The word +_chapar_ signifies in Persian to "gallop," but it is extremely rare to +find "chapar post" pony which has any notion of going out of his own +pace--something between a walk and a canter, like the old grey horse +that carries round the lady in pink and spangles in a travelling +circus. But to-day I got hold of a wiry, game little chestnut, who was +evidently new to the job, and reached and tore away at his bridle as +if he enjoyed the fun. Seeing, about half-way, that he was bleeding at +the mouth, I called Gerôme's attention to the fact, and found that his +horse was in the same plight--as, indeed, was every animal we passed +on the road between Koom and Pasingán. This is on account of the +water at and between the two places, which is full of small leeches, +invisible except through a microscope. Horses, mules, and cattle +suffer much in consequence, for nothing can be done to remedy the +evil. + +A pleasant gallop of under an hour brought us to Pasingán. It was +hardly possible to realize, riding through the warm evening air, for +all the world like a June evening in England, that but two days before +we had well-nigh been frozen to death. Had I known what was in store +for us beyond Kashán, I might have marvelled even more at this sudden +and welcome change of climate. + +The guest-chamber at Pasingán was already taken by a Persian khan, +a rude, blustering fellow, who refused us even a corner; so we had, +perforce, to make the best of it downstairs among the rats and vermin. +Devoured by the latter, and unable to sleep, we rose at the first +streak of dawn, saddled two of the khan's horses, and rode away to +Sin-Sin before any one was astir. The poor Shagird, whom we had to +threaten with a severe chastisement if he did not accompany us, was in +a terrible state. The bow-string was the least he could expect when +the khan came to know of the trick we had played him. An extra kerán +at Sin-Sin, however, soon consoled our guide. He probably never +returned to Pasingán at all, but sought his fortunes elsewhere. +Persian post-boys are not particular. + +Kashán is distant about fifty-two English miles from Pasingán, and +lies south-east of the latter. The caravan track passes a level tract +of country, sparsely cultivated by means of irrigation. Persian soil +is evidently of the kind that, "tickled with a hoe, laughs with a +harvest." Even in this sterile desert, covered for the most part with +white salt deposits, the little oases of grain and garden looked as +fresh and green as though they had been on the banks of a lake or +river. But the green patches were very few and far between, and, +half-way between the post-stations, ceased altogether. Nothing was +then visible but a waste of brown mud and yellow sand, cut clear and +distinct against the blue sky-line on the horizon. It is strange, when +crossing such tracts of country, to note how near to one everything +seems. Objects six or eight miles off, looked to-day as if you could +gallop up to them in five minutes; and the peak of Demavend, on which +we were now looking our last, seemed about twenty miles off, instead +of over one hundred and fifty. + +Kashán was reached on the 7th of February. At Nasirabád, a village a +few miles out of the city, there had been an earthquake that morning. +Many of the mud houses were in ruins, and their late owners sitting +dejectedly on the remains. Earthquakes are common enough in +Persia, and this was by no means our last experience in that line. +Commiserating with the homeless ones, we divided a few keráns among +them, in return for which they brought us large water-melons (for +which Nasirabád is celebrated), deliciously flavoured, and as cold as +ice. + +Kashán, which stands on a vast plain about two thousand feet above +sea-level, is picturesque and unusually clean for an Eastern town. The +bazaar is a long one, and its numerous caravanserais finer even than +those of the capital. The manufacture of silk [F] and copperware is +extensive; but, as usual, one saw little in the shops, _en evidence +_, but shoddy cloth and Manchester goods, and looked in vain for real +Oriental stuffs and carpets. I often wondered where on earth they +_were_ to be got, for the most persistent efforts failed to produce +the real thing. I often passed, on the road, camel and mule-cloths +that made my mouth water, so old were their texture and delicate their +pattern and colouring, but the owners invariably declined, under any +circumstances, to part with them. + +Kashán will ever be associated in my mind with the fact that I there +saw the prettiest woman it was my luck to meet in Persia. The glimpse +was but a momentary one, but amply sufficed to convince me that +those who say that _all_ Persian women are ugly (as many do) know +nothing-whatever about it. + +It was towards sunset, in one of the caravanserais, to which, hot and +tired with the long dusty ride, I came for a quiet smoke and a cup of +coffee. The sensation of absolute repose was delicious after the heat +and glare, the stillness of the place unbroken save for the plash of a +marble fountain, and, outside, the far-off voices of the "muezzims," +calling the faithful to evening prayer. From the blue dome, with its +golden stars and white tracery, the setting sun, streaming in through +coloured glass, threw the softest shades of violet and ruby, emerald +and amber, upon the marble pavement. The stalls around were closed +for the night; all save one, a "manna" [G] shop. Its owner, a +white-turbaned old Turk, and myself were the sole inmates of the +caravanserai. Even my "kafedji" [H] had disappeared, though probably +not without leaving instructions to his neighbour to see that I did +not make off with the quaint little silver coffee-cup and nargileh. + +It was here that I saw the "belle" of Kashán, and of Persia, for +aught I know--a tall slim girl, dressed, not in the hideous bag-like +garments usually affected by the Persian female, but soft white +draperies, from beneath which peeped a pair of loose baggy trousers +and tiny feet encased in gold-embroidered slippers. Invisible to her, +I made every effort, from my hiding-place behind a projecting stall, +to catch a glimpse of her face, but, alas! a yashmak was in the +way--not the thin gauzy wisp affected by the smart ladies of Cairo and +Constantinople, but a thick, impenetrable barrier of white linen, such +as the peasant women of Mohammedan countries wear. Who could she be? +What was she doing-out unattended at this late hour? + +I had almost given up all hope of seeing her features, when Fortune +favoured me. As the old Turk dived into the recesses of his shop to +attend to the wants of his fair customer, the latter removed her veil, +revealing, as she did so, one of the sweetest and fairest faces it has +ever been my good fortune to look upon. A perfectly oval face, soft +delicate complexion, large dark eyes full of expression, a small +aquiline nose, but somewhat large mouth, and the whitest and smallest +of teeth. Such was the apparition before me. She could not have been +more than sixteen. + +I could scarcely restrain from giving vent to my admiration in speech, +when the old Turk returned. In an instant the yashmak was in its +place, and, with a hasty glance around, my vision of beauty was +scuttling away as fast as her legs could carry her. A low musical +laugh like a chime of silver bells came back to me from the dark +deserted alleys of the bazaar, and I saw her no more. + +The manna-seller was evidently irritated, and intimated, in dumb show, +that I must leave the caravanserai at once, as he was shutting up for +the night. I bought a pound or so of the sweetmeat to pacify him, +and, if possible, glean some information about the fair one, but my +advances were of no avail. + +The history of Kashán is closely allied to that of Ispahán. The +former city was founded by Sultana Zobeide, wife of the celebrated +Haroun-al-Raschid. Ransacked and destroyed by the Afghans in the +eighteenth century, it was again restored, or rather rebuilt, by Haji +Husein Khan. Perhaps the most interesting thing the city contains is +a leaning minaret which dates from the thirteenth century. It is +ascended by a rickety spiral staircase. From here, not so many years +ago, it was the custom to execute adulterous wives. The husband, +accompanied by his relations, forced his unfaithful spouse to the top +of the tower and pushed her over the side (there is no balustrade), +to be dashed to pieces on stone flags about a hundred and thirty feet +below. + +"Pas de chance, monsieur," was Gerôme's greeting as I entered the +caravanserai. "The Koudoum Pass is blocked with snow, and almost +impassable. What is to be done?" Mature deliberation brought but one +solution to the question: Start in the morning, and risk it. "It +cannot be worse than the Kharzán, anyhow," said Gerôme, cheerfully, as +we rode out of Kashán next day, past the moated mud walls, forty feet +high, that at one time made this city almost impregnable. I more than +once during the morning, however, doubted whether we had done right in +leaving our comfortable quarters at the caravanserai to embark on this +uncertain, not to say dangerous, journey. + +Twenty-nine farsakhs still lay between us and Ispahán; but, once past +the Khurood Pass (which lies about seven farsakhs from Kashán), all +would be plain sailing. The summit of the pass is about seven thousand +feet above sea-level. Its valleys are, in summer, green and fertile, +but during the winter are frequently rendered impassable by the deep +snow, as was now the case. Khurood itself is a village of some size +and importance, built on the slope of the mountain, and here, by +advice of the villagers, we rested for the night. "It will take you at +least a day to get to Bideshk," said the postmaster--"that is, if you +are going to attempt it." + +The ride from Kashán had been pleasant enough. No snow was yet +visible, save in the ravines, and the extreme summits of a chain of +low rocky hills, of which we commenced the ascent a couple of hours +or so after leaving Kashán. Half-way up, however, it became more +difficult, the path being covered in places with a thick coating of +ice--a foretaste of the pleasures before us. Towards the summit of the +mountain is an artificial lake, formed by a strong dyke, or bank of +stonework, which intercepts and collects the mountain-streams and +melted snows--a huge reservoir, whence the water is let off to +irrigate the distant low plains of Kashán, and, indeed, to supply the +city itself. The waters of this lake, about fifteen feet deep, were +clear as crystal, the bottom and sides being cemented. + +This reservoir was constructed by order of Shah Abbas, who seems to +have been one of the wisest and best rulers this unfortunate country +has ever had, for he has certainly done more for his country +than Nasr-oo-din or any of his stock are likely to. Pass a finer +caravanserai than usual, travel a better road, cross a finer bridge, +and interrogate your Shagird as to its history, and you will +invariably receive the answer, "Shah Abbas." At the village of +Khurood, a huge caravanserai (his work) lies in ruins, having been +destroyed seven or eight years ago by an earthquake. Several persons +were killed, the shock occurring at night-time, when the inmates were +asleep. + +The post-house at Khurood was cold, filthy, and swarmed with rats--an +animal for which I have always had an especial aversion. Towards +midnight a Persian gentleman arrived from Kashán--a mild, +benign-looking individual, with a grey moustache and large blue +spectacles. The new-comer, who spoke a little French, begged to be +allowed to join us on the morrow, as he was in a hurry to get to +Ispahán. Notwithstanding Gerôme's protestations, I had not the heart +to refuse. He looked so miserable and helpless, and indeed was, as +I discovered too late next day. Our new acquaintance then suggested +sending for wine, to drink to the success of our journey. At this +suggestion Gerôme woke up; and seeing that, in my case, the rats had +successfully murdered sleep, I gladly agreed to anything that would +make the time pass till daylight. A couple of bottles were then +produced by the postmaster; but it was mawkish stuff, as sweet as +syrup, and quite flavourless. Gerôme and the Persian, however, did +not leave a drop, and before they had finished the second bottle were +sworn friends. Although wine is forbidden by the Mohammedan faith, it +is largely indulged in, in secret, by Persians of the upper class. I +never met, however, a follower of the Prophet so open about it as +our friend at Khurood. The wine here was from Ispahán, and cost, +the Persian told us, about sixpence a quart bottle, and was, in my +opinion, dear at that. Shiráz wine is perhaps the best in Persia. It +is white, and, though very sweet when new, develops, if kept for three +or four years, a dry nutty flavour like sherry. This, however, does +not last long, but gives place in a few months to a taste unpleasantly +like sweet spirits of nitre, which renders the wine undrinkable. +With proper appliances the country would no doubt produce excellent +vintages, but at present the production of wine in Persia is a +distinct failure. + +Leaving at 8 a.m., we managed to reach the summit of the Koudoum by +two o'clock next day, when we halted to give the horses a rest, and +get a mouthful of food. Our Persian friend had returned to Koudoum +after the first half-mile, during which he managed to get three falls, +for the poor man had no notion of riding or keeping a horse on its +legs. He reminded one of the cockney who sat his horse with consummate +ease, grace, and daring, until it moved, when he generally fell off. +I was sorry for him. He was so meek and unresentful, even when +mercilessly chaffed by Gerôme. + +Our greatest difficulty up till now had arisen from ice, which +completely covered the steep narrow pathway up the side of the +mountain, and made the ascent slippery and insecure. The snow had as +yet been a couple of feet deep at most, and we had come across no +drifts of any consequence. Arrived at the summit, however, we saw what +we had to expect. Below us lay a narrow valley or gorge, about a mile +broad, separating us from the low range of hills on the far side of +which lay Bideshk. The depth of the snow we were about to make a way +through was easily calculated by the telegraph-posts, which in places +were covered to within two or three feet of the top. "You see, sahib," +said the Shagird, pointing with his whip to a huge drift some distance +to the left of the wires; "two men lying under that." The intelligence +did not interest me in the least. Could we or not get over this "Valley +of Death"? was the only question my mind was at that moment +capable of considering. + +[Illustration: A DAY IN THE SNOW] + +In less than a quarter of an hour we were in the thick of it, up to +our waists in the snow, and pulling, rather than leading, our horses +after us. It reminded me of a bad channel passage from Folkestone to +Boulogne, and took about the same time--two hours, although the actual +distance was under a mile and a half. Gerôme led the way as long as he +was able, but, about half-way across, repeated and violent falls had +so exhausted his horse that we were obliged to halt while I took his +place, by no means an easy one. During this stage of the proceedings +we could scarcely see one another for the steam and vapour arising +from the poor brutes, whose neighs of terror, as they blundered into a +deeper drift than usual, were pitiful to hear. More than once Gerôme's +pony fell utterly exhausted and helpless, and it took our united +efforts to get him on his legs again; while the Shagird and I left our +ponies prone on their sides, only too glad of a temporary respite from +their labours. If there is anything in the Mohammedan religion, the +Shagird was undoubtedly useful. He never ceased calling upon "Allah!" +for help for more than ten consecutive seconds the whole way across. +At four o'clock we rode into the post-house at Bideshk, thoroughly +done up, and wet through with snow and perspiration, but safe, +and determined, if horses were procurable, to push on at once to +Murchakhar, from whence two easy stages of six and three farsakhs +would land us next day at Ispahán. + +It was dusk, and we had just secured the only horses available, when +two Armenians, bound for Teherán, rode into the yard. When told they +were just too late for a relay, the rage of one of them--a short, +apoplectic-looking little man--was awful to behold. As I mounted, his +companion came up and politely advised us not to attempt to ride to +Murchakhar by night. "The road swarms with footpads," he said, in a +mysterious undertone; "you run a very great risk of being robbed and +murdered if you go on to-night." "You would have run a far greater +of being frozen to death, if we had not saved you by taking these +horses," cried Gerôme, as we rode coolly out of the gateway. + +Bideshk is noted for a great battle fought in its vicinity between +the army of Nadir Shah and Ashraf the Afghan. Its post-house is also +noted, as I can vouch for, for the largest and most venomous bugs +between Teherán and Ispahán. We only remained there three hours, and +felt the effects for days afterwards. + +All trace of ice and snow disappeared a few farsakhs from here, and we +galloped gaily across a hard and level plain to our destination for +the night. The post-house was a blaze of light. A couple of armed +sentries stood in front of the doorway, and a motley crowd of +soldiers, Shagird-chapars, and peasants outside. + +"You cannot come in," said the postmaster, full of importance. "The +Zil-i-Sultan is here on a hunting expedition. He will start away +early in the morning, and then you can have the guest-room, but not +before." Too tired to mind much--indeed, half asleep already--we +groped our way to the stables, where, on the cleanest bundle of straw +I have ever seen--or smelt, for it was pitch dark--in a Persian +post-stable (probably the property of his Highness the Governor of +Ispahán), we were soon in the land of dreams. Had we known that we +were calmly reposing within a couple of feet of the royal charger's +heels, our slumbers might not have been so refreshing. Daylight +disclosed the fact. + +The governor and his suite had apparently made a night of it. Although +it was past eight o'clock when we made a start, the prince, his suite, +soldiers, and grooms were none of them stirring, although his _chef_ +was busily engaged, with his staff of assistants, preparing a +sumptuous breakfast of kababs, roast meat and poultry, pastry, and +confectionery of various kinds. I could not help envying the man whose +appetite and digestion would enable him to sit down to such a meal +at such an hour. Sherbet, the Shagird from Murchakhar informed us in +confidence, is the favourite drink of the Zil-i-Sultan. I only once +tasted sherbet in Persia, and was somewhat surprised--so lasting are +one's youthful associations--to find it utterly different to the +refreshing but somewhat depressing beverage of my school-days, sold, +if I remember rightly, at twopence a packet. The real sherbet I was +given (in a native house at Shiráz) consisted simply of a glass of +cold water with a lump of sugar in it--_eau sucré_, in fact. But +Persian sherbets are of endless varieties and flavours. Preserved +syrups of raspberry and pineapple, the juice of the fresh fruit of +lemon, orange, and pomegranate, are all used in the manufacture of +sherbet, which is, however, never effervescing. The water in which it +is mixed should be icy cold, and has, when served in Persia, blocks +of frozen snow floating on the surface. The "sherbet-i-bidmishk," or +"willow-flower sherbet," made from flowers of a particular kind of +willow distilled in water, is perhaps the most popular of all among +the higher classes, and is the most expensive. + +The hunting-expedition (the Shagird, who was of a communicative +disposition, informed us) consisted of three parties located at +villages each within a couple of farsakhs of Murchakhar. Numbering +altogether over six hundred men (all mounted), they had been out +from Ispahán nearly ten days. Yesterday the prince's party had been +exceptionally lucky, and had had splendid sport. We passed, on the +road to Géz, a caravan of fifteen mules laden with the spoil--ibex, +deer, wild sheep, and even a wild ass among the slain. The latter had +fallen to the governor's own rifle. There is plenty of sport to be +had in Persia, if you only take the trouble to look for it, and in +comparative comfort too, with tents, stores, cooking apparatus, etc., +if time is no object. The country swarms with wild animals--tiger, +bear, and leopard in the forests by the Caspian Sea; wild asses, +jackals, and wolves in the desert regions; deer and wild goats in the +mountainous districts; and, as we afterwards had uncomfortable proof, +lions in the southern provinces. There is no permission needed. A +European may shoot over any country he pleases, with the exception of +the Shah's private preserves around Teherán. His Imperial Majesty is +very tetchy on this point. + +We galloped nearly the whole of the short stage from Géz to Ispahán. +A couple of miles out of the city we overtook a donkey ridden by two +peasants, heavy men, who challenged us to a trial of speed. We only +just beat them by a couple of lengths at the gates, although our +horses were fresh and by no means slow. The Persian donkey is +unquestionably the best in the East, and is not only speedy, but as +strong as a horse. We frequently passed one of these useful beasts +carrying a whole family--monsieur, madame, and an unlimited number of +bebés--to say nothing of heavy baggage, in one of the queer-looking +arrangements (oblong boxes with a canvas covering stretched over a +wooden framework) depicted on the next page. An ordinary animal costs +from two to three pounds (English), but a white one, the favourite +mount of women and priests, will often fetch as much as ten or +fifteen. + +To reach Djulfa, the Armenian and European quarter of Ispahán, the +latter city must be crossed, also the great stone bridge spanning the +"Zandarood," or "Living River," so called from the supposed excellence +of its water for drinking purposes, and its powers of prolonging life. +Nearing the bridge, we met a large funeral, evidently that of a person +of high position, from the costly shawls which covered the bier. + + +[Illustration: A FAMILY PARTY] + +As in many Eastern countries, a man is never allowed to die in peace +in Persia. It is a ceremony like marriage or burial, and as soon as +the doctors have pronounced a case hopeless, the friends and relations +of the sick man crowd into his chamber and make themselves thoroughly +at home, drinking tea and sherbet, and watching, through the smoke of +many hubble-bubbles, the dying agonies of their friend. The wife of +the dying man sits at his side, occasionally holding to the nostrils +the Persian substitute for smelling-salts, i. e. a piece of mud torn +from the wall of the dwelling and moistened with cold water. As a last +resource, a fowl is often killed and placed, warm and bleeding, on the +patient's feet. This being of no avail, and death having taken place, +the wife is led from the apartment, and the preparations for interment +are commenced. Wet cotton-wool is stuffed into the mouth, nose, and +ears of the corpse, while all present witness aloud that the dead man +was a good and true Mohammedan. The body is laid out, a cup of water +is placed at its head, and a moollah, ascending to the roof of the +house, reads in a shrill nasal tone verses from the Korán. The +professional mourners then arrive, and night or day is made hideous +with their cries, while the "washers of the dead" proceed with their +work. The coffin, [I] in Persia, is made of very thin wood; in the case +of a poor man it is often dispensed with altogether, the corpse being +buried in a shroud. Interment in most cases takes place forty-eight +hours at most after death. + +We found the house of Mr. P--, the Telegraph Superintendent of the +Indo-European Company, with some difficulty, for the roads or rather +lanes of Djulfa are tortuous and confusing. Mr. P--was out, but +had left ample directions for our entertainment. A refreshing tub, +followed by a delicious curry, washed down with iced pale ale, +prepared one for the good cigar and siesta that followed, though +an unlimited supply of English newspapers, the _Times, Truth_, and +_Punch_, kept me well awake till the return of my host at sunset. + + +[Footnote A: A farsakh is about four miles.] + +[Footnote B: "Hurrah!"] + +[Footnote C: "Please God!"] + +[Footnote D: _Koom_ signifies "sand."] + +[Footnote E: Muleteer.] + +[Footnote F: Kashán silk, noted throughout Persia, is of two kinds: +the one thin and light for lining garments, the other thick and heavy +for divans, etc. The patterns are generally white, yellow, and green +on a red ground.] + +[Footnote G: A natural sweetmeat like nougat, found and manufactured +in Persia.] + +[Footnote H: Attendant.] + +[Footnote I: In the north of Persia the dead are buried in a shroud +of dark-blue cloth, which is, oddly enough, called in the Persian +language, a _kaffin_.] + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +ISPAHÁN--SHIRÁZ. + + +The seven telegraph-stations, in charge of Europeans, between Teherán +and Bushire, may be called the oases of Persia to the weary traveller +from Résht to the Persian Gulf. He is sure, at any of these, of a +hearty welcome, a comfortable bedroom, and a well-cooked dinner from +the good Samaritan in charge. The latter is generally the best of +company, full of anecdote and information about the country, and, +necessarily, well posted in the latest news from Europe, from the last +Parliamentary debate to the winner of the Derby. These officials are +usually _ci-devant_ non-commissioned officers of Royal Engineers. Some +are married, for the life is a lonely one, and three or four months +often elapse without personal communication with the outer world, +except on the wires. By this means, when the latter are not in +public use, the telegraphist can lighten his weary hours by animated +conversation with his colleague two or three hundred miles away on +congenial topics--the state of the weather, rate of exchange, chances +of promotion, and so on. Living, moreover, at most of the stations is +good and cheap; there is plenty of sport; and if a young unmarried man +only keeps clear of the attractions of the fair sex, he soon makes +friends among the natives. Love intrigues are dangerous in Persia. +They once led to the massacre of the whole of the Russian Legation at +Teherán. + +Ispahán is a city of ruins. A Persian will tell you, with pride, that +it is nearly fifteen miles in circumference, but a third of this +consists of heaps of stones, with merely the foundation-lines around +to show that they were once palaces or more modest habitations. +Chardin the traveller, writing in A.D. 1667, gives the population of +Ispahán at considerably over a million, but it does not now exceed +fifty thousand, including the suburb of Djulfa. The Madrassa, or +College, the governor's palace, and "Chil Situn," or "Palace of the +Forty Pillars," are the only buildings that still retain some traces +of their former glory. Pertaining to the former is a dome of the most +exquisite tile-work, which, partly broken away, discloses the mud +underneath; a pair of massive gates of solid silver, beautifully +carved and embossed; a large shady and well-kept garden in the centre +of the Madrassa, with huge marble tanks of water, surrounded by an +oblong arcade of students' rooms--sixty queer little boxes about ten +feet by six, their walls covered with arabesques of great beauty. +These are still to be seen--and remembered. With the exception of the +"Maidan Shah," or "Square of the King"--a large open space in the +centre of the city, surrounded by modern two-storied houses--the +streets of Ispahán are narrow, dirty, and ill-paved, and its bazaar, +which adjoins the Maidan Shah, very inferior in every way to those of +Teherán or Shiráz. + +The palace of "Chil Situn," or "The Forty Pillars," is like most +Persian palaces--the same walled gardens with straight walks, the +usual avenues of cypress trees, and the inevitable tank of stone or +marble in the centre of the grounds. It is owing to the reflection of +the _façade_ of the palace in one of the latter that it has gained its +name. There are in reality but twenty pillars, the forty being (with a +stretch of imagination) made up by reflection in the dull and somewhat +dirty pool of water at their feet. The palace itself is a tawdry, +gimcrack-looking edifice, all looking-glass and vermilion and green +paint in the worst possible taste. From the entrance-hall an arched +doorway leads into the principal apartment, a lofty chamber about +ninety feet long by fifty broad, its walls covered with large +paintings representing the acts of the various Persian kings. Shah +Abbas is portrayed under several conditions. In one scene he is +surrounded by a band of drunken companions and dancing-girls, in +costumes and positions that would hardly pass muster before our Lord +Chamberlain. This room once contained the most beautiful and costly +carpet in all Persia, but it has lately been sold "for the good of the +State," and a dirty green drugget laid down in its place. In one of +the side chambers are pictures representing ladies and gentlemen in +the costume of Queen Elizabeth's time. How they got to Ispahán I was +unable to discover. They are very old, and evidently by good masters. + +The way back to our comfortable quarters at Djulfa lay over the +Zandarood river. There are five bridges, the principal one being that +of Allaverdi Khan, named after one of the generals of Shah Abbas, who +superintended its construction. It is of solid stonework, and built in +thirty-three arches, over which are ninety-nine smaller arches +above the roadway on both sides, enclosing a covered-in pathway for +foot-passengers. The roadway in the centre, thirty feet wide, is well +paved with stone, and perfectly level. Every thirty yards or so are +stalls for the sale of kababs, fruit, sweetmeats, and the kalyan, for +a whiff from which passers-by pay a small sum. Ispahán is noted for +its fruit; apricots, peaches, nectarines, cherries, mulberries, and +particularly fine melons, are abundant in their season. + +There is a saying in Persia, "Shiráz for wine, Yèzd for women, but +Ispahán for melons." + +Since it has ceased to be the capital of Persia, the trade of Ispahán +has sadly deteriorated. There is still, however, a brisk trade +in opium and tobacco. Silks and satins are also made, as well as +quantities of a coarser kind of cotton stuff for wearing-apparel, +much used by the natives. The sword-blades manufactured here are, +in comparison with those of Khorassan or Damascus, of little value. +Genuine old blades from the latter city fetch enormous prices +everywhere; but a large quantity of worthless imitations is in the +market, and unless a stranger is thoroughly experienced in the art of +weapon-buying, he had better leave it alone in Persia. Modern firearms +are rarely seen in the bazaars, except cheap German and French +muzzle-loaders, more dangerous to the shooter than to the object aimed +at. + +If the streets of Ispahán are narrow, those of Djulfa, the Armenian +settlement, can only be described as almost impassable, for, although +the widest are barely ten feet across, quite a third of this space is +taken up by the deep ditch, or drain, lined with trees, by which all +are divided. But the town, or settlement, is as clean and well-kept as +Ispahán itself is the reverse, which is saying a great deal. + +Djulfa is called after the Armenian town of that name in Georgia, the +population of which, for commercial reasons, was removed to this place +by Shah Abbas in A.D. 1603. Djulfa, near Ispahán, was once a large +and flourishing city, with as many as twenty district parishes, and a +population of sixty thousand souls, now dwindled down to a little over +two thousand, the greater part of whom live in great want and poverty. +The city once possessed as many as twenty churches, but most of these +are now in ruins. The cathedral, however, is still standing, and in +fair preservation. It dates from A.D. 1655. There is also a Roman +Catholic colony and church. The latter stands in a large garden, +celebrated for its quinces and apricots. Lastly, the English Church +Missionary Society have an establishment here under the direction of +the Rev. Dr. Bruce, whose good deeds during the famine are not likely +to be forgotten by the people of Ispahán and Djulfa, whatever their +creed or religion. The trade of Djulfa is insignificant, although +there is a large amount of wine and arak manufactured there, and sold +"under the rose" to the Ispahánis. The production of the juice of the +grape is somewhat primitive. During the season (September and October) +the grapes are trodden out in a large earthenware pan, and the whole +crushed mass, juice and all, is stowed away in a jar holding from +twenty to thirty gallons, a small quantity of water being added to +it. In a few days fermentation commences. The mass is then stirred up +every morning and evening with sticks for ten or twenty days. About +this period the refuse sinks to the bottom of the jar, and the wine is +drawn off and bottled. In forty days, at most, it is fit to drink. + +My time at Ispahán was limited, so much so that I was not able to pay +a visit to the "Shaking minarets," about six miles off. These mud +towers, of from twenty to thirty feet high, are so constructed that a +person, standing on the roof of the building between the two, can, by +a slight movement of his feet, cause them to vibrate. + +I spent most of my time, as usual, strolling about the +least-frequented parts of the city, or in the cool, picturesque +gardens of the Madrassa. The people of Teherán, and other Persian +cities, are generally civil to strangers; but at Ispahán the prejudice +against Europeans is very strong, and I more than once had to make a +somewhat hasty exit from some of the lower quarters of the city. + +Mrs. S----, the wife of a telegraph official, was stabbed by some +miscreants while walking in broad daylight on the outskirts of the +town, a few months before my visit. The offenders were never caught; +probably, as Ispahán is under the jurisdiction of the Zil-i-Sultan, +were never meant to be. + +The Zil-i-Sultan returned to Ispahán before I left. He is rightly +named "Shadow of the King," for, saving his somewhat more youthful +appearance, he is as like Nasr-oo-din as two peas. Like his father in +most of his tastes, his favourite occupations are riding, the chase, +and shooting at a mark; but he is, perhaps, more susceptible to the +charms of the fair sex than his august parent. + +The prince is now nearly forty years of age. His wife, daughter of a +former Prime Minister of Persia, who was strangled by order of the +present Shah, died a few years ago, having borne him a son, the +"Jelal-u-dowleh," a bright, clever boy, now about eighteen years old, +and three daughters. The Zil-i-Sultan is adored by his people, and +has, unquestionably, very great influence over the districts of +which he is governor. Within the last two years, however, at least +two-thirds of his possessions have been taken from him--a proceeding +that caused him considerable annoyance, and drew forth the remark that +the Valliad would one day regret it. There can be little doubt that, +at the death of Nasr-oo-din, the Governor of Ispahán will make a +bold bid for the throne; in fact, the latter makes no secret of his +intentions. Drink and debauch having already rendered his younger +brother half-witted, the task should not be a difficult one, +especially as half the people and the whole army side with the +illegitimate, though more popular, prince. It is, perhaps, under +the circumstances, to be regretted that the latter is an ardent +Russophile, ever since his Majesty the Czar sent a special mission to +Ispahán to confer upon him the Order of the Black Eagle. Should the +Zil-i-Sultan succeed Nasr-oo-din, British influence in Persia may +become even less powerful than it is now, if that is possible. + +The Zil-i-Sultan is far more civilized in his habits and mode of life +than the Shah. A fair French scholar, he regularly peruses his _Temps, +Gil Blas_, and the latest works of the best French authors. It is +strange that, with all his common sense and sterling qualities, this +prince should, in some matters, be a perfect child. One of his whims +is dress. Suits of clothes, shirts, socks, hats, and uniforms are +continually pouring in from all parts of Europe, many of the latter +anything but becoming to the fat, podgy figure of the "King's Shadow." +A photograph of his Royal Highness the Duke of Connaught in Rifle +Brigade uniform was shown him a couple of years since. The Court +tailor was at once sent for. "I must have this; make it at once," was +the command, the humble request to be allowed to take the measure +being met by, "Son of a hell-burnt father! What do you mean? Make it +for a well-made man--a man with a better figure than that, and it will +fit me!" + +Popular as he is with the lower orders, the Zil-i-Sultan does not, +when offenders are brought before him, err on the side of mercy. +Persian justice is short, sharp, and severe, and a man who commits a +crime in the morning, may be minus his head before sunset. Although +a Persian would indignantly deny it, some of their punishments are +nearly as cruel as the Chinese. For instance, not so very long ago a man +in Southern Persia was convicted of incest, for which crime his eyes were +first torn out with pincers, and his teeth then extracted, one by one, +sharpened to a point, and hammered, like nails, through the top of his +skull. It should be said in justice that the present Shah has done all +he can to stop the torture system, and confine the death-sentence to one +of two methods--painless and instantaneous--throat-cutting and blowing +from a gun. Notwithstanding, executions such as the one I have mentioned +are common enough in remote districts, and crucifixion, walling up, or +burying and burning alive are, although less common than formerly, by no +means out of date. Women are usually put to death by being strangled, +thrown from a precipice or well, or wrapped up in a carpet and jumped +upon; but the execution of a woman is now, fortunately, rare in Persia. + +A dreary desert surrounds Ispahán on every side save to the southward, +where dark masses of rock, a thousand feet high, break the sky-line. +The environs of the city are well populated, and, as we rode out, _en +route_ for Shiráz, we passed through a good deal of cultivated land. +This is irrigated by the Zandarood, whose blue waters are visible for +a long distance winding through the emerald-green plain, with its gay +patchwork of white and scarlet poppy-gardens. The cultivation of this +plant is yearly increasing in Persia, for there is an enormous demand +for the drug in the country itself, to say nothing of the export +market, the value of which, in 1871, was 696,000 rupees. In 1881 it +had progressed to 8,470,000 rupees, and is steadily increasing every +year. Opium is not smoked in Persia, but is taken in the form of +pills. Many among the upper classes take it daily, the dose being a +grain to a grain and a half. + +We covered, the first day out from Ispahán, nearly a hundred miles +between sunrise and 10 p.m.--not bad work for Persia. A little after +dark, and before the moon had risen, I was cantering easily along in +front of Gerôme, when a violent blow on the chest, followed by another +between the eyes, sent me reeling off my horse on to the sand. My +first thought, on collecting myself, was "Robbers!"--this part of the +road bearing an unpleasant reputation. Cocking my revolver, I called +to Gerôme, and was answered by a volley of oaths, while another +riderless horse galloped past me and disappeared in the darkness. +Our foe was a harmless one. The wind had blown down one of the +telegraph-posts, and the wires had done the mischief. By good luck and +the aid of lucifer matches, we managed to trace our ponies to a piece +of cultivated ground hard by, where we found them calmly feeding in a +field of standing corn. + +The moon had risen by nine o'clock. Before half-past we were in sight +of the rock on which stands the town of Yezdi-Ghazt, towering, shadowy +and indistinct, over the moonlit plain. This is unquestionably the +most curious and interesting village between Résht and Bushire. The +post-house stands at the foot. As we rode to the latter through the +semi-darkness caused by the shadow of the huge mass of boulders and +mud on which the town is situated, the effect was extraordinary. +It was like a picture by Gustave Doré; and, looking up the dark +perpendicular side of the rock at the weird city with its white +houses, queer-shaped balconies, and striped awnings, standing out +clear and distinct against the starlit sky, gave one an uncomfortable, +uncanny feeling, hard to shake off, and heightened by the fact +that, although the hour was yet early, not a light was visible, not +a sound to be heard. It was like a city of the dead. + +[Illustration: YEZDI-GHAZT] + +Daylight does not improve the appearance of Yezdi-Ghazt. The city, +which looks so weird and romantic by moonlight, loses much of its +beauty, though not its interest, when seen by the broad light of day. +The system of drainage in Yezdi-Ghazt is simple, the sewage being +thrown over, to fall, haphazard, on the ground immediately below. I +nearly had a practical illustration during my examination, which, +however, did not last long, for the side of the rock glistened with +the filth of years, and the stench and flies were unbearable. + +Early next morning I set out alone to explore the strange place, and +with much difficulty and some apprehension--for I did not know how the +natives were disposed--ascended a steep rocky path, at the summit of +which a wooden drawbridge leads over a deep abyss to the gate of the +city. This bridge is the only access to Yezdi-Ghazt, which is, so to +speak, a regular fortress-town. + +The rock, about half a mile long, is intersected by one narrow street, +which, covered from end to end with awnings and wooden beams, was +almost in obscurity. The sudden change from the glare outside almost +blinded one. The appearance of a Farangi is evidently rare in +Yezdi-Ghazt, for I was immediately surrounded by a crowd, who, +however, were evidently inclined to be friendly, and escorted me to +the house of the head-man, under whose guidance I visited the city. + +The houses are of stone, two-storied, and mortised into the rock, +which gives them the appearance, from below, as if a touch would send +them toppling over, while a curious feature is that none of their +windows looks inwards to the street--all are in the outside wall +facing the desert. I took coffee with the head-man on his balcony--a +wooden construction, projecting over a dizzy height, and supported +by a couple of rickety-looking beams. It was nervous work, for the +flooring, which was rotten and broken into great holes, creaked +ominously. I could see Gerôme (who had evidently missed me) bustling +about the post-house, and reduced, from this height, to the size of a +fly. Making this my excuse, I quickly finished my coffee, and bade my +host farewell, nor was I sorry to be once more safe on _terra firma_. + +Yezdi-Ghazt, which has a population of about five hundred, is very +old, and is said to have existed long previous to the Mohammedan +conquest. The present population are a continual source of dread to +the neighbouring towns and villages, on account of their lawlessness +and thieving proclivities, and mix very little with any of their +neighbours, who have given the unsavoury city the Turkish nickname +of "Pokloo Kalla," or "Filth Castle." Yezdi-Ghazt would not be a +desirable residence during an earthquake. The latter are of frequent +occurrence round here. Many of the villages have been laid in ruins, +but, curiously enough, the rock-city has, up till now, never even felt +a shock. + +A ride of under fifty miles through level and fertile country brought +us to Abadéh, a pretty village standing in the midst of gardens and +vineyards, enclosed by high mud walls. A European telegraph official, +Mr. G----, resides here. As we passed his house--a neat white stone +building easily distinguishable among the brown mud huts--a native +servant stopped us. His master would not be back till sunset, but had +left directions that we were to be well cared for till his return. +The temptation of a bed and dinner were too much, and, as time was no +object, and snowy passes things of the past, we halted for the night. + +An hour later, comfortably settled on Mr. G---- 's sofa, and dozing +over a cigar and a volume of _Punch_, my rest was suddenly disturbed +by a loud bang at the sitting-room door, which, flying open, admitted +two enormous animals, which I at first took for dogs. Both made at +once for my sofa, and, while the larger one curled comfortably round +my feet and quietly composed itself for sleep, the smaller, evidently +of a more affectionate disposition, seated itself on the floor, and +commenced licking my face and hands--an operation which, had I dared, +I should strongly have resented. But the white gleaming teeth and +cruel-looking green eyes inspired me with respect, to use no +stronger term; for I had by now discovered that these domestic +pets were--panthers! To my great relief, Mr. G---- entered at +this juncture. "Making friends with the panthers, I see," he said +pleasantly. "They are nice companionable beasts." They may have been +at the time. The fact remains that, three months after my visit, the +"affectionate one" half devoured a native child! The neighbourhood +of Abadéh, Mr. G---- informed me, swarms with these animals. Bears, +wolves, and hyenas are also common, to say nothing of jackals, which, +judging from the row they made that night, must have been patrolling +the streets of the village in hundreds. + +A traveller starting from Teherán for Bushire is expected at every +European station on the telegraph-line. "I thought you would have got +here sooner," said Mr. G----. "P---- (at Ispahán) told me you were +coming through quick." + +The dining-room of my host at Abadéh adjoined the little +instrument-chamber. Suddenly, while we were at dinner, a bell was +heard, and the half-caste clerk entered. "So-and-so of Shiráz," naming +an official, "wants to speak to you." "All right," replied G----. +"Just tell him to wait till I've finished my cheese!" + +"It's from F----," he said, a few moments later, "to say he expects +you to make his house your head-quarters at Shiráz." So the stranger +is passed on through this desert, but hospitable land. Persian +travel would be hard indeed were it not for the ever-open doors and +hospitality of the telegraph officials. + +We continue our journey next day in summer weather--almost too hot, +in the middle of the day, to be pleasant. Sheepskin and bourka are +dispensed with, as we ride lazily along under a blazing sun through +pleasant green plains of maize and barley, irrigated by babbling +brooks of crystal-clear water. A few miles from Abadéh is a +cave-village built into the side of a hill. From this issue a number +of repulsive-looking, half-naked wretches, men and women, with dark +scowling faces, and dirty masses of coarse black hair. Most are +covered with skin-disease, so we push on ahead, but are caught up, for +the loathsome creatures get over the ground with extraordinary speed. +A handful of "sheis" [A] stops them, and we leave them swearing, +struggling, and fighting for the coins in a cloud of dust. Then on +again past villages nestling in groves of mulberry trees, past more +vineyards, maize, and barley, and peasants in picturesque blue dress +(save white, no other colour is worn in summer by the country-people) +working in the fields. Their implements are rude and primitive enough. +The plough is simply a sharpened stick covered with iron. The sickle +is used for reaping. Threshing is done by means of an axle with thin +iron wheels. If such primitive means can attain such satisfactory +results, what could not modern agricultural science be made to do for +Persia? + +Sunset brings a cool breeze, which before nightfall develops into a +cutting north-easter, and we shiver again under a bourka and heavy fur +pelisse. Crossing a ridge of rock, we descend upon a white plain, dim +and indistinct in the twilight. The ground crackles under our horses' +feet. It is frozen snow! A light shines out before us, however, and +by ten o'clock we are snug and safe for the night in the +telegraph-station of Deybid. + +These sudden changes of temperature make the Persian climate very +trying. At this time of year, however balmy the air and bright the +sunshine at midday, one must always be prepared for a sudden and +extreme change after sunset. The Plain of Deybid was covered with snow +at least two feet deep, the temperature must have stood at very few +degrees above zero, and yet, not five hours before, we were perspiring +in our shirt-sleeves. + +"Mashallah!" exclaims Gerôme next morning, shading his eyes and +looking across the dazzling white expanse. "Are we, then, never to +finish with this accursed snow?" By midday, however, we are out of it, +and, as we subsequently discover, for the last time. + +We had up till now been singularly fortunate as regards accidents, or +rather evil results from them. To-day, however, luck deserted us, for +a few miles out of Deybid my right leg became so swollen that I could +scarcely sit on my horse. The pain was acute, the sensation that of +having been bitten by some poisonous insect. Gerôme, ever the Job's +comforter, suggested a centipede, adding, "If so, you will probably +have to lie up for four or five days." The look-out was not cheerful, +certainly, for at Mourghab, the first stage, I had to be lifted off my +horse and carried into the post-house. + +With some difficulty my boot was cut off, and revealed the whole leg, +below the knee, discoloured and swollen to double its size, but no +sign of a wound or bite. "Blood-poisoning," says Gerôme, decidedly. "I +have seen hundreds of cases in Central Asia. It generally proves fatal +there," he adds consolingly; "but the Russian soldier is so badly +fed." The little man seems rather disappointed at my diagnosis of my +case--the effect due to a new and tight boot which I had not been able +to change since leaving Ispahán. Notwithstanding, I cannot put foot to +ground without excruciating pain. Spreading the rugs out on the dirty +earthen floor, I make up my mind to twenty-four hours here at least. +It is, perhaps, the dirtiest post-house we have seen since leaving +Teherán; but moving under the present circumstances is out of the +question. + +The long summer day wears slowly away. Gerôme, like a true Russian, +hunts up a samovar in the village, and consoles himself with +innumerable glasses of tea and cigarettes, while the medicine-chest is +brought into requisition, and I bathe the swollen limb unceasingly for +three or four hours with Goulard's extract and water, surrounded by a +ring of admiring and very dirty natives. But my efforts are in vain, +for the following morning the pain is as severe, the leg as swollen as +ever. Gerôme is all for applying a blister, which he says will "bring +the poison out"! Another miserable day breaks, and finds me still +helpless. I do not think I ever realized before how slowly time can +pass, for I had not a single book, with the exception of "Propos +d'Exil," by Pierre Loti, and even that delightful work is apt to pall +after three complete perusals in the space of as many weeks. From +sunrise to sunset I lay, prone on my back, staring up at the cobwebby, +smoke-blackened rafters, while the shadows shortened and lengthened in +the bright sunlit yard, the monotonous silence broken only by the deep +regular snores of my companion, whose capacity for sleep was something +marvellous, the clucking of poultry, and the occasional stamp or snort +of a horse in the stable below. Now and again a rat would crawl out, +and, emboldened by the stillness, creep close up to me, darting back +into its hole with a jump and a squeal as I waved it off with hand or +foot. My visitors from the village did not return to-day, which was +something to be thankful for, although towards evening I should have +hailed even them with delight--dirt, vermin, and all. Patience was +rewarded, for next day I was able to stand, and towards evening set +out for Kawamabad, twenty-four miles distant. Though still painful and +almost black, all inflammation had subsided, and three days later I +was able to get on a boot "You'd have been well in half the time," +insisted Gerôme, "if you had only let me apply a blister." + +The road from Mourghab to Kawamabad is wild and picturesque, leading +through a narrow gorge, on either side of which are precipitous cliffs +of rock and forest, three or four hundred feet high. A broad, swift +torrent dashes through the valley, which is about a quarter of a mile +broad. In places the pathway, hewn out of the solid rock, is barely +three feet wide, without guard or handrail of any kind. This part of +the journey was reached at sunset, and we did not emerge on the plain +beyond till after dark. Our horses were, fortunately, as active as +cats, and knew their way well, for to guide them was impossible. In +places one's foot actually swung over the precipice, and a false step +must have sent one crashing over the side and into the roaring torrent +below, which, perhaps luckily, we could only hear, not see. + +The ruins of Persepolis are situated about fifty miles north-east of +Shiráz, two or three miles from the main road. Signs that we were +approaching the famous city were visible for some distance before we +actually reached them. Not fifty yards from the post-house of Poozeh, +a picturesque spot surrounded by a chain of rocky, snow-capped hills, +we came upon a kind of cave, with carvings in bas-relief on its +granite walls, representing figures of men and horses from eight to +ten feet high, evidently of great antiquity. The desecrating hand of +the British tourist had, however, left its mark in the shape of the +name "J. Isaacson" cut deep into one of the slabs, considerably +marring its beauty. + +It is not my intention to write a description of the ruins that now +mark the spot where once stood the capital of the Persian Empire. To +say nothing of its having been so graphically portrayed by far more +competent hands, my visit was of such short duration that I carried +away but faint recollections of the famous city. The fact that it +had been persistently crammed down my throat, upon every available +occasion, ever since I landed in Persia, may have had something to do +with the feeling of disappointment which I experienced on first sight +of the ruins. It may be that, like many other things, they grow upon +one. If so, the loss was mine. I cannot, however, help thinking that +to any but a student of archæology, Persepolis lacks interest. The +Pyramids, Pompeii, the ancient buildings of Rome and Greece, are +picturesque; Persepolis is not. I noticed, however, that here, as at +Poozeh, the British tourist had been busy with chisel and hammer, and, +I am ashamed to add, some of the names I read are as well known in +England as that of the Prince of Wales. + +On the 18th of February, just before midnight, we rode into Shiráz. +The approach to the city lying before us, white and still in the +moonlight, through cypress-groves and sweet-smelling gardens, gave me +a favourable impression, which a daylight inspection only served to +increase. Shiráz is the pleasantest reminiscence I retain of the ride +through Persia. + + +[Footnote A: Small copper money.] + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +SHIRÁZ--BUSHIRE. + + + "The gardens of pleasure where reddens the rose, + And the scent of the cedar is faint on the air." + OWEN MEREDITH. + +Shiráz stands in a plain twenty-five miles long by twelve broad, +surrounded by steep and bare limestone mountains. The latter alone +recall the desert waste beyond; for the Plain of Shiráz is fertile, +well cultivated, and dotted over with prosperous-looking villages +and gardens. Scarcely a foot of ground is wasted by the industrious +inhabitants of this happy valley, save round the shores of the +Denia-el-Memek, a huge salt lake some miles distant, where the +sun-baked, briny soil renders cultivation of any kind impossible. + +Were it not for its surroundings--the green and smiling plains +of wheat, barley, and Indian corn; the clusters of pretty sunlit +villages; the long cypress-avenues; and last, but not least, the quiet +shady gardens, with rose and jasmine bowers, and marble fountains +which have been famous from time immemorial--Shiráz would not be what +it now is, the most picturesque city in Persia. + +Although over four miles in circumference, the city itself has a +squalid, shabby appearance, not improved by the dilapidated ramparts +of dried mud which surround it. Founded A.D. 695, Shiráz reached its +zenith under Kerim Khan in the middle of the eighteenth century, since +when it has slowly but steadily declined to its present condition. The +buildings themselves are evidence of the apathy reigning among the +Shirázis. Incessant earthquakes destroy whole streets of houses, but +no one takes the trouble to rebuild them, and the population was once +nearly double what it now is--40,000. + +There are six gates, five of which are gradually crumbling away. +The sixth, or Ispahán Gate, is the only one with any attempt at +architecture, and is crenellated and ornamented with blue and yellow +tile-work. A mean, poor-looking bazaar, narrow tortuous streets, +knee-deep in dust or mud, as the case may be, and squalid, filthy +houses, form a striking contrast to the broad, well-kept avenues, +gilded domes, and beautiful gardens which encircle the city. Shiráz +has fifteen large mosques and several smaller ones, but the people are +as fanatical as those of Teherán are the reverse. Gerôme, who had a +singular capacity for getting into mischief, entered one of these +places of worship, and was caught red-handed by an old moullah in +charge. Half the little Russian's life having been spent among +Mohammedans, he quickly recited a few verses of the Korán in perfect +Arabic, which apparently satisfied the priest, for he let him depart +with his blessing. Had the trick been discovered, he would undoubtedly +have been roughly treated, if not killed, for the Shirázis have an +unmitigated contempt for Europeans. There are few places, too, in Asia +where Jews are more persecuted than in Shiráz, although they have +their own quarter, in the lowest, most poverty-stricken part of the +town, and other privileges are granted them by the Government. Shortly +before my visit, a whole family was tortured and put to death by a mob +of infuriated Mohammedans. The latter accused them of stealing young +Moslem children, and sacrificing them at their secret ceremonies. [A] +Guilty or innocent of the charge, the assassins were left unpunished. + +The climate of Shiráz is delicious, but dangerous. Though to a +new-comer the air feels dry, pure, and exhilarating, the city is +a hot-bed of disease, and has been christened the "Fever Box." +Small-pox, typhus, and typhoid are never absent, and every two or +three years an epidemic of cholera breaks out and carries off a +fearful percentage of the inhabitants. In spring-time, during heavy +rains, the plains are frequently inundated to a depth of two or three +feet, and the water, stagnating and rotting under a blazing sun, +produces towards nightfall a thick white mist, pregnant with miasma +and the dreaded Shiráz fever which has proved fatal to so many +Europeans, to say nothing of natives. Medical science is at a very low +ebb in Persia; purging and bleeding are the two remedies most resorted +to by the native hakim. If these fail, a dervish is called in, and +writes out charms, or forms of prayer, on bits of paper, which are +rolled up and swallowed like pills. Inoculation is performed by +placing the patient in the same bed as another suffering from virulent +small-pox. Under these circumstances, it is scarcely to be wondered at +that the Shirázis die like sheep during an epidemic, and indeed at all +times. Persian surgery is not much better. In cases of amputation the +limb is hacked off by repeated blows of a heavy chopper. In the case +of fingers or toes a razor is used, the wound being dipped into +boiling oil or pitch immediately after the operation. + +The office of the Indo-European Telegraph is in Shiráz, but the +private dwellings of the staff are some distance outside the city. A +high wall surrounds the grounds in which the latter are situated--half +a dozen comfortable brick buildings, bungalow style, each with its +fruit and flower garden. Looking out of my bedroom window the morning +following my arrival, on the shrubberies, well-kept lawns, bright +flower-beds, and lawn-tennis nets, I could scarcely realize that this +was Persia; that I was not at home again, in some secluded part of the +country in far-away England. Long residence in the East had evidently +not changed my host Mr. F---- 's ideas as to the necessity for European +comforts. The cheerful, sunlit, chintz-covered bedroom, with its white +furniture, blue-and-white wall-paper, and lattice windows almost +hidden by rose and jasmine bushes, was a pleasant _coup d'oeil_ after +the grimy, bug-infested post-houses; and the luxuries of a good +night's rest and subsequent shave, cold tub, and clean linen were that +morning appreciated as they only can be by one who has spent many +weary days in the saddle, uncombed, unshaven, and unwashed. + +There is no regular post-road between Shiráz and Bushire, or rather +Sheif, the landing-place, eight miles from the latter city. The +journey is performed by mule-caravan, resting by night at the +caravanserais. Under the guidance of Mr. F----, I therefore set about +procuring animals and "chalvadars," or muleteers. The task was not an +easy one; for Captain T---- of the Indian Army was then in Shiráz, +buying on behalf of the Government; and everything in the shape of a +mule that could stand was first brought for his inspection. By good +luck, however, I managed to get together half a dozen sorry-looking +beasts; but they suited the purpose well enough. The price of these +animals varies very much in Persia. They can be bought for as little +as £4, while the best fetch as much as £60 to £80. + +Those were pleasant days at Shiráz. One never tired of wandering about +the outskirts of the city and through the quiet, shady gardens and +"cities of the silent," as the Persians call their cemeteries; +for, when the solemn stillness of the latter threatened to become +depressing, there was always the green plain, alive from morning till +night with movement and colour, to go back to. Early one morning, +awoke by the sound of a cracked trumpet and drums, I braved the dust, +and followed a Persian regiment of the line to its drill-ground. +The Persian army numbers, on a peace footing, about 35,000 men, the +reserve bringing it up to perhaps twice that number. + +Experienced military men have said that material for the smartest +soldiery in the world is to be found in Persia. If so, it would surely +be the work of years to bring the untrained rabble that at present +exists under discipline or order of any kind. The regiment whose +evolutions or antics I witnessed at Shiráz was not in the dress of +the Russian cossack or German uhlan, as at Teherán, but in the simple +uniform of the Persian line--dark-blue tunic, with red piping; loose +red-striped breeches of the same colour, stuffed into ragged leather +gaiters; and bonnets of black sheepskin or brown felt (according to +the taste of the wearer), with the brass badge of the lion and sun. +All were armed with rusty flint-locks. + +As regards smartness, the officers were not much better than the +men, who did not appear to take the slightest notice of the words of +command, but straggled about as they pleased, like a flock of sheep. +Some peasants beside me were looking on. "Sons of dogs!" said one; +"they are good for nothing but drunkenness and frightening women and +children." There is no love lost between the army and the people in +Persia--none of the enthusiasm of other countries when a regiment +passes by; and no wonder. The pay of a Persian soldier is, at most, £3 +a year, and he may think himself lucky if he gets a quarter of that +sum. _En revanche_, the men systematically plunder and rob the +wretched inhabitants of every village passed through on the march. The +passage of troops is sometimes so dreaded that commanders of regiments +are bribed with heavy sums by the villagers to encamp outside +their walls. Troops are not the only source of anxiety to the poor +fellaheen. Princes and Government officials also travel with an +enormous following, mainly composed of hangers-on and riff-raff, who +plunder and devastate as ruthlessly as a band of Kurd or Turkoman +robbers. They are even worse than the soldiery, for the latter usually +leave the women alone. Occasionally a whole village migrates to the +mountains on the approach of the unwelcome guests, leaving houses and +fields at their mercy. + +There is probably no peasantry in the world so ground down and +oppressed as the Persian. The agricultural labourer never tries to +ameliorate his condition, or save up money for his old age, for the +simple reason that, on becoming known to the rulers of the land, it is +at once taken away from him. Though poor, however (so far as cash +and valuables are concerned), the general condition of the labouring +classes is not so bad as might be supposed. In a country so vast +(550,000 square miles) and so thinly populated (5,000,000 in all), a +small and sufficient supply of food is easily raised, especially with +such prolific soil at the command of the poorest. At Shiráz, for +instance, there are two harvests in the year. The seifi, sown in +summer and reaped in autumn, consists of rice, cotton, Indian corn, +and garden produce; the tchatvi, sown in October and November, and +reaped from May till July, is exclusively wheat and barley. A quantity +of fruit is also grown--grapes, oranges, and pomegranates. Shiráz is +famed for the latter. The heat and dust, to say nothing of smells, +prevented me from often entering the city; but I walked through the +bazaar once or twice, and succeeded in purchasing some old tapestries +and a prayer-carpet. The merchants here are not so reserved and +secretive as those of Teherán and other cities, and are, moreover, +civil enough to produce coffee and a kalyan at the conclusion of a +bargain, as at Stamboul. The best tobacco for kalyan-smoking is grown +round Shiráz. Some, the coarser kind, from Kazeroon and Zulfaicar, +is exported to Turkey and Egypt, but the most delicate Shiráz +never leaves the country. The pipe is on the same principle as the +narghileh, the smoke being drawn through a vessel of water. The tube, +a wooden stalk about two feet long, is changed when it becomes tainted +with use; for the people of the East (unlike some in the West) like +their tobacco clean. + +Manufactories are trifling in comparison with what they were in former +days. Where, a century since, there stood five hundred factories owned +by weavers, there are now only ten, for the supply of a coarse white +cotton material called "kerbas," and carpets of a cheap and common +kind. Earthenware and glass is also made in small quantities, the +latter only for wine-bottles and kalyan water-bowls. All the best +glass is imported from Russia. A kind of mosaic work called "khatemi," +much used in ornamenting boxes and pen-and-ink cases, is turned out in +large quantities at Shiráz. It is pretty and effective, though some of +the illustrations on the backs of mirrors, etc., are hardly fit for a +drawing-room table. Caligraphy, or the art of writing, is also carried +by the Shirázis to the highest degree of perfection, and they are said +to be the best penmen in the East. To write really well is considered +as great an accomplishment in Persia as to be a successful musician, +painter, or sculptor in Europe; and a famous writer of the last +century, living in Shiráz, was paid as much as five tomans for every +line transcribed. + +My favourite walk, after the heat of the day, was to the little +cemetery where Hafiz, the Persian poet, lies at rest--a quiet, +secluded spot, on the side of a hill, in a clump of dark cypress trees +a gap cut through which shows the drab-coloured city, with its white +minarets and gilt domes shining in the sun half a mile away. The tomb, +a huge block of solid marble, brought across the desert from Yèzd, is +covered with inscriptions--the titles of the poet's most celebrated +works. Near it is a brick building containing chambers, where bodies +are put for a year or so previous to final interment at Kermansháh +or Koom. Each corpse was in a separate room--a plain whitewashed +compartment, with a square brick edifice in the centre containing the +body. Some of the catafalques were spread with white table-cloths, +flowers, candles, fruit, and biscuits, which the friends and relations +(mostly women and children) of the defunct were discussing in anything +but a mournful manner. A visit to a departed one's grave is generally +an excuse for a picnic in Persia. + +Hard by the tomb of Hafiz is a garden, one of many of the kind around +Shiráz. It is called "The Garden of the Seven Sleepers," and is much +frequented in summer by Shirázis of both sexes. A small open kiosk, in +shape something like a theatre proscenium, stands in the centre, its +outside walls completely hidden by rose and jasmine bushes. Inside +all is gold moulding, light blue, green, and vermilion. A dome of +looking-glass reflects the tesselated floor. Strangely enough, this +garish mixture of colour does not offend the eye, toned down as it is +by the everlasting twilight shed over the mimic palace and garden by +overhanging branches of cypress and yew. An expanse of smooth-shaven +lawn, white beds of lily and narcissus, marble tanks bubbling over +with clear, cold water, and gravelled paths winding in and out of the +trees to where, a hundred yards or so distant, a sunk fence divides +the garden from a piece of ground two or three acres in extent,--a +perfect jungle of trees, shrubs, and flowers. + +Here, from about 4 p.m. till long after sunset, you may see the +Shirázi taking his rest, undisturbed save for the ripple of running +water, the sighing of the breeze through the branches, and croon of +the pigeons overhead. Now and again the tinkle of caravan-bells breaks +in upon his meditations, or the click-click of the attendant's sandals +as he crosses the tiled floor with sherbet, coffee, or kalyan; but +the interruption is brief. A few moments, and silence again reigns +supreme--the perfection of rest, the acme of _Dolce far niente._ From +here my way usually lay homewards, through the dusky twilight, past +the city gates and along the now deserted plain. A limestone hill to +the south of Shiráz bears an extraordinary resemblance to the head of +a man in profile. Towards sunset the likeness was startling, and the +nose, chin, and mouth as delicately formed as if chiselled by the +tools of a sculptor. On fine, still evenings, parties of people would +sometimes sit out on the plain till long after dark, conversing, +eating sweetmeats, and tea-drinking, till the stars appeared, and the +white fever mist, gathering round the ramparts, hid the city from +view. Shiráz has been called the "Paris of Persia," from the cheerful, +sociable character of its people as compared with other Persian +cities; also, perhaps, partly from the beauty and coquetry (to use no +other term) of its women. + +I was enabled, thanks to my host, to glean some interesting facts +concerning the latter, many European ladies having, from time to +time, resided in Shiráz, and, obtaining access to the "anderoon," had +afterwards given Mr. F---- the benefit of their observations. + +Persian women are unquestionably allowed more freedom and liberty +than those of other Oriental countries. It is extremely rare, in the +bazaars of Stamboul or Cairo, to see a lady of the harem unattended, +but the sight is common enough in Shiráz and Ispahán. Infidelity in +Persia is therefore more common in proportion to the licence allowed; +though, when discovered, it is severely punished, in some cases by +death. Though a few are highly educated, the majority of Persian women +are ignorant, indolent, and sensual. _Mariages de convenance_ are as +common as in France, and have a good deal to do with the immorality +and intrigue that go on in the larger cities. + +An eye-witness thus describes an "anderoon," or harem, of a prince in +Ispahán: "A large courtyard some thirty yards by ten in extent. All +down the centre is the 'hauz,' or tank--a raised piece of ornamental +water, the surface of which is about two feet above the ground. The +edges are formed of huge blocks of well-wrought stone, so accurately +levelled that the 'hauz' overflows all round its brink, making a +pleasant sound of running water. Goldfish of large size flash in +shoals in the clear tank. On either side of it are long rectangular +flower-beds, sunk six inches below the surface of the court. This +pavement, which consists of what we should call pantiles, is clean +and perfect, and freshly sprinkled; and the sprinkling and consequent +evaporation make a grateful coolness. In the flower-beds are irregular +clumps of marvel of Peru, some three feet high, of varied coloured +blossom, coming up irregularly in wild luxuriance. The moss-rose, too, +is conspicuous, with its heavy odour; while the edging, a foot wide, +is formed by thousands of bulbs of the _Narcissus poeticus_, massed +together like packed figs; these, too, give out a pleasant perfume. +But what strikes one most is the air of perfect repair and cleanliness +of everything. No grimy walls, no soiled curtains, here; all is clean +as a new pin, all is spick and span. The courtyard is shaded by orange +trees covered with bloom, and the heavy odour of neroli pervades the +place. Many of the last year's fruit have been left upon the trees for +ornament, and hang in bright yellow clusters out of reach. A couple of +widgeon sport upon the tank. All round the courtyard are rooms, the +doors and windows of which are jealously closed, but as we pass we +hear whispered conversations behind them, and titters of suppressed +merriment." + +"The interior resembles the halls of the Alhambra. A priceless carpet, +surrounded by felt edgings, two inches thick and a yard wide, appears +like a lovely but subdued picture artfully set in a sombre frame. In +the recesses of the walls are many bouquets in vases. The one great +window--a miracle of intricate carpentry, some twenty feet by +twenty--blazes with a geometrical pattern of tiny pieces of glass, +forming one gorgeous mosaic. Three of the sashes of this window +are thrown up to admit air; the coloured glass of the top and four +remaining sashes effectually shuts out excess of light." + +Such is the _coup d'oeil_ on entering an anderoon. With such +surroundings, one would expect to find refined, if not beautiful +women; but, though the latter are rare enough, the former are even +rarer in Persia. The Persian woman is a grown-up child, and a very +vicious one to boot. Her daily life, indeed, is not calculated to +improve the health of either mind or body. Most of the time is spent +in dressing and undressing, trying on clothes, painting her face, +sucking sweetmeats, and smoking cigarettes till her complexion is as +yellow as a guinea. Intellectual occupation or amusement of any kind +is unknown in the anderoon, and the obscene conversation and habits of +its inmates worse even than those of the harems of Constantinople and +Cairo, which, according to all accounts, is saying a good deal. A love +of cruelty, too, is shown in the Persian woman; when an execution or +brutal spectacle of any kind takes place, one-third at least of the +spectators is sure to consist of women. But this is, perhaps, not +peculiar to Persia; witness a recent criminal trial at the Old Bailey. + +It will thus be seen that sensuality is the prevalent vice of the +female sex in Persia. An English-speaking Persian at Bushire told me +that, with the exception of the women of the wandering Eeliaut tribes, +there were few chaste wives in Persia. Although the nominal punishment +for adultery is death, the law, as it stands at present, is little +else than a dead letter, and, as in some more civilized countries, +husbands who are fond of intrigue, do not scruple to allow their wives +a similar liberty. Not half an hour's walk from the Tomb of Hafiz, at +the summit of the mountain, is a deep well, so deep that no one has +ever yet succeeded in sounding it. The origin of the chasm is unknown; +some say it is an extinct volcano. But the smallest child in Shiráz +knows the use to which it has been put from time immemorial. It is the +grave of adulterous women--the Well of Death. + +An execution took place about fifteen years ago, but there have been +none since. Proved guilty of infidelity, the wretched woman, dressed +in a long white gown, was placed on a donkey, her face to the tail, +with shaven head and bared face. In front of the _cortége_ marched +the executioner, musicians, dancers, and abandoned women of the town. +Arrived at the summit of the mountain, the victim, half dead with +fright, was lifted off and carried to the edge of the yawning abyss +which had entombed so many faithless wives before her. "There is but +one God, and Mohammed is His Prophet," cried a moullah, while +the red-robed executioner, with one spurn of his foot, sent the +unconscious wretch toppling over the brink, the awe-stricken crowd +peering over, watching the white wisp disappear into eternity. +Although the last execution is still fresh in the minds of many, the +Well has no terrors for the gay, intrigue-loving ladies of Shiráz. +They make a jest of it, and their husbands jokingly threaten them with +it. Times are changed indeed in Persia! + +I left Shiráz with sincere regret. Apart from the interest attached to +the place, I have never received a kinder or more hospitable welcome +than from the little band of Englishmen who watch over the safety, and +work the wires, of the Indo-European telegraph. They are under a dozen +in number. With cheap horseflesh, capital shooting, the latest books +and papers from India, a good billiard-room and lawn-tennis ground, +time never hangs very heavily. Living is absurdly cheap. A bachelor +can do well on £6 a month, including servants. He has, of course, no +house-rent to pay. + +A number of square stone towers about thirty feet high, loopholed and +crenelated, are visible from the caravan-track between Shiráz and +Khaneh Zinián, where we rested the first night. The towers are +apparently of great antiquity, and must formerly have served for +purposes of defence. We lunched at the foot of one on a breezy upland, +with pink and white heather growing freely around, and a brawling, +tumbling mountain stream at our feet. It was like a bit of Scotland +or North Wales. The tower was in a state of decay and roofless, but a +wandering tribe of ragged Eeliauts had taken up their quarters +inside, and watched us suspiciously through the grey smoke of a damp, +spluttering peat fire. They are a queer race, these Eeliauts, [B] and +have little or nothing in common with the other natives. The sight of +a well-filled lunch-basket and flasks of wine (which our kind hosts +had insisted on our taking) would have brought ordinary gipsies out +like flies round a honey-pot, if recollections of Epsom or Henley go +for anything. Not so the Eeliauts, who, stranger still, never even +begged for a sheis--a self-control I rewarded by presenting the +chief, a swarthy handsome fellow, in picturesque rags of bright +colour, with a couple of keráns. But he never even thanked me! + +It seemed, next morning, as if we had jumped, in a night, from early +spring into midsummer. Although at daybreak the ice was thick on a +pool outside the caravanserai, the sun by midday was so strong, and +the heat so excessive, that we could scarcely get the mules along. +The road lies through splendid scenery. Passing Dashti Arjin, or "The +Plain of Wild Almonds," a kind of plateau to which the ascent is +steep and difficult, one might have been in Switzerland or the Tyrol. +Undulating, densely wooded hills, with a background of steep limestone +cliffs, their sharp peaks, just tipped with snow, standing out crisp +and clear against the cloudless sky, formed a fitting frame to the +lovely picture before us; the pretty village, trees blossoming on all +sides, fresh green pastures overgrown in places by masses of fern and +wild flowers, and the white foaming waterfall dashing down the side of +the mountain, to lose itself in the blue waters of a huge lake just +visible in the plains below. The neighbourhood of the latter teems +with game of all kinds--leopard, gazelle, and wild boar, partridge, +duck, snipe, and quail, the latter in thousands. + +A stiff climb of four hours over the Kotal Perizun brought us to the +caravanserai of Meyun Kotal. Over this pass, ten miles in length, +there is no path; one must find one's way as best one can through the +huge rocks and boulders. Some of the latter were two to three feet +in height. How the mules managed will ever be a mystery to me. We +dismounted, leaving, by the chalvadar's request, our animals to look +after themselves. The summit of the mountain is under two thousand +feet. We reached it at four o'clock, and saw, to our relief, our +resting-place for the night only three or four hundred feet below us. +But it took nearly an hour to do even this short distance. The passage +of the Kotal Perizun with a large caravan must be terrible work. + +[Illustration: THE CARAVANSERAI, MEYUN KOTAL] + +The caravanserai was crowded. Two large caravans had arrived that +morning, and a third was hourly expected from Bushire. There was +barely standing-room in the courtyard, which was crowded with +wild-looking men, armed to the teeth, gaily caparisoned mules, and +bales of merchandise. + +The caravanserai at Meyun Kotal is one of the finest in Persia. It was +built by Shah Abbas, and is entirely of stone and marble. Surrounded +by walls of enormous thickness, the building is in the shape of a +square. Around the latter are seventy or eighty deep arches for the +use of travellers. At the back of each is a little doorway, about +three feet by three, leading into a dark, windowless stone chamber, +unfurnished, smoke-blackened, and dirty, but dry and weather-proof. +Any one may occupy these. Should the beggar arrive first, the prince +is left out in the cold, and _vice versâ_. Everybody, however, is +satisfied as a rule, for there is nearly as much accommodation for +guests as in a large London or Paris hotel. Behind the sleeping-rooms +is stabling for five or six hundred horses, and, in the centre of the +courtyard, a huge marble tank of pure running water for drinking and +washing purposes. This, and fodder for the horses, is all that there +was to be got in the way of refreshment. But Gerôme, with considerable +forethought, had purchased bread, a fowl, and some eggs on the road, +and, our room swept out and candles lit, we were soon sitting down +to a comfortable meal, with a hissing samovar, the property of the +caravanserai-keeper, between us. + +One need sleep soundly to sleep well in a caravanserai. At sunset the +mules, with loud clashing of bells, are driven into the yard from +pasture, and tethered till one or two in the morning, when a start +is made, and sleep is out of the question. In the interim, singing, +talking, story-telling, occasionally quarrelling and fighting, go on +all round the yard till nearly midnight. Tired out with the stiff +climb, I fell into a delicious slumber, notwithstanding the noise, +about nine o'clock, to be awakened shortly after by a soft, cold +substance falling heavily, with a splash, upon my face. Striking a +match, I discovered a large bat which the smoke from our fire (there +was no chimney) had evidently detached from the rafters. + +I purchased, the next morning before starting, a Persian dagger +belonging to one of the caravan-men. He was one of the Bakhtiari, +a wild and lawless tribe inhabiting a tract of country (as yet +unexplored by Europeans) on the borders of Persia and Asia Minor. The +blade of the dagger is purest Damascene work, the handle of fossilized +ivory. On the back of the blade is engraved, in letters of inlaid +gold, in Arabic characters-- + + "There is one God! He is Eternal!" + "Victory is nigh, O true believer!" + +Connoisseurs say that the dagger is over a hundred years old. After +quite an hour's haggling (during which our departure was delayed, much +to Gerôme's disgust), I managed to secure it for £9 English money, +although the Bakhtiari assured me that he had already sworn "by his +two wives" never to part with it. I have since been offered four times +the amount by a good judge of Eastern weapons. + +A second pass, the Kotal Doktar, lay between us and Bushire. Though +steep and slippery in places, the path is well protected, and there +are no boulders to bar the way. On leaving the caravanserai, we paused +to examine the second longest telegraph wire (without support) in the +world. It is laid from summit to summit of two hills, and spans a +valley over a mile in width. [C] + +The country round Meyun Kotal is well cultivated, and we passed not +only men, but women, ploughing with the odd-shaped primitive wooden +ploughs peculiar to these parts. Near the foot of the pass some +children were gathering and collecting acorns, which are here eaten in +the form of a kind of bread by the peasantry. Seldom has Nature seemed +more beautiful than on that bright cloudless morning, as we rode +through sweet-scented uplands of beans and clover, meadows of deep +rich grass. By the track bloomed wild flowers, violets and narcissus, +shedding their fresh delicate perfume. The song of birds and hum of +insects filled the air, bright butterflies flashed across our path, +while the soft distant notes of a cuckoo recalled shady country lanes +and the sunlit hay-fields of an English summer. It was like coming +from the grave, after the sterile deserts and bleak desolate plains of +Northern Persia. + +There is a small square building at the northern end of the Kotal +Doktar, a mud hut, in which are stationed a guard of soldiers to be +of assistance in the event of robbery of caravans or travellers. Such +cases are not infrequent. Upon our approach, three men armed with +flint-locks and long iron pikes accosted us. "We are the escort," said +one, apparently the leader, from the bar of rusty gold braid on his +sleeve. "You cannot go on alone. It is not safe." We then learnt that +a large lion had infested the caravan-track over the pass for some +days, and had but yesterday attacked the mail and carried off one of +the mules, the native in charge only just escaping by climbing a tree. + +Persian travel is full of these little surprises or rather items of +news; for one must be of a very ingenuous disposition to be surprised +at anything after a journey of any length in that country. If the man +had said that an ichthyosaurus or dodo barred the way, I should have +believed him just as much. Gerôme sharing my opinion that the report +was got up for the sake of extorting a few keráns, we soon sent our +informants about their business, and calmly proceeded on our journey. +Nevertheless, the Kotal Doktar would not be a pleasant place to +encounter the "king of beasts," I thought. The pass consists simply of +a narrow pathway four feet wide, on the one side a perpendicular wall +of rock, on the other an equally sheer precipice. + +"Did you come across the lion?" was Mr. J---- 's first question, as +we dismounted at the gate of his telegraph-station at Kazeroon. "I +suppose not," he added, seeing the surprise with which I greeted his +remark. "We have had three parties out from here this week, but with +no luck. I just managed to get a sight of him, and that's all. He is a +splendid beast." + +Ignorance had indeed been bliss in our case, and I felt some +compunction when I remembered how disdainfully we had treated the +ragged sergeant and his men. They would have been of no use, except +in the way of stop-gaps, like the babies, in cheap prints, that the +Russian traveller in the sleigh throws to the wolves to occupy their +attention while he urges on his mad career, a pistol in each hand and +the reins in his mouth. Still, even for this purpose, they might have +been useful, and were certainly worth a few keráns. I was glad not to +learn the truth till we reached Kazeroon. The enjoyment of the meal of +which we partook at the summit of the pass would have been somewhat +damped by the feeling that at any moment a loud roar, bursting out of +the silent fastnesses of the Kotal Doktar, might announce the approach +of its grim tenant. + +There was, after all, nothing very remarkable about the occurrence, +for the southern parts of Persia are infested with wild animals of +many kinds. Of this I was already aware, but not that lions were among +the number. + +Kazeroon is, next to Shiráz, the most important place in the province +of Fars, and has a population of about 6000. Surrounded by fields of +tobacco and maize, it is neatly laid out, and presents a cheerful +appearance, the buildings being of white stone, instead of the +everlasting baked mud and clay. Many of the courtyards were +surrounded by date palms, and the people seemed more civilized and +prosperous-looking than those in the villages north of Shiráz. + +"So you refused the escort over the Kotal?" said J--that evening, as +we sat over our coffee and cigars in his little stone courtyard, white +and cool in the moonlight, adding, with a laugh, "Well, I don't blame +you. A good story was told me the other day in Shiráz _àpropos_ of +escorts. It happened not long ago to an Englishman who was going to +Bagdad from Kermansháh through a nasty bit of country. A good many +robberies with violence had occurred, and the Governor of Kermansháh +insisted on providing him with an escort, at the same time arranging +for a Turkish escort to meet him on the frontier and take him on to +Bagdad." + +"You have seen the ordinary cavalry soldier of this country. There +were twelve of them and a sergeant. V---- was the only European. All +went well till they reached a small hamlet near Zarna, about twenty +miles from the Turkish border. It was midday. V---- was quietly +breakfasting in his tent, the horses picketed, the men smoking or +asleep. Suddenly the sound of firing was heard about a mile off, not +sharp and loud, but slow and desultory, like the pop, pop, pop of a +rifle or revolver. V---- was not in the least alarmed, but, the firing +continuing for some time, he thought well at last to inquire into the +matter. What was his surprise, on emerging from his tent, to find +himself alone, not a trace of his companions to be seen. There were +the picket-ropes, a smouldering fire, a kalyan, and the remains of a +pilaff on the ground, but no men. The firing had done it. One and all +had turned tail and fled. The position was not pleasant, for V---- was +naturally absolutely ignorant of the road. 'They will come back,' he +thought, and patiently waited. But sunset came, then night, then the +stars, and still V---- was alone, utterly helpless and unable to move +backwards or forwards. At sunrise a head was shoved into his tent. But +it had a red fez on, not an astrakhan bonnet. It was one of the Bagdad +escort. The Turks laughed heartily when they heard the story. 'It must +have been us,' they said; 'we had nothing to do, and were practising +with our revolvers.' In the mean time the Persians returned post haste +to Kermansháh, and evinced great surprise that V---- was not with +them." + +"'He was the first to fly,' said the sergeant. 'I am afraid he must +have lost his way, and fallen into the hands of the robbers. If so, +God help him. There were more than fifty of them.'" + +"J---- 's anecdote was followed by many others, coffee was succeeded +by cognac and seltzer, Gerôme gave us some startling Central Asian +experiences, and we talked over men and things Persian far into the +night, or rather morning, for it was nearly 2 a.m. when I retired to +rest." + +"I hope you'll sleep well," said J----, as he led the way to a +comfortable bedroom looking out on to the needle-like peaks of the +Kotal Doktar, gleaming white in the moonlight. "By the way, I forgot +to tell you we usually have an earthquake about sunrise, but don't let +it disturb you. The shocks have been very slight lately, and it's sure +not to last long," added my host, as he calmly closed the door, and +left me to my slumbers. + +I am not particularly nervous, but to be suddenly aroused from sleep +by a loud crash, as if the house were falling about one's ears; to +see, in the grey dawn, brick walls bending to and fro like reeds, +floors heaving like the deck of a ship, windows rattling, doors +banging, with an accompaniment of women and children screaming as if +the end of the world had arrived, is calculated to give the boldest +man a little anxiety. I must at any rate own to feeling a good deal +when, about 6 a.m. the following morning, the above phenomena took +place. As prophesied, "it" did not last long--eight or ten seconds at +most, which seemed to me an hour. Not the least unpleasant sensation +was a low, rumbling noise, like distant thunder, that accompanied the +shock. It seemed to come from the very bowels of the earth. + + +"We have them every day," said J---- at breakfast, placidly, "but +one soon gets used to them." My host was obliged to acknowledge +reluctantly that this morning's shock was "a little sharper than +usual"! It was sharp enough, Gerôme afterwards told me, to send all +the people of Kazeroon running out of their houses into the street. +Common as the "Zil-Zillah" [D] is in these parts, the natives are +terrified whenever a shock occurs. The great Shiráz earthquake some +years ago, when over a thousand lost their lives, is still fresh in +their minds. + + An easy ride, through a pretty and fertile country, brought us to +the telegraph-station of Konar Takta, where Mr. E----, the clerk in +charge, had prepared a sumptuous breakfast. But we were not destined +to enjoy it. They had, said Mr. E----, experienced no less than nine +severe shocks of earthquake the night before, one of which had rent +the wall of his house from top to bottom. His wife and children were +living in a tent in the garden, and most of the inhabitants of the +village had deserted their mud huts, and rigged up temporary shanties +of palm leaves in the road. "We will have breakfast, anyhow," continued +our host. "You must be hungry"--leading the way into the dining-room, +where a long, deep crack in the whitewashed wall showed traces of +last night's disaster. + +The latter had, apparently, considerably upset my host, who, +throughout the meal, kept continually rising and walking to the open +window and back again, in an evidently uneasy state of mind; so much +so that I was about to propose an adjournment to the garden, when a +diversion was created by the entrance of a servant with a dish of +"Sklitch," which he had no sooner placed on the table, than he rapidly +withdrew. Sklitch is peculiar to this part of Persia. It is made of a +kind of moss gathered on the mountains, mixed with cream and dates, +and, iced, is delicious. But scarcely had I raised the first mouthful +to my lips when my host leapt out of his seat. "There it is again," he +cried. "Run!" and with a bound disappeared through the window. Before +I could reach it the floor was rocking so that I could scarcely keep +my feet, and I was scarcely prepared for the drop of nine feet that +landed me on to the flower-beds. The shock lasted quite ten seconds. +Every moment I expected to see the house fall bodily over. I left poor +E---- busily engaged in removing his instruments into the garden. +"Another night like the last would turn my hair grey," he said, as we +bade him good-bye. Truly the lot of a Persian telegraph official is +not always a bed of roses. + +A gradual descent of over two thousand feet leads from Konar Takta +to the village of Dalaki, which is situated on a vast plain, partly +cultivated, the southern extremity of which is washed by the waters of +the Persian Gulf. There is a comfortable rest-house at this village, +the population of which is noted as being the most fierce and lawless +in Southern Persia. Rest, though undisturbed by earthquakes, was, +however, almost out of the question, on account of a most abominable +stench of drainage, which came on at sunset and lasted throughout the +night. So overpowering was it that towards 3 a.m. both Gerôme and +myself were attacked by severe vomiting, and recurrence was had to the +medicine-chest and large doses of brandy. One might have been sleeping +over an open drain. It was not till next day that I discovered the +cause--rotten naphtha, which springs in large quantities from the +ground all round the village. Curiously enough, the smell is not +observable in the daytime. + +"We have done with the snow now, monsieur," said Gerôme, as we rode +next morning through a land of green barley and cotton plains, date +palms, and mimosa. On the other hand, we had come in for other +annoyances, in the shape of heat, dust, and swarms of flies and +mosquitoes. Nearing the sea, vegetation entirely ceases. Nothing is +visible around but hard calcined plain, brown and level, lost on the +horizon seaward in a series of mirages, ending northward in a chain +of rocky, precipitous mountains. The bright, clear atmosphere was +remarkable; objects thirty or forty miles off looking but a mile or +so away. About midday an unusual sight appeared on the horizon--two +Europeans, a lady and gentleman, mounted on donkeys, and attended by +a chalvadar on a third, who apparently carried all the baggage of +the party. Halting for a few moments, and waiving introduction, +we exchanged a few words. Mr. and Mrs. D---- were on their way to +Teherán, with the object of making scientific researches at Persepolis +and other parts of Persia. I could not help admiring the courage of +the lady, though regretting, at the same time, the task she had set +herself. To inquiries of "How is the road?" I replied, "Very good," +May the lie be forgiven me! It was told for a humane purpose. + +Save a large herd of gazelle on the far horizon, nothing occurred to +break the monotony of the journey through deep heavy sand till about 4 +p.m., when a thin thread of dark blue, cutting the yellow desert and +lighter sky-line, appeared before us. It was the Persian Gulf. An hour +later, and Sheif, the landing-place for Bushire, was reached. + +A trim steam-launch, with Union Jack floating over her stern, awaited +us. She was sent by Colonel Ross, British Resident at Bushire, who +kindly invited me to the Residence during my stay in the Persian port. +I was not sorry, after the hot, dusty ride, to throw myself at length +on the soft, luxurious cushion, and, after an excellent luncheon, to +peruse the latest English papers. Skimming swiftly through the bright +blue waters, we neared the white city, not sorry to have successfully +accomplished the voyage so far, yet aware that the hardest part of the +journey to India was yet to come. + +At a distance, and seen from the harbour, Bushire is not unlike Cadiz. +Its Moorish buildings, the whiteness of its houses and blueness of +the sea, give it, on a fine day, a picturesque and taking appearance, +speedily dissipated, how ever, on closer acquaintance; for Bushire is +indescribably filthy. The streets are mere alleys seven or eight feet +broad, knee-deep in dust or mud, and as irregular and puzzling to a +stranger as the maze at Hampton Court. + +The Persian port is cool and pleasant enough in winter-time, but in +summer the stench from open drains and cesspools becomes unbearable, +and Europeans (of whom there are thirty or forty) remove _en masse_ to +Sabsabad, a country place eight or ten miles off. The natives, in +the mean time, live as best they can, and epidemics of cholera and +diphtheria are of yearly occurrence. The water of Bushire producing +guinea-worms (an animal that, unless rolled out of the skin with great +care, breaks, rots, and forms a festering sore), supplies of it are +brought in barrels from Bussorah or Mahommerah; but this is not within +reach of the poorer class. Nearly every third person met in the street +suffers from ophthalmia in some shape or other--the effect of the dust +and glare, for there is no shade in or about the city. + +The latter is built at the end of a peninsula ten miles in length and +three in breadth, the portion furthest away from the town being swampy +and overflowed by the sea. Most of the houses are of soft crumbling +stone full of shells; some, of brick and plastered mud; but all are +whitewashed, which gives the place the spurious look of cleanliness +to which I have referred. The inhabitants of this "whited sepulchre" +number from 25,000 to 30,000. There is a considerable trade in +tobacco, attar of roses, shawls, cotton wool, etc.; but vessels +drawing over ten feet cannot approach the town nearer than a distance +of three miles--a great drawback in rough or squally weather. + +Were it five thousand miles away, Bushire could scarcely be less like +Persia than it is. It has but one characteristic in common with other +cities--its ruins. Although of no antiquity, Bushire is rich in these. +With this exception, it much more resembles a Moorish or Turkish city. +The native population, largely mixed with Arabs, carries out the +illusion, and bright-coloured garments, white "bournouses," and green +turbans throng the streets, in striking contrast to the sombre, +rook-like garments affected by the natives of Iran. A stranger, too, +is struck by the difference in the mode of life adopted by Europeans +as compared with those inhabiting other parts of the Shah's dominions. +The semi-French style of Teherán and Shiráz is here superseded by +the Anglo-Indian. _Déjeuner à la fourchette, vin ordinaire_, and +cigarettes are unknown in this land of tiffins, pegs, and cheroots. + +My recollections of Bushire are pleasant ones. The Residency is a +large, rambling building, all verandahs, passages, and courtyards, +faces the sea on three sides, and catches the slightest breath of air +that may be stirring in hot weather. Two or three lawn-tennis courts, +and a broad stone walk almost overhanging the waves, form a favourite +rendezvous for Europeans in the cool of the evening. From here may be +seen the Persian Navy at anchor, represented by one small gunboat, the +_Persepolis_. This toy of the Shah's was built by a German firm in +1885, and cost the Government over £30,000 sterling. + +She has never moved since her arrival. Her bottom is now covered with +coral and shells, her screw stuck hard and fast, while the four steel +Krupp guns which she mounts are rusty and useless. + +My preparations for Baluchistán were soon completed. The escort +furnished me by the Indian Government had been awaiting me for some +days at Sonmiani, our starting-point on the coast. A telegram from +Karachi, saying that men, camels, tents, and stores were ready, was +the signal for our departure, and on March 7 I took leave of my host +to embark on the British India Company's steamer _Purulia_, for +Baluchistán. With genuine regret did I leave my pleasant quarters at +the Residency. Enjoyable as my visit was, it had not come upon me +quite as a surprise, for the hospitality of Colonel Ross, Resident of +Bushire, is well known to travellers in Persia. + + +[Footnote A: A similar case happened not long ago in Southern Russia.] + +[Footnote B: The Eeliauts are said to be of Arab and Kurd descent.] + +[Footnote C: The longest is in Cochin China, across the river Meikong, +the distance from post to post being 2560 feet.] + +[Footnote D: Earthquake.] + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +BALUCHISTÁN--BEILA. + + +The coast-line of Baluchistán is six hundred miles long. On it there +is one tree, a sickly, stunted-looking thing, near the telegraph +station of Gwádar, which serves as a landmark to native craft and a +standing joke to the English sailor. Planted some years since by a +European, it has lived doggedly on, to the surprise of all, in this +arid soil. The Tree of Baluchistán is as well known to the manner in +the Persian Gulf as Regent Circus or the Marble Arch to the London +cabman. + +With this solitary exception, not a trace of vegetation exists along +the sea-board from Persian to Indian frontier. Occasionally, at +long intervals, a mud hut is seen, just showing that the country is +inhabited, and that is all. The steep, rocky cliffs, with their sharp, +spire-like summits rising almost perpendicularly out of the blue sea, +are typical of the desert wastes inland. + +"And this is the India they talk so much about!" says Gerôme, +contemptuously, as we watch the desolate shores from the deck of the +steamer. I do not correct the little man's geography. It is too hot +for argument, for the heat is stifling. There is not a breath of air +stirring, not a ripple on the smooth oily sea, and the sides of the +ship are cracking and blistering in the fierce, blinding sunshine. +Under the awning the temperature is that of a furnace, and one almost +regrets the cold and snow of three weeks ago, so perverse is human +nature. + +Mark Tapley himself would scarcely have taken a cheerful view of +things on landing at Sonmiani. Imagine a howling wilderness of rock +and scrub, stretching away to where, on the far horizon, some low +hills cut the brazen sky-line. On the beach the so-called town of +Sonmiani--a collection of dilapidated mud huts, over which two or +three tattered red and yellow banners flutter in the breeze, and +beneath which a small and shallow harbour emits a powerful odour of +mud, sewage, and rotten fish. Every hut is surmounted by a "badgir," +or wind-catcher--a queer-looking contrivance, in shape exactly like a +prompter's box, used in the summer heats to cool the interior of the +dark, stifling huts. A mob of ragged, wild-looking Baluchis, with +long, matted locks and gaudy rags, completes this dreary picture. + +Shouts of "Kamoo!" from the crowd brought a tall, good-looking native, +clad in white, out of an adjacent hut, who, I was relieved to find, +was the interpreter destined to accompany us to Kelát. The camels and +escort were, he said, ready for a start on the morrow, if necessary. +In the mean time there was a bare but clean Government bungalow at our +disposal, and in this we were soon settled. But notwithstanding the +comparative comfort of our quarters compared with the filthy native +houses around, I determined to get away as soon as possible. The +mosquitoes were bad enough, but the flies were far worse. Ceiling, +walls, and floor were black with them. One not only ate them with +one's food, but they inflicted a nasty, poisonous bite. As for the +smells, they were beyond description; but the fact that a dead camel +was slowly decomposing in the immediate vicinity of our dwelling may +have had something to do with this. + +With all these drawbacks, I was glad to find the population, although +dirty, decidedly friendly--rather too much so, indeed; for the little +whitewashed room was crowded to overflowing the greater part of the +day with relays of visitors, who apparently looked upon us as a kind +of show got up for their entertainment. Towards sunset a tall, swarthy +fellow, about fifty years old, with sharp, restless eyes and a huge +hook nose, made his appearance at the doorway; and this was the signal +for a general stampede, for my visitor was no other than the head-man +of Sonmiani--Chengiz Khan. + +Chengiz was attired in a very dirty white garment, loose and flowing +to the heels, and a pair of gold-embroidered slippers. A small conical +cap of green silk was perched rakishly on the top of his head, from +which fell, below the shoulders, a tumbled mass of thick, coarse, +black hair. The head-man was unarmed, but his followers, five in +number, fairly bristled with daggers and pistols. Like all natives, +Chengiz was at first shy and reserved. It was only when I had +prevailed upon him to take a cigar that my visitor became more at his +ease. Having lit his cheroot, he took a long pull and passed it on to +one of his followers, who repeated the performance. When it had gone +the round twice it was thrown away; and Chengiz, turning to Kamoo, +gravely asked if I wished for anything before he retired for the +night. + +"You should reach Kelát in twenty-five days," was the answer to my +question, "provided the camels keep well and you have no difficulty +with the people at Gwarjak; they are not used to Europeans, and may +give you some trouble." + +One of the men here whispered to his chief. + +"Malak is the name of the head-man at Gwarjak," went on Chengiz--"a +treacherous, dangerous fellow. Do not have much to do with Malak; he +detests Europeans." + +Malak was, judging from my experiences that night, not the only +Baluchi possessed of this failing. Chengiz having left, I retired to +rest, to be suddenly aroused at midnight by a piercing yell, and to +find a tall, half-naked fellow, with wild eyes and a face plastered +with yellow mud, standing over me, brandishing a heavy club. Though a +revolver was at hand, it was useless; for I saw at a glance that I had +to deal with a madman. After a severe tussle, Gerôme and I managed to +throw out the unwelcome visitor and bar the door, though we saw him +for an hour or more prowling backwards and forwards in the moonlight +in front of the bungalow, muttering to himself, waving his arms about, +and breaking every now and then into peals of loud laughter. The +incident now seems trifling enough, though it left a powerful +impression upon my mind that night, on the eve of setting out through +an unknown country, where the life of a European more or less is of +little moment to the wild tribes of the interior. The madman was a +dervish, the head-man said, and perfectly harmless as a rule, but +liable to fits of rage at sight of a European and unbeliever. I was, +therefore, not sorry to hear next morning that this ardent follower +of the Prophet had been securely locked up, and would not be released +till the morrow, when we were well on the road to Beïla. + +There are, I imagine, few countries practically so little known to +Europeans as the one we were about to traverse. I had, up to the time +of my visit, often wondered that, with India so near, Baluchistán +should have been so long allowed to remain the _terra incognita_ +it is. My surprise ceased on arrival at Kelát. It is impossible +to conceive a more monotonous or uninteresting journey, from a +traveller's point of view, than that from the sea to Quetta--a +distance (by my route) of nearly five hundred miles, during which +I passed (with the exception of Kelát and Beïla) but half a dozen +villages worthy of the name, and met, outside the villages in +question, a dozen human beings at the most. This is, perhaps, scarcely +to be wondered at. The entire population of the country does not +exceed 450,000, while its area is estimated at something like 140,000 +square miles, of which 60,000 are under Persian rule, and the +remaining 80,000 (nominally) under the suzerainty of the Khan of +Kelát. + +The inhabitants of Baluchistán may be roughly divided into two +classes: the Brahuis [A] in the north, and the Baluchis in the south. +The former ascribe their origin to the earliest Mohammedan invaders of +Persia, and boast of their Arab descent; the latter are supposed by +some to have been originally a nation of Tartar mountaineers who +settled at a very early period in the southern parts of Asia, where +they led a nomad existence for many centuries, governed by their own +chiefs and laws, till at length they became incorporated and attained +their present footing at Kelát and throughout Northern Baluchistán. +Both races differ essentially in language and customs, and are +subdivided into an infinitesimal number of smaller tribes under the +command or rule of petty chiefs or khans. Although somewhat similar in +appearance, the Brahuis are said to be morally and physically superior +to their southern neighbours. The Baluch, as I shall now call each, is +not a prepossessing type of humanity on first acquaintance, with his +swarthy sullen features, dark piercing eyes, and long matted locks. +Most I met in the interior looked, a little distance off, like +perambulating masses of dirty rags; but all, even the filthiest and +most ragged, carried a bright, sharp tulwar. Though rough and uncouth, +however, I found the natives, as a rule, hospitable and kindly. It was +only in the far interior that any unpleasantness was experienced. This +was, perhaps, only natural, seeing that seventy miles of the journey +lay through a region as yet unexplored by Europeans, the inhabitants +of which were naturally resentful of what they imagined to be +intrusion and interference. + +Owing to the nomadic nature of the Baluchis, the barrenness of +their country, and consequent absence of manufactures and commerce, +permanent settlements are very rare. + +[Illustration: SONMIANI] + +With the exception of Quetta, Kelát, Beïla, and Kej, there are no +towns in Baluchistán worthy of the name. Even those I have mentioned +are, with the exception of Quetta (now a British settlement), +mere collections of tumble-down mud huts, invariably guarded by a +ramshackle fort and wall of the same material. The dwellings of the +nomads consist of a number of long slender poles bent and inverted +towards each other, over which are stretched slips of coarse fabrics +of camel's hair. It was only in the immediate neighbourhood of Gwarjak +that the native huts were constructed of dried palm-leaves, the +fertile soil of that district rendering this feasible. + +Attended by Chengiz Khan in a gorgeous costume of blue and yellow +silk, and followed by a rabble of two or three hundred men and boys, I +visited the bazaar next morning. Chengiz had preceded his visit with +the present of a fine goat, and evidently meant to be friendly, +informing me, before we had gone many yards, that the Queen of England +had just invested the Djam of Beïla (a neighbouring chief) with the +Star of India, and did I think that that honour was very likely to +accrue to him? + +The trade of Sonmiani is, as may be imagined, insignificant. Most of +the low dark stalls were kept for the sale of grain, rice, salt, and +tobacco, by Hindus; but I was told that a brisk trade is done in fish +and sharks' fins; and dried fruits, madder, and saffron, sent down +from the northern districts, are exported in small quantities to +India and Persia. In the vicinity are some ancient pearl-fisheries of +considerable value, which were once worked with great profit. These +have been allowed to lie for many years undisturbed, owing to lack of +vigour and enterprise on the part of those in power in the state. Here +is a chance for European speculators. + +By a well in the centre of the village stood some young girls and +children. The former were decidedly good looking, and one, but for the +hideous gold nose-ring, [B] would have been almost beautiful. Here, as +elsewhere in Baluchistán, the women present much more the Egyptian +type of face than the Indian--light bronze complexions, straight +regular features, and large, dark, expressive eyes. None of these made +the slightest attempt at concealment. As we passed, one of them +even nodded and smiled at Chengiz, making good use of her eyes, and +disclosing a row of small, pearly teeth. Their dress, a loose divided +skirt of thin red stuff, and short jacket, with tight-fitting sleeves, +open at the breast, showed off their slight graceful figures and +small, well-shaped hands and feet to perfection. Chengiz, pointing to +the group, smiled and addressed me in a facetious tone. "He wants to +know if you think them pretty," said my interpreter; but I thought it +best to maintain a dignified silence. The chief of Sonmiani was, for a +Mohammedan, singularly lax. + +A kind of rough pottery is made at Sonmiani, and this is the only +industry. Some of the water-jars were neatly and gracefully fashioned, +of a delicate grey-green colour; others red, with rude yellow devices +painted on them. The clay is porous, and keeps the water deliciously +cool. + +By four o'clock next morning all was ready for a start. The caravan +consisted of eighteen camels, four Baluchis, Kamoo, and Gerôme, +with an escort of ten soldiers of the Djam of Beïla, smart-looking, +well-built fellows in red tunics, white baggy trousers, and dark-blue +turbans. Each man, armed with a Snider rifle and twenty rounds of +ammunition, was mounted on a rough, wiry-looking pony. As we were +starting, Chengiz Khan rode up on a splendid camel, and announced his +intention of accompanying us the first stage, one of eighteen miles, +to Shekh-Raj. + +Here the honest fellow bade us good-bye. "The sahib will not forget me +when he gets to India," he said, on leaving, thereby implying that he +wished to be well reported to the Indian Government. "But take care of +Malak; he is a bad man--a very bad man." + +A rough and tedious journey of two days over deep sandy desert, +varied by an occasional salt marsh, brought us to Beïla, the seat of +government of the Djam, or chief of the province of Las Beïla, eighty +miles due north of Sonmiani. With a feeling of relief I sighted the +dirty, dilapidated city, with its mud huts and tawdry pink and green +banners surmounting the palace and fort. The Baluch camel is not the +easiest animal in existence, and I had, for the first few hours of the +march, experienced all the miseries of _mal de mer_ brought on by a +blazing sun and the rolling, unsteady gait of my ship of the desert. +Though awkward in his paces, the Baluch camel is swift. They are small +and better looking than most; nor do their coats present so much the +appearance of a "doormat with the mange," as those of the animals of +other countries. We had as yet passed but two villages--three or four +low shapeless huts, almost hidden in rock and scrub by the side of +the caravan-track, which, as far as Beïla, is pretty clearly defined. +There had been nothing else to break the dull, dead monotony of sand +and swamp, not a sign of human life, and but one well (at Outhal) of +rather brackish water. + +On the second day one of the escort had pointed out a dry rocky bed +as the river Purali, which is one of the largest in Baluchistán, but, +like all the others, quite dry the greater portion of the year. There +are no permanent rivers in this country. To this fact is perhaps due +the slight knowledge obtained up to the present time of the interior, +where arid sandy deserts, dangerous alike to native or European +travellers, are the rule, and cover those large open spaces marked +upon maps as "unexplored." Notwithstanding the great width of the bed +of the Purali river in many places, it has no regular outlet into the +sea. Its waters, when in flood from rainfall, lose themselves in +the level plains in a chain of lagoons or swamps. Some of these are +several miles in length, but decrease considerably in the dry season, +when the water becomes salt. The Habb river, which divides Las from +the British province of Sind, is another case in point. It possesses +permanent banks, is fed from the Pabb chain of mountains, and after +heavy rains in these hills a large body of water is formed, which +rushes down to the sea with great force and velocity. But at other +times water is only to be found in a few small pools in its rocky bed. +It is, in short, a mountain torrent on a large scale. So also with the +greater number of streams in the western districts, though a few of +these have more the semblance of rivers than can be found elsewhere in +Baluchistán. Of lakes there are none throughout the entire area of the +country. + +At Outhal we were met by one Hussein Khan, a wild-looking fellow +mounted on a good-looking chestnut horse, its saddle and headstalls +ornamented with bright-coloured leathers and gold and silver +ornaments. Hussein was from Beïla, with a message from the Djam to say +that I was welcome in his dominions. Tents were then pitched, and +I invited Hussein to partake of refreshment, which was refused. He +accepted a cigarette, however, but seemed undecided whether to smoke +or eat it, till presented with a light. Having asked if I would like +to be saluted with guns on arrival, an offer I politely declined, my +visitor then left to prepare for our reception on the morrow. + + +[Illustration: OUR CAMP AT OUTHAL] + +Daybreak saw us well _en route_ and by 10 a.m. we were in sight of +Beïla. About a mile or so out of the city, a mounted sowar in scarlet +and gold uniform, and armed with two huge horse-pistols and a long +cavalry sabre, galloped up to the caravan. "It is a messenger from +the palace," said Kamoo, "to say that his Highness the Djam has been +suddenly called away to Kej, [C] but that his son, Prince Kumal Khan, +is riding out in state to meet the sahib, and conduct him to his +father's city." + +The prince shortly afterwards appeared, mounted on a huge camel, +the tail and hind quarters of which were ornamented with intricate +patterns stamped on the hide by some peculiar process. A guard of +honour of thirty soldiers accompanied, while a rabble of two or three +hundred foot people surrounded the party, for the sight of a white +face is rare in Beïla. It was a strange scene: the picturesque city, +brilliant barbaric costume of the young chief and his followers, and +crowd of wild, half-naked Baluchis were fitly set off by surroundings +of desert landscape and dazzling sunshine. A Gerôme or Vereschágin +would have revelled in the sight. + +Shaking hands with Kumal (no easy matter on camels), he placed me on +his right hand, and, heading the procession, we rode into Beïla, where +a large tent had been erected for my accommodation. Having placed a +guard at my disposal, the prince then left, announcing his intention +of receiving me in state that afternoon at the palace. + +Beïla, which is protected by a fort and high mud wall, is situated on +the right bank of the river Purali, which, at the time of my visit, +was no more than a dry rocky bed. The town contains about 4000 +inhabitants, and, from a distance, presents a curious appearance, +each house being fitted, as at Sonmiani, with a large "badgir," or +wind-catcher. Like most Eastern cities, Beïla does not improve on +closer acquaintance. The people are dirty and indolent. There is +little or no trade, and the dark, narrow streets, ankle-deep in mud +and filth, are crowded with beggars and pariah dogs, while the dull +drab colour of the mud houses is depressing in the extreme. The fort +and palace alone are built of brick, and, being whitewashed, relieve +to a certain extent the melancholy aspect of the place. I was escorted +to the latter the afternoon of my arrival by a guard of honour, +preceded by the Djam's band--half a dozen cracked English cavalry +trumpets! + +Djam Ali Khan, the present ruler of the state of Las Beïla, is about +fifty years of age, and is a firm ally of England. The Djam is a +vassal of the Khan of Kelát, but, like most independent Baluch chiefs, +only nominally so. So far as I could glean, the court of Kelát has no +influence whatsoever beyond a radius of twenty miles or so from that +city. The provinces of Sarawán, Jhalawán, Kach-Gandáva, Mekrán, [D] and +Las Beïla, which constitute the vast tract of country known as Kalati +Baluchistán, are all governed by independent chiefs, nominally +viceroys of the Khan of Kelát. Practically, however, the latter +has little or no supremacy over them, nor indeed over any part of +Baluchistán, Kelát and its suburbs excepted. + +Prince Kumal Khan received me in his father's durbar-chamber, a +cheerless, whitewashed apartment, bare of furniture save for a +somewhat rickety "throne" of painted wood, and a huge white linen +punkah, overlooking a dreary landscape of barren desert and mud roofs. +The prince, a tall, slim young man, about twenty-five years of +age, has weak but not unpleasing features. He was dressed in a +close-fitting tunic of dark-blue cloth, heavily trimmed with gold +braid, baggy white linen trousers, and a pair of European side-spring +boots, very dirty and down at heel. A light-blue turban completed his +attire. + +The interview was not interesting. Notwithstanding all my efforts and +the services of the interpreter, Kumal was evidently shy and ill at +ease, and resolutely refused to enter into conversation. One thing, +however, roused him. Hearing that I was accompanied by a Russian, +Kumal eagerly demanded that he should be sent for. Gerôme presently +made his appearance, and was stared at, much to his discomfiture and +annoyance, as if he had been a wild beast. A pair of white-linen +drawers, no socks, carpet slippers, and a thin jersey, were my +faithful follower's idea of a costume suitable to the Indian +climate--surmounted by the somewhat inappropriate head-dress of a +huge astrakhan cap, which for no earthly consideration could he be +persuaded to exchange for a turban. "So that is a Russian!" said the +prince, curiously surveying him from head to foot. "I thought they +were all big men!" But patience has limits, and, with a muttered +"Dourák," [E] poor Gerôme turned and left the princely presence in +anything but a respectful manner. + +Coffee and nargileh discussed, my host moved an adjournment to the +roof of the palace, where, he said, I should obtain a better view of +his father's city. This ceremony concluded, the trumpets sounded, a +gentle hint that the audience was at an end, and I took leave, and +returned to camp outside the walls of the town. + +The Wazir, or Prime Minister, of the Djam paid me a visit in the +evening _sans cérémonie_--a jolly-looking, fresh-complexioned old +fellow, dressed in a suit of karki, cut European fashion, and with +nothing Oriental about him save a huge white linen turban. The Wazir +spoke English fairly well, and, waxing confidential over a cigar and +whisky-and-water (like my Sonmiani friend, the Wazir was no strict +Mussulman), entertained me with an account of the doings of the +Court in Beïla and the _aventures galantes_ of Kumal, who, from all +accounts, was a veritable Don Juan. "Will the Russians ever take +India?" asked the old fellow of Gerôme, as he left the tent. "You can +tell them they shall never get it so long as _we_ can prevent them;" +but the next moment the poor Wazir, to Gerôme's delight, had measured +his length on the ground. Either the night was very dark, or the +whisky very strong; a tent-rope had avenged the taunt levelled at my +companion's countrymen. + +Early next morning came a message from Prince Kumal, inviting me +to visit the caves of Shahr-Rogan, an excavated village of great +antiquity, about ten miles from Beïla. I gladly accepted. The camels +were tired; the men of the caravan unwilling to proceed for another +day, and time hung heavily on one's hands, with nothing to vary the +monotony but an occasional shot at a wood-pigeon (which swarm about +Beïla), or a game of _ecarté_ (for nuts) with Gerôme. + +The caves were well worth a visit. I could gain no information at +Beïla, Quetta, or even Karachi, as to the origin of this curious +cave-city, though there can be no doubt that it is of great antiquity. +Carless the traveller's account is perhaps the most authentic. + +"About nine miles to the northward of Beïla a range of low hills +sweeps in a semicircle from one side of the valley to the other, and +forms its head. The Purali river issues from a deep ravine on the +western side, and rushes down (in the wet season) about two hundred +yards broad. It is bounded on one side by steep cliffs, forty or +fifty feet high, on the summit of which is an ancient burial-ground. +Following the stream, we gained the narrow ravine through which +it flows, and, turning into one of the lateral branches, entered +Shahr-Rogan." + +Here, on the day in question, Prince Kumal called a halt. A couple +of small tents were pitched, and a meal, consisting of an excellent +curry, stewed pigeons, beer, and claret, served. Leaving the Prince +to amuse himself and delight his followers with his skill in +rifle-shooting at a mark chalked out on the rocks, I continued my +explorations. The result is, perhaps, better explained to the reader +in the words of an older and more experienced observer. Carless +says--"The scene was singular. On either side of a wild broken ravine +the rocks rise perpendicularly to the height of four or five hundred +feet, and are excavated, as far as there is footing to ascend, up to +the summit. The excavations are most numerous along the lower part +of the hills, and form distinct houses, most of which are uninjured +by-time. They consist, in general, of a room fifteen feet square, +forming a kind of open verandah, with an interior chamber of the same +dimensions, to which admittance is gained by a narrow doorway. There +are niches for lamps in many, and a place built up and covered in, +apparently to hold grain. Most of the houses or caves at the summits +of the cliffs are now inaccessible, from the narrow precipitous +paths by which they were approached having worn away. The cliffs are +excavated on both sides of the valley for a distance little short of +a mile. There cannot be less than fifteen hundred of these strange +habitations." + +The caves of Shahr-Rogan are not the only sights of interest near +Beïla. Time, unfortunately, would not admit of my visiting the +mud-volcanoes of Las, situated near the Harra Mountains, about sixty +miles from Shahr-Rogan. The hills upon which these are found are +from three to four hundred feet high, and are conical in form, with +flattened and discoloured tops and precipitous sides. At their bases +are numerous fissures and cavities reaching far into their interior. +Captain Hart, who visited these geysers some years ago, describes +them as basins of liquid mud, about a hundred paces in diameter, in a +continual state of eruption. These geysers, or "chandra-kupr," as they +are called by the Baluchis, are also found on parts of the Mekrân +coast. Colonel Ross, H.M.'s Resident at Bushire, is of opinion that +these coast craters have communication with the sea, as the state of +the tides has considerable influence on the movements of the mud. This +theory is, perhaps, strengthened by the fact that by the coast natives +the volcanoes are called "Darya-Chân," or "Eyes of the Sea." + +On the way back from Shahr-Rogan to Beïla a herd of antelope was +seen. I may here mention that, with one exception, this was the only +occasion upon which I came across big game of any kind throughout the +journey, although, from all accounts, there is no lack of wild animals +in Baluchistán. Bear and hyena are found in the southern districts, +and the leopard, wolf, ibex, and tiger-cat exist in other parts of +the country. The wild dog is also found in the northern and more +mountainous regions. The latter hunt in packs of twenty and thirty, +and will seize a bullock and kill him in a few minutes. On the other +hand, vermin and venomous animals are not so common as in India. +Dangerous snakes are rare, though we were much annoyed by scorpions +and centipedes in the villages of the north, and a loathsome bug, the +"mangar," which infests the houses of Kelát. + +Riding homewards, we stopped about a mile out of Beïla to inspect the +Djam's garden, a large rambling piece of ground about fifty acres in +extent, enclosed by high walls of solid masonry. Never was I more +surprised than upon entering the lofty iron gates guarded by a sowar +in neat white uniform. It seemed incredible that such fertility and +abundance could exist in this dry, arid land. The cool fragrant +gardens, with their shady grass walks, forest trees, and palms, +springing up, as it were, out of the scorched, stony desert, reminded +one of a bunch of sweet-smelling flowers in a fever ward, and the +scent of rose, jasmine, and narcissus was apparent quite half a mile +away. In the centre of the garden is a tamarind tree of enormous +girth. It takes twelve men with joined hands to surround it. Half an +hour was spent in this pleasant oasis, which was constructed by the +late Djam, after infinite trouble and expense, by means of irrigation +from the Purali river. There are also two deep wells of clear water in +the grounds, which are never quite dry even in the hottest seasons. + +Proceeding homewards, we had scarcely reached camp when a terrific +thunderstorm burst over our heads. The thunderclaps were in some +instances nearly a minute in duration, and the lightning unpleasantly +close and vivid. + +The weather clearing, I visited the bazaar in the evening, under +the guidance of my old friend, the Wazir. Trade is, as I have said, +practically _nil_ in Beïla, and the manufactures, which are trifling, +are confined to oil, cotton, a rough kind of cloth, and coarse +carpets; indeed, throughout the country, commerce is almost at a +standstill. + +This is scarcely surprising when the semi-savage state of the people, +and consequent risks to life and property, are taken into account. The +export trade of the interior is, though trifling at present, capable, +under firm and wise rule, of great improvement. Madder, almonds, and +dried fruit from Kelát and Mastung, seed and grain from Khozdar, small +quantities of assa-foetida from Nushki, and sulphur from Kach-Gandáva, +comprise all the exports. From Mekrán and Las Beïla are exported +"rogan," or clarified butter used for cooking purposes, hides, tobacco +(of a very coarse kind), salt fish, oil-seeds, and dates. The imports +chiefly consist of rice, pepper, sugar, spices, indigo, wood, and +piece goods, chiefly landed at the ports of Gwádar or Sonmiani. But +little is as yet known of the mineral products of this district. Iron +ore is said to exist in the mountains north of Beïla, while to the +south copper is reported as being found in large quantities; but +nothing has as yet been done to open up the mineral resources of the +district. Although silver and even gold have been found in small +quantities, and other minerals are known to exist, the only mines at +present in Baluchistán are those near Khozdar, in the province of +Jhalawán, where lead and antimony are worked, but in a very primitive +manner. + +Notwithstanding the trade stagnation, there seems to be a good deal of +cultivation in and around Beïla. Water is obtained from deep wells; +and vegetables, rice, and tobacco are largely grown. Most of the +stalls in the bazaar were devoted to the sale of rice, wheat, and +tobacco, cheap cutlery, and Manchester goods; and I noticed, with some +surprise, cheap photographs of Mrs. Langtry, Ellen Terry, Miss Nelly +Farren, Sylvia Grey, and other leading lights of society and art, +spread out for sale among the many-bladed knives, nickel forks and +spoons, and German timepieces. Although the narrow alleys reeked with +poisonous smells and filth and abomination of all kinds, Beïla is not +unhealthy--so at least the Wazir informed me. I doubted the truth of +this assertion, however, for the features of every second person I met +were scarred more or less with small-pox. + +My caravan, on leaving Beïla, was considerably increased. It now +consisted of twenty-two camels (six of which were laden with water), +five Baluchis, my original escort, and six of the Djam's cavalry. I +could well have dispensed with the latter, but the kindly little Wazir +would not hear of my going without them. An addition also to our party +was a queer creature, half Portuguese, half Malay, picked up by Gerôme +in the Beïla bazaar, and destined to fulfil the duties of cook. How he +had drifted to Beïla I never ascertained, and thought it prudent not +to inquire too much into his antecedents. No one knew anything about +him, and as he talked a language peculiar to himself, no one was ever +likely to; but he was an undeniably good _chef_, and that was the +chief consideration. Gaëtan, this strange being informed us, was his +name--speedily transformed by Gerôme into the more euphonious and +romantic name of Gaetano! + +I took leave of the Prince and my old friend the Wazir with some +misgivings, for the new camel-drivers were Beïla men, and frankly +owned that their knowledge of the country lying between Gwarjak and +Noundra (where we were to leave the caravan-track) was derived chiefly +from hearsay. + +There are two caravan-roads through Beïla. One, formerly much used, is +that over which we had travelled from the coast, and which, on leaving +Beïla, leads due north to Quetta _viâ_ Wadd and Sohrab. An ordinary +caravan by this route occupies at least forty days in transit. +Traffic is now, therefore, usually carried on by means of the safer +trade-routes through British Sindh, whereby the saving of time is +considerable, and chances of robbery much lessened. The second road +(which has branches leading to the coast towns of Gwádar, Pasui, and +Ormara) proceeds due west to Kej, capital of the Mekrán province, +near the Persian border. The latter track we were to follow as far as +Noundra, ninety miles distant. I should add that the so-called roads +of Baluchistán are nothing more than narrow, beaten paths, as often as +not entirely obliterated by swamp or brushwood. Beyond Noundra, where +we left the main track to strike northwards for Gwarjak, there was +absolutely nothing to guide us but occasional landmarks by day and the +stars at night. + +Barring the intense monotony, the journey was not altogether +unenjoyable. To reach Noundra it took us five days. This may appear +slow work, but quicker progress is next to impossible in a country +where, even on the regular caravan-road, the guides are constantly +losing the track, and two or three hours are often wasted in regaining +it. The first two or three days of the journey lay through swampy +ground, through which the camels made their way with difficulty, for a +cat on the ice in walnut-shells is less awkward than a camel in mud. +Broad deep swamps alternating with tracts of sandy desert, with +nothing to relieve the monotonous landscape but occasional clumps of +"feesh," a stunted palm about three feet in height, and rough cairns +of rock erected by travellers to mark the pathway where it had become +obliterated, sufficiently describes the scenery passed through for the +first three days after leaving Beïla. Large stones accurately laid out +in circles of eighteen or twenty feet in diameter were also met with +at intervals of every two miles or so by the side of the track, and +this very often in districts where nothing was visible but a boundless +waste of loose, drifting sand. Our Baluchis could not or would not +explain the _raison d'être_ of them, though the stones must, in many +instances, have been brought great distances and for a definite +purpose. I could not, however, get any explanation regarding them at +either Kelát or Quetta. + +With the exception of the Lakh Pass leading over a chain of hills +about eighteen miles due west of Beïla, the road to Noundra was as +flat as a billiard-table. The crossing of the Lakh, however, was not +accomplished without much difficulty and some danger; for the narrow +pathway, leading over rocky, almost perpendicular, cliffs, three to +four hundred feet high, had, in places, almost entirely crumbled away. +The summits of these cliffs present a curious appearance--fifty to +sixty needle-like spires, hardly a couple of feet thick at the top, +which look as if the hand of man and not of nature had placed them in +the symmetrical order in which they stand, white and clear-cut against +the deep-blue sky, slender and fragile as sugar ornaments, and looking +as though a puff of wind would send them toppling over. The ascent +was terribly hard work for the camels, and, as the track is totally +unprotected by guard-rail of any kind, anything but comfortable for +their riders. Towards the summit we met a couple of these beasts laden +with tobacco from Kej, in charge of a wild-looking fellow in rags, +as black as a coal, who eyed us suspiciously, and answered in sulky +monosyllables when asked where he hailed from. His merchandise, +consisting of four small bags, seemed hardly worth the carrying, but +Kej tobacco fetches high prices in Beïla. At this point the pathway +had latterly been widened by order of the Djam. Formerly, if two +camels travelling in opposite directions met, their respective owners +drew lots. The animal belonging to the loser was then sacrificed and +pushed over the precipice to clear the way for the other. + +In the wet season a foaming torrent dashes through the Valley of Lakh, +but this was, at the time of my visit, a dry bed of rock and shingle. +Indeed, although we were fairly fortunate as regard wells, and I was +never compelled to put the caravan on short allowance, I did not +pass a single stream of running water the whole way from Sonmiani to +Dhaïra, twenty miles south of Gwarjak, though we must in that distance +have crossed at least fifteen dry river-beds, varying from twenty to +eighty yards in width. + +Travelling in the daytime soon became impossible, on account of the +heat, as we proceeded further inland. A start was therefore generally +made before it was light, and by 11 a.m. the day's work was over, +tents pitched, camels turned loose, and a halt made till three or four +the next morning. Though the sun at midday was, with the total absence +of shade, dangerously powerful, and converted the interior of our +canvas tents into the semblance of an oven, there was little to +complain of as regards weather. The nights were deliciously cool, and +the pleasantest part of, the twenty-four hours was perhaps that from +8 till 10 a.m., when, dinner over and camp-fires lit, the Baluchis +enlivened the caravan with song and dance. Baluch music is, though +wild and mournful, pleasing. Some of the escort had fine voices, +and sang to the accompaniment of a low, soft pipe, their favourite +instrument. Gerôme was in great request on these occasions, and, +under the influence of some fiery raki, of which he seemed to have an +unlimited stock, would have trolled out "Matoushka Volga" and weird +Cossack ditties till the stars were paling, if not suppressed. As +it was, one got little enough rest, what with the heat and flies at +midday, and, at the halt about 8 a.m., the shouting, hammering of +tent-pegs, and braying of camels that went on till the sun was high in +the heavens. + +There is a so-called town or village, Jhow (situated about twenty +miles east of Noundra), in a sparsely cultivated plain of the same +name. Barley and wheat are grown by means of irrigation from the Jhow +river, which in the wet season is of considerable size. I had expected +to find, at Jhow, some semblance of a town or village, as the Wazir +of Beïla had told me that the place contained a population of four or +five hundred, and it is plainly marked on all Government maps. But I +had yet to learn that a Baluch "town," or even village, of forty or +fifty inhabitants often extends over a tract of country many miles +in extent. The "town" of Jhow, for instance, is spread over a plain +thirty-five miles long by fourteen broad, in little clusters of from +two to six houses. A few tiny patches of green peeping out of the +yellow sand and brushwood, a wreath of grey smoke rising lazily here +and there at long intervals over the plain, a few camels and goats +browsing in the dry, withered herbage by the caravan-track, showed +that there were inhabitants; but we saw no dwellings, and only one +native, a woman, who, at sight of Gerôme, who gallantly rode forward +to address her, turned and fled as if she had seen the evil one. +Noundra, which was reached on the 30th of March, was a mere repetition +of Jhow. Neither houses nor natives were visible, though we passed +occasional patches of cultivated ground. About five miles west of this +we left the beaten track and struck out due north for Gwarjak, which, +according to my calculation, lay about seventy miles distant. + + +[Footnote A: The traveller Masson says that the word _Brahui_ is a +corruption of _Ba-roh-i_, meaning literally, "of the waste."] + +[Footnote B: These rings are sometimes so heavy that they are attached +to a band at the top of the head to lessen the weight on the nostril.] + +[Footnote C: A town in Western Baluchistán.] + +[Footnote D: The word "Mekrán" is said to be derived from +"Mahi-Kharan," or "Fish-eaters," which food the inhabitants of this +maritime province subsisted on in Alexander's time, and do still.] + +[Footnote E: Russian, "Fool."] + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +BALUCHISTÁN--GWARJAK. + + +Most European travellers through this desolate land have testified to +the fact that the most commendable trait in the Baluch is his practice +of hospitality, or "zang," as it is called. As among the Arabs, a +guest is held sacred, save by some of the wilder tribes on the Afghan +frontier, who, though they respect a stranger actually under their +roof, will rob and murder him without scruple as soon as he has +departed. The natives of Kanéro and Dhaïra (the two villages lying +between Noundra and Gwarjak) were, though civil, evidently not best +pleased at our appearance, but the sight of a well-armed escort +prevented any open demonstration of ill feeling. + +The first day's work after Noundra was rough, so much so that the +camels could scarcely struggle through the deep sand, or surmount the +steep, pathless ridges of slippery rock that barred our progress every +two or three miles. Though the greater part of the journey lay through +deep, drifting sand, the soil in places was hard and stony, and here +the babul tree and feesh palm grew freely, also a pretty star-shaped +yellow flower, called by Baluchis the "jour." This plant is poisonous +to camels, but, strangely enough, harmless to sheep, goats, and other +animals. + +For a desert-journey, we had little to complain of as regards actual +discomfort. There were no mosquitoes or sandflies, and the heat, +though severe, was never excessive save for a couple of hours or so at +midday, when enforced imprisonment in a thin canvas tent became rather +trying. There was absolutely no shade--not a tree of any kind visible +from the day we left Beïla till our arrival at Dhaïra about midday on +the 31st of March. Scarcity of water was our greatest difficulty. At +Noundra it had been salt and brackish; at Kanéro we searched in vain +for a well. Had we known that a couple of days' march distant lay a +land "with milk and honey blest," this would have inconvenienced us +but little. The fact, however, that only three barrels of the precious +liquid remained caused me some anxiety, especially as the first well +upon which we could rely was at Gwarjak, nearly sixty miles distant. + +The sight of Dhaïra, on the morning of the 31st, relieved us of all +further anxiety. This fertile plain, about fifteen miles long by ten +broad, is bounded on the north-west by a chain of limestone mountains, +the name of which I was unable to ascertain. Here for the second time +since Beïla we found a village and traces of inhabitants, the former +encircled for a considerable distance by fields of maize and barley, +enclosed by neat banks and hedges--a grateful contrast to the desolate +waste behind us. It was the most perfect oasis imaginable. Shady +forest trees and shrubs surrounded us on every side, a clear stream of +running water fringed with ferns and wild flowers rippled through our +camp, while the poor half-starved horses of the escort revelled in the +long, rich grass. Hard by a cluster of three or four leaf huts, half +hidden in a grove of date palms, lay (part of) the little village +of Dhaïra, deserted at this busy hour of the day save by women and +children. The latter fled upon our arrival, and did not reappear until +the evening, when the return of the men reassured them sufficiently to +approach our tents and look upon the strange and unwelcome features of +the Farangi without fear. + +From here, by advice of the Wazir of Beïla, a messenger was despatched +to Malak, at Gwarjak, twenty miles distant, requesting permission to +travel through his dominions. I resolved to proceed no further without +the chief's sanction, or to afford him in any way an excuse for making +himself unpleasant. In the mean time, arms and accoutrements were +looked to, and the escort cleaned and smartened up as well as +circumstances would permit. The natives overcame their shyness next +morning, and brought us goat's milk and "rogan," or clarified butter. +The Baluchis seldom eat meat, their food principally consisting of +cakes or bread made of grain, with buttermilk and rice. A favourite +preparation known as "shalansh," and called "krout" by the Afghans, is +made by boiling buttermilk till the original quantity is reduced by +half. The remainder is then strained through a thick felt bag, in the +sun. When the draining ceases, the mass in the bag is formed into +small lumps dried hard by the sun's rays. When required for use these +lumps are pounded and placed in warm water, where they are worked by +the hands until dissolved. The thickened fluid is then boiled with +rogan and eaten with bread. + +Assafoetida, indigenous to the country, is largely used among all +classes for flavouring dishes. So much is this noxious plant liked +by Baluchis, that it goes by the name of "khush-khorak," or pleasant +food. At Kelát, in the palace of the Khan, I was offered it pickled, +but it is usually eaten stewed in butter. + +About midday, to my great surprise, Malak made his appearance in +person, mounted on a good-looking chestnut stallion, its bridle +and saddle adorned with gold and silver trappings. Four attendants +followed on sorry-looking steeds. The chief, a tall, well-built +fellow, about thirty years of age, with a sulky, sinister cast of +countenance, was clad in a bright green satin jacket, white and gold +turban, loose dark-blue trousers, and embroidered slippers. The loss +of one eye gave him a still more unpleasant expression, a lock +of coarse black hair being dragged over the face to conceal the +disfigurement. The whole party were armed to the teeth, and carried +guns, shields, and revolvers. + +Our interview did not commence propitiously. Swinging himself off his +horse, Malak returned my salutation with a sulky nod, and swaggered +into the tent, signing to his suite to follow his example. Curtly +refusing my offer of refreshment, he called for his pipe-bearer, and, +lighting a kalyan, commenced puffing vigorously at some abominably +smelling tobacco, which soon rendered the interior of the tent +unbearable. It is, unfortunately, Baluch etiquette to allow a guest +to open the conversation. Malak, well aware of this, maintained +a stolid silence, and appeared hugely to enjoy the annoyance and +impatience I tried in vain to conceal. It was not till nearly an hour +had elapsed that this amiable visitor at last inquired, in a rude, +surly tone, what I wanted. My interpreter's services were then called +in, but it was not without demur and a long consultation with his +suite that Malak consented to accompany me to Gwarjak on the morrow. +Matters were finally arranged, on the understanding that I did not +remain more than one day at Gwarjak, but proceeded to Kelát without +delay. + +I strolled out with a gun in the evening, and managed to bag a +brace of partridges, which swarmed in the maize and barley fields. +Overcoming the fears of the women, I was permitted to approach and +inspect, though not enter, one of their dwellings. The latter, +constructed of dried palm leaves, were about fifteen feet long by +eight feet broad, and were entirely devoid of rugs, carpets, or +furniture of any kind, and indescribably filthy. The men, though shy +and suspicious, would have been friendly, had it not been for Malak, +who followed me like a shadow; but nothing would induce the women and +children to approach either Gerôme or myself. "What is this?" said one +old fellow to Malak, stroking my face with his horny, grimy palm. "I +never saw anything like it before." Most of the men were clothed in +dirty, discoloured rags. The women wore simply a cloth tied loosely +over the loins, while male and female children fourteen or fifteen +years old ran about stark naked. + +A curious flower, the "kosisant," grows luxuriantly about here. It is +in shape something like a huge asparagus, and about two feet high, +being covered from top to bottom with tiny white-and-yellow blossoms, +with a sweet but sickly perfume. It consists but of one shoot or +stalk, and bursts through the ground apparently with great force, +displacing the soil for several inches. + +We left for Gwarjak at 5.30 the following morning. Etiquette compelled +Malak to offer me his horse, while he mounted my camel--an operation +effected with very bad grace by my host. The Baluch saddle consists +simply of two sharp pieces of wood bound together by leathern thongs, +and the exchange was by no means a welcome one so far as I was +concerned. Had it cut me in two, however, I would have borne it, if +only to punish this boorish ruffian for his insolence of yesterday. +Malak's chief failing was evidently vanity, and he was very reluctant, +even for an hour, to cede the place of honour to a European. + +The road for the first ten miles or so lay along the dry bed of +a river, which, I ascertained with difficulty from my one-eyed +companion, is named the Mashki. Large holes, from eight to ten feet +deep, had been dug for some distance by the Dhaïra natives, forming +natural cisterns or tanks. These were, even now, after a long spell of +dry weather, more than half full, and the water, with which we filled +barrels and flasks, clear, cold, and delicious. + +The Shirengaz Pass, which crosses a chain of hills about five hundred +feet high, separates the Dhaïra Valley from the equally fertile +district of Gwarjak. The ascent and descent are gradual and easy, and +by ten o'clock we were in sight of Gwarjak, before midday had encamped +within half a mile of the town, if a collection of straggling +tumble-down huts can so be called. The news of our arrival had preceded +us, and before tents were pitched the population had turned out _en +masse_, and a mob of quite two hundred men, women, and children were +squatted around our camp, watching, at a respectful distance, the +proceedings of my men with considerable interest. Malak had meanwhile +disappeared, ostensibly to warn the Wazir of our arrival. + +Gwarjak is situated on the left bank of the Mashki river, and consists +of some thirty huts, shapeless and dilapidated, built of dried palm +leaves. About two hundred yards north of the village rises a steep +almost perpendicular rock about a hundred feet high, on the summit of +which is perched a small mud fort. The latter is crenelated, loopholed +for musketry, and mounts six cannon of a very primitive kind. It was +at once apparent that we were anything but welcome. The very sight of +my armed escort seemed to annoy and exasperate the male population, +while the women and children gathered together some distance off, +flying in a body whenever one of our party approached them. I looked +forward, with some impatience, to Malak's return, for Kamoo's request +for the loan of a knife from one of the bystanders was met with +an indignant refusal, accompanied by murmuring and unmistakable +expressions of hostility. We were well armed certainly, but were only +ten men against over a hundred. + +Our camping-place was wild and picturesque, and, had it not been for +the uncomfortable sensation of not quite knowing what would happen +next, our stay at Gwarjak would have been pleasant enough. Even Gerôme +was depressed and anxious, and the Beïla men and escort ill at ease. I +was sorely tempted more than once to accede to Kamoo's request, strike +tents and move on to Gajjar, the next village, but was restrained by +the thought that such a proceeding would not only be undignified, but +a source of satisfaction to my _bête noire_, Malak. + +[Illustration: MALAK] + +After a prolonged absence of four or five hours, the latter returned, +together with his Wazir and about a dozen followers. A more cut-throat +looking set of ruffians I have seldom seen. All wore long black-cloth +robes trimmed with scarlet, and white turbans, and carried a Snider +rifle and belt stuffed with cartridges slung over the left shoulder. I +now noticed with some anxiety that Malak's quiet and undemonstrative +manner had completely altered to one of swaggering insolence and +bravado. "The chief wishes you to know he has twenty more like this," +said Kamoo, pointing to Malak's villainous-looking suite. "Tell him +I am very glad to hear it," was my reply, politely meant, but which +seemed to unduly exasperate the King of Gwarjak. Brushing past me, he +burst into the tent, followed by his men, and seated himself on my +only camp-stool. Then, producing a large American revolver, he cocked +it with a loud click, placed it on the ground beside him, and called +for his kalyan. + +Patience has limits. With the reflection that few white men would have +put up with the insults I had; that "Tommy Atkins" was, after all, +only three hundred miles away; and that, in the event of my death, +Malak would probably be shot, if not blown from a gun,--I ordered him +(through the trembling Kamoo) to instantly leave the tent with all his +followers. The fire-eating chieftain was (unlike most Baluchis) a poor +creature, for to my intense relief he slunk out at once, with his +tail between his legs. Having then re-appropriated the camp-stool, +I ordered in the escort, fixed bayonets, loaded _my_ revolver with +ostentation, and commanded my friend to re-enter alone, which he did, +and, as Americans say, "quickly." + +Then ensued an uncomfortable silence, interrupted by the arrival of +one of my men to say that the villagers had refused to sell provisions +of any kind, although eggs, milk, and rice were to be had in plenty. +"I am not the king of these people," said Malak, passionately, on +being remonstrated with. "Every man here is free to do as he pleases +with his own." As our stores were now running uncomfortably short, +this "Boycotting" system was anything but pleasant. "Will _you_ sell +us some eggs and milk?" I asked, as my unwilling guest rose to go. It +was eating humble-pie with a vengeance, but hunger, like many other +things, has no laws. "I am not a stall-keeper," was the answer. A +request to be permitted to ascend the hill and visit the fort was met +by an emphatic refusal. I then, as a last resource, inquired, through +Kamoo, if my hospitable host had any objection to my walking through +the village. "If you like," was the reply; "but I will not be +responsible for your safety. This is not Kelát. The English are not +our masters. We care nothing for them." + +Notwithstanding these mysterious warnings, however, I visited the +village towards sunset, alone with Gerôme, fearing lest the sight of +my escort should arouse the ire and suspicions of the natives. There +was little to see and nothing to interest. Gwarjak is built without +any attempt at order or symmetry. Many of the houses had toppled over +till their roofs touched the ground, and the whole place presented an +appearance of poverty and decay strangely at variance with the smiling +plains of grain, rice, and tobacco around it. Not a human being was +visible, for our appearance was the signal for a general stampede +indoors, but the dirty, narrow streets swarmed with huge, fierce dogs, +who would have attacked us but for the heavy "nagaikas" [A] with which +we were armed. We were evidently cordially hated by both men and +beasts! On return to camp I gave orders for a start at four the next +morning. There was no object to be gained by remaining, and the +natives would have been only too glad of an excuse for open attack. + +The remains of an ancient city, covering a very large area, are said +to exist near Gwarjak, about a mile due south of it. I could, however, +discover no trace of them, although we came from that direction, and +must have traversed the supposed site. + +After the fatigue and anxiety of the day, I was enjoying a cigar in +the bright moonlight, when a messenger from the village arrived in +camp. He had a narrow escape. Not answering the challenge of the +sentry for the second time, the latter was about to fire, when I ran +forward and threw up his rifle, which discharged in the air. A second +later, and the man would have been shot, in which case I do not +suppose we should ever have seen Quetta. The message was from Malak, +inviting me to a "Zigri," a kind of religious dance, taking place just +outside the village. After some reflection, I decided to go. It might, +of course, mean treachery, but the probability was that the chief, +afraid of being reported to the Indian Government for his insolence +and insubordination, wished to atone for his conduct before I left. + +Under the messenger's guidance, and attended by Gerôme and a guard of +five men with loaded rifles, I set out. Both the Russian and myself +carried and prominently displayed a brace of revolvers. A walk of ten +minutes brought us to a cleared space by the river. In the centre +blazed a huge bonfire, round which, in a semicircle, were squatted +some two or three hundred natives, watching the twistings and +contortions of half a dozen grotesque creatures with painted faces, +and long, streaming hair, who, as they turned slowly round and round, +varied the performance with leaps and bounds, alternately groaning, +wailing, and screaming at the top of their voices. + +[Illustration: A "ZIGRI" IN GWARJAK] + +A horn, a lute, and half a dozen tom-toms accompanied the dance. Some +distance away, and surrounded by his grim-looking guard, sat Malak, +who, though he did not rise to receive me, beckoned me to his side +with more politeness than usual. It was a weird, strange sight. The +repulsive, half-naked figures leaping round the fire, the silent, +awestruck crowd of Baluchis, the wild barbaric music, and pillar of +flame flashing on the dark, sullen face of Malak and his followers, +was not a little impressive, especially as I was in a state of +pleasing uncertainty as to the object of my host's sudden change of +manner, and whether this might not be a little dramatic introduction +to an attack upon our party. This was, however, evidently not my sulky +friend's intention, for, as I rose to go, he actually stood up and +took my hand. "At Gajjar," he said, "you will be able to get all you +want, but take my advice, and get away from here early to-morrow +morning. They do not like you." + +Four hours after we were _en route_. The Zigri was still going on +as we rode out of the village. Malak and his guard still sat +motionless, the weird dancers and crowd of onlookers were still +there, the huge bonfire blazing as brightly as ever, though the +Eastern sky was lightening. As we passed within a hundred yards, I +waved my hand, but the compliment was not returned. Some of the crowd +looked up at the caravan; all must have seen it, but averted their +faces till we had passed. I was not, on the whole, sorry to leave +Gwarjak. + +But one European, Colonel M---- of the Indian service, had visited +Gwarjak for fifteen years prior to my visit. My road thither from +Noundra has never been traversed save by natives, and it was, +perhaps, more by good luck than good management that we came through +successfully. The inhabitants of Gwarjak are a tribe known as the +Nushirvanis, who claim to be of Persian descent. It was only at +Quetta that I learnt that my friend Malak was only Viceroy of this +inhospitable district. The head-quarters and residence of the Chief, +one Nimrood Khan, is at Kharán (a hundred and fifty miles north-west of +Gwarjak). Nimrood, who was fortunately absent, detests Europeans, and +would probably have made matters even worse for us. Intermixed freely +with the wild and lawless tribes of the Baluch-Afghan frontier (from +which Kharán is but a few miles distant), it is scarcely to be +wondered at that the Nushirvanis are inimical to Europeans, whom they +are taught by their chiefs and Afghan neighbours to look upon as +natural enemies. + +Although we had not as yet formed a very favourable idea of Baluch +hospitality, our reception at every village from here to the capital +amply atoned for the rough and uncivil behaviour of the wild +Nushirvanis. We were now once more on the beaten track, for though the +country south of Gwarjak was, previous to our crossing it, unexplored, +the journey from Kelát to Gajjar has frequently been made by Europeans +during the past few years. Our reception by the natives of Gajjar +(only twenty miles from Gwarjak) was a pleasant contrast to that given +us at the latter place. Camp was no sooner pitched than presents of +eggs, milk, rice, and tobacco were brought in, and I was cordially +welcomed by the chief of the village. + +Gajjar is a ramshackle, tumble-down place of about three hundred +inhabitants. On a small hillock to the right of the village stands +the fort, a square building of solid masonry, which, however, is now +roofless, and has only three walls standing. The garrison (of six men) +were lodged in a flimsy tent pitched in the centre of the ruins. +Half the houses were constructed of dried mud; the remainder, as at +Gwarjak, of palm leaves. The village stands in a grove of date palms, +and the swarms of flies were consequently almost unendurable. We +encamped close to the village well, to which, during the afternoon, +many of the female population came to draw water. Two of them, bright, +pleasant-featured girls of eighteen or twenty, were the best-looking +specimens of the Baluch woman that I met with throughout the journey. + +Towards sunset the corpse of a young man was borne past my tent +and interred in a little cemetery hard by. The burial rites of the +Baluchis are very similar to those of Persia. When a death occurs, +mourners are sent for, and food is prepared at the deceased's house +for such friends as desire to be present at the reading of prayers for +the dead, while "kairats," or charitable distributions of food, are +made for the benefit of the soul of the deceased. A wife, on the +decease of her husband, neglects washing, and is supposed to sit +lamenting by herself for not less than fifteen days. Long before this, +however, her female friends come to her house and beg her to +desist from weeping, bringing with them the powder of a plant +called "larra." With this the widow washes her head, and then +resumes her former life and occupations. If, however, by +thoughtlessness or malice, her friends defer their visit, she must +mourn for a much longer period alone. A curious Baluch custom is that +of digging a grave much deeper for a woman than a man. They argue that +woman is by nature so restless she would not remain quiet, even in +death, without a larger proportion of earth over her. + +[Illustration: NOMAD BALUCH TENT] + +In the matter of births and marriages the Baluchis, being of the +Mohammedan religion, regulate their ceremonies mainly according to the +Korán. Marriage is attended with great festivities. The first step +is the "zang," or betrothal, which is regarded as of a very sacred +nature, the final rite being known as "nikkar." On the wedding-day +the bridegroom, gorgeously arrayed, and mounted on his best horse or +camel, proceeds with his friends to a "ziarat," or shrine, there to +implore a blessing, after which the "winnis," or marriage, is gone +through by a moullah. On the birth of a child there is also much +feasting. The fourth day after birth a name is given to the infant, +and on the sixth an entertainment to friends. The following day the +rite of circumcision ("kattam") is performed, though not always, this +being sometimes postponed for a year or more. On this occasion (as at +a death) large distributions of food are made to the poor. + +The country between Gajjar and Jebri, which was reached next day, is +bare and sterile, notwithstanding that, at the latter place, water is +seldom scarce, even in the dryest seasons. The plain, which consists +of loose, drifting sand, with intervals of hard, stony ground, is +called Kandari. The cold here in the months of January and February +is intense. We passed some curious cave-dwellings in the side of the +caravan-track, in which the natives take refuge from the icy blasts +that sweep across here in winter. They are formed by digging holes +eight to ten feet deep. These are rudely thatched over with palm +leaves, bits of stick, and plaited straw, thus forming a warm and +comfortable shelter. + +The Chief of Jebri, one Chabas Khan, rode out to meet me, clad in +a long gown of golden thread, which, flashing in the sun, was +discernible a couple of miles off. Jebri contains about four hundred +inhabitants, and is a neatly built village, protected by a large mud +fort, and a garrison of twenty Baluchis armed with Snider rifles. +Chabas, who was very proud of his village, informed me that his +rule extended over a considerable extent of country, containing a +population of over 20,000. Many of his subjects were natives of +Seistan, Kharán, and Shotrawák, all Afghan border districts, and gave +him at times no little trouble. The Jebri fort had been attacked only +a year previous to my visit, but Chabas (who I afterwards heard at +Kelát is a renowned fire-eater) gave the rebels such a warm reception +that there has been no outbreak since. My genial old host had himself +given a good deal of trouble to the Kelát Government in his younger +days, and told me with evident pride that he had led many a chupao in +the good old days. The savage and predatory character of the Baluchi +was formerly well exemplified in these lawless incursions, when large +tracts of country were pillaged and devastated and the most unheard-of +cruelties practised. Chupaos are now a thing of the past. Pottinger, +who traversed this country in the last century, and had more than one +unpleasant _rencontre_ with these armed bands, thus describes one of +these plundering expeditions-- + +"The depredators are usually mounted on camels, and furnished, +according to the distance they have to go, with food, consisting of +dates, goat's milk, and cheese. They also carry water in a small +skin-bag, if requisite, which is often the case if the expedition +is prolonged. When all is prepared the band sets off and marches +incessantly till within a few miles of where the chupao is to +commence, and then halts in some unfrequented spot to rest their +camels. On the approach of night they mount again, and, as soon as the +inhabitants of a village have retired to rest, begin their attack by +burning, destroying, and carrying off whatever comes in their way. +They never think of resting for one moment during the chupao, but ride +on over the territory on which it is made at the rate of eighty or +ninety miles a day, until they have loaded their camels with as much +pillage as they can possibly remove; and as they are very expert in +the management of their animals, each man on an average will have +charge of ten or twelve. If practicable, they make a circuit which +enables them to return by a different route. This affords a double +prospect of plunder and also misleads those who pursue the robbers--a +step generally taken, though with little effect, when a sufficient +body of men can be collected for that purpose." + +"In these desperate undertakings the predatory robbers are not always +successful, and when any of them chance to fall into the hands of +exasperated villagers, they are mutilated and put mercilessly +to death. The fact," concludes Pottinger, "of these plundering +expeditions being an institution in Baluchistán must serve to show how +slight is the power wielded by the paramount rulers, and what risks to +the safety of both person and property must be run by those engaged in +the business of trade in such a country." + +Chabas visited me towards evening, accompanied by his son, a +clever-looking, bright-eyed lad about fifteen years old. Noticing that +he wore a belt and buckle of the 66th Regiment, I inquired where +he had procured it, and was told that it had been purchased from a +Gwarjak man, who brought it down from Kharán shortly after the fatal +disaster to the regiment at Maiwand. The kindly old chief now pressed +my acceptance of a fine fat goat--a very acceptable gift, considering +the impoverished condition of the camp larder. We then visited the +fort and village, under his guidance. + +Jebri and its neighbourhood are well cultivated. The system of +agriculture practised in this part of Baluchistán is simple, but +effective, the fields being divided off by ridges of earth and raised +embankments to an accurate level. They are then further subdivided +longitudinally by ridges thrown up about seven or eight paces apart. +This is done for purposes of irrigation. The soil is then ploughed and +manured, the former operation being generally carried on by means +of bullocks. Tracts of land not irrigated by streams, but which are +dependent on rain and the rivulets which come down from the hillsides +after it, are called "kash-kawa," and are found scattered about the +valleys here and there near the tent-encampments of the nomad tribes, +who plough a piece of land, sow it, and return to gather in the crop +when it is matured. The implements of husbandry in general use are +a light wooden plough of primitive construction, consisting of a +vertical piece bent forward at the bottom and tipped with an iron +point, and a long horizontal beam, which passes forward between the +pair of bullocks that draw it, and is fastened to the yoke. A harrow, +consisting of a wooden board about six feet long by two wide, is also +used, being dragged over the ploughed land attached to the yoke by +iron chains. If found not sufficiently heavy, the driver stands upon +it. A spade or shovel, exactly like its English counterpart, and a +reaping-hook, or sickle, having its cutting edge furnished with minute +teeth, complete the list of a Baluchi's agricultural tools. + +Jebri Fort stands on a steep hillock about fifty feet in height. +From here a good view was obtainable of the surrounding country. +Immediately below were pretty gardens or enclosed spaces, sown in the +centre with maize, wheat, and tobacco, and surrounded by plum and +pomegranate trees and date palms. There is a considerable trade in the +latter between here and Beïla, which perhaps accounted for the myriads +of flies which here, as at Gajjar, proved a source of great annoyance. +In Chabas's garden were roses and other flowers, some remarkably fine +vines, and a number of mulberry trees. The grounds were well and +neatly laid out with paths, grass plots, and artificial streams, upon +which I complimented the old man; but he would talk of nothing but his +fort, which was, indeed, the only structure worthy of the name met +with between Quetta and the sea. In the evening his son brought +me a delicious dish of preserved apricots and cream, for which +I presented him with three rupees, one of which he instantly +returned. It is considered, by Baluchis, extremely unlucky to give +or accept an odd number of coins. + +[Illustration: JEBRI] + +At Jebri, for the first time, we suffered severely from cold at night, +the thermometer dropping to 42° Fahr. just before sunrise. The climate +of Baluchistán presents extraordinary varieties, and is extremely +trying to Europeans. Although at Kelát the natives suffer considerably +more from cold in winter than summer heats, the hot season in the +low-lying valleys and on the coast, which lasts from April till +October, may be almost said to be the most severe in the world. At +Kej, in Mekram, the thermometer sometimes registers 125° Fahr. in the +shade as early as April, while the heat in the same district during +the "Khurma-Paz," or "Date-ripening," is so intense that the natives +themselves dare not venture abroad in the daytime. + +Notwithstanding this, even the south of Baluchistán has its cold +season. Near Beïla, in the month of January, the temperature +frequently falls as low as 35° Fahr. in the mornings, rising no higher +than 65° at any portion of the day. At Kelát, on the other hand, which +stands 6800 feet above sea-level, the extreme maximum heat as yet +recorded during the months of July and August is only 103° Fahr., +while the extreme minimum during the same months is as low as 48° +Fahr. In winter the cold is intense. Pottinger, the traveller, relates +that on the 7th of February, 1810, when at Baghivana, five marches +from Kelát, his water-skins were frozen into masses of ice, and seven +days afterwards, at Kelát, he found the frost so intense that water +froze instantly when thrown upon the ground. Bellew, a more recent +traveller, in the month of January found the temperature even lower, +as when at Rodinjo, thirteen miles south of Kelát, the thermometer at +7 a.m. stood at 14° Fahr., while the next night, at Kelát, it fell +to 8° Fahr. The weather was at the time clear, sharp, and cold, the +ground frozen hard all day, while snow-wreaths lay in the shelter of +the walls. A detailed account of the eight days' journey from Gajjar +to Kelát would weary the reader. A description of one village will +suffice for all, while the country between these two places is nothing +but bare, stony desert, varied by occasional ranges of low rocky +hills, and considerable tracts of cultivated land surrounding the +villages of Gidar, Sohrab, and Rodingo, at each of which we were well +received by the natives. With the exception of a strike among our +camel-drivers, which fortunately lasted only a few hours, and a +dust-storm encountered a few miles from Sohrab, nothing worthy of +mention occurred to break the monotony of the voyage till, on the +morning of the _9th of_ April, we sighted the flat-roofed houses, mud +ramparts, and towering citadel of the capital of Baluchistán. + + +[Footnote A: Cossack whips.] + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +KELÁT--QUETTA--BOMBAY. + + +We encamped in the suburbs of the city, about a couple of miles from +the northern or Mastung Gate, and near the telegraph office, a small +brick bungalow in charge of an English-speaking native. There is a +single wire laid to Quetta, a distance, roughly speaking, of ninety +miles. A terrific hurricane, accompanied by thunder, vivid lightning, +and dense clouds of black dust, sprang up about sunset the day of our +arrival. Both tents were instantly blown down, and in a few moments +reduced to shapeless rags of torn canvas. So great was the force of +the wind that it snapped the tent-poles short off, and, tearing them +from the ropes, sent the tents flying over the plain as if they had +been shreds of tissue paper. We managed, however, to find quarters in +the telegraph office, and remained there till our departure, two days +later, for Quetta. During the storm the thermometer sank to 50° Fahr., +although a few moments before it had marked 78°. + +Kelát contains--with its suburbs, which are of considerable +extent--about 15,000 inhabitants, and is picturesquely situated on the +edge of a fertile plain thickly cultivated with wheat, barley, and +tobacco. The city is built in terraces, on the sides and summit of a +limestone cliff, about a hundred and fifty feet high. This is called +the "Shah Mirdan," and is surrounded at the base of the hill by high +mud ramparts, with bastions at intervals, loopholed for musketry. +The "Mir," [A] or palace of the Khan, overhangs the town, and is made +up of a confused mass of buildings, which, though imposing at a +distance, I found on closer inspection to consist chiefly of mud, which +in many places had crumbled away, leaving great gaping holes in the +walls. The Mir mounts a few primitive, muzzle-loading cannon, and the +citadel is garrisoned by a thousand men, chiefly Afghans, deserters from +Cábul, Kandahár, and other parts of the Ameer's dominions. They are a +ragged, undisciplined lot. The Khan himself has a wholesome dread of +his soldiery, who break out at times, and commit great depredations +among the villages surrounding the capital, robbing and murdering the +peasants with impunity, for few dare resist them. The remainder of the +troops, three thousand in number, are quartered in barracks, or rather +mud hovels, at some distance from the palace. Each man is supposed to +receive three rupees a month and a lump sum of forty-eight rupees at +the end of each year, but pay is uncertain and mutiny frequent. When +not engaged on military duties the Khan's Baluch soldiers are put to +agricultural work on his estates, while the Afghans pass their time +in pillaging and plundering their neighbours. As we entered Kelát we +passed a regiment at drill on a sandy plain outside the walls. With +the exception of a conical fur cap, there is no attempt at uniform. +The men, fine strapping fellows, are armed with rusty flint-locks. +Though there appeared to be no officers, European or otherwise, I +was rather surprised to hear the word of command given in +English, and to see this band of ragamuffins march off parade to +the strains of "Home, sweet Home," played by a very fair fife-and-drum +band. + +The morning following my arrival, I was startled by the apparition at +my bedside of a swarthy, wild-looking Afghan sowar--a messenger +from the Wazir, to say that his Highness the Khan wished to make my +acquaintance, and would receive me, if convenient, at three o'clock +that afternoon. It had not been my intention to solicit an interview, +for, from all accounts, the Khan is anything but friendly towards +Europeans, Englishmen in particular. To refuse, however, was out of +the question. The morning was therefore devoted to cleaning up, and +getting out a decent suit of wearing-apparel; while my Beïla escort, +who evidently had uncomfortable forebodings as to the appearance +of the Beïla uniform in the streets of Kelát, polished up arms and +accoutrements till they shone like silver, and paid, I noticed, +particular attention to the loading of their rifles and revolvers. + +About midday the Wazir made his appearance to conduct me to the +palace. He was a fat, paunchy old man, with beady black eyes and a +shy, shifty expression, very unlike my cheery little friend at Beïla. +After the usual preliminary questions as to who I was, my age, +business, etc., he anxiously inquired after the health of Mr. +Gladstone, and somewhat astonished me by asking whether I was a +Liberal or Conservative. "You have some Beïla men with you, I see," +said the Khan's adviser, who spoke English perfectly. "Don't let +his Highness see them." I could not, after such a speech, allow my +faithful escort to enter the city without warning. But it had little +effect. "Let the dogs do what they like," was the reply. "We shall not +let the sahib go alone." + +Tea and cigarettes discussed, a start was made for the palace. The +Wazir, on a wiry, good looking bay horse, and attended by half a dozen +mounted Afghans, led the way, and I followed on a pony borrowed of +the telegraph clerk. My costume was, if not becoming, at any rate +original: high boots, flannel trousers, and shirt, an evening +dress-coat, and astrakhan cap. Gerôme's wardrobe being even less +presentable, I deemed it prudent to leave him behind. The Beïla men +brought up the rear of the procession some distance from the Afghans, +who, to my anxiety, never ceased scoffing and jeering at them the +whole way. Every moment I expected to hear the crack of a pistol-shot, +followed by a general _mêlée_. Arrived at the Mastung Gate, we +dismounted, and, leaving our horses in charge of the guard, slowly +proceeded up the steep narrow streets to the citadel. + +The entrance to Kelát is not imposing. There had been a good deal +of rain, and the streets of the lower part of the town were perfect +quagmires of mud nearly knee-deep. It was more like crawling into +a dark passage than entering a city. Many of the thoroughfares are +entirely covered over with wooden beams plastered with mud, which +entirely exclude light, and give them more the appearance of +subterranean passages than streets. The upper part of the town is the +cleanest, for the simple reason that all filth and sewage runs down +open gutters cut in the centre of the steep alleys, until it reaches +the level of the plain. There is no provision made for its escape. +It is allowed to collect in great pools, which in long-continued wet +weather often flood the houses and drive their wretched inhabitants +into the open, to live as best they may, further up the hill. + +Kelát is, for this reason only, very unhealthy. Small-pox, typhoid, and +typhus are never absent, though, curiously enough, cholera visitations +are rare. The filthy habits of the inhabitants have, apparently, a +good deal to do with the high death rate. I saw, while walking up +the hill, a native fill a cup from an open drain and drink it off, +although the smell was unbearable, the liquid of a dark-brown colour. +A very common and--in the absence of medical treatment--fatal disease +among the inhabitants of the suburbs (chiefly Afghans) is stone in +the bladder, the water here, though pure and clear in the suburbs, +containing a large quantity of lime. + +The bazaar, through which we passed on our way to the Mir, does not +seem a very busy one. Although not a public or religious holiday, +many of the stalls were closed. Kelát was once the great channel for +merchandise from Kandahár and Cábul to India, but the caravan trade is +now insignificant. There is in the season a considerable traffic in +dates, but that is all, for the roads to Persia and Afghanistán are +very unsafe. Only a few weeks previous to my visit, a Kelát merchant, +proceeding with a large caravan to Kermán, in Persia, was robbed and +murdered in the frontier district west of Kharán. Few now attempt the +journey, most of the goods being sent to Quetta, and thence by rail to +various parts of India, by sea to Persia. + +Art and industry are, as well as trade, practically at a standstill in +the Khan's city, though a handsome embroidery, peculiar to Kelát, is +made by the women, and fetches high prices in India, while some of the +natives are clever at brass work and ironmongery. Noticing a Russian +samovar in one of the shops, I entered and inquired of the owner +(through the Wazir) how it had reached Kelát. "From Russia," was +the reply, "_viâ_ Meshéd, Herat, and Kandahár. There is a good +caravan-road the whole way," added the Baluchi, taking down a small +brass shield from a peg in the wall. "This came from Bokhára, _viâ_ +Cábul, only ten days, ago; but trade is not what it was." "Would there +be any difficulty in making that journey?" I asked. "For you--an +Englishman--yes," said the man, with a queer smile, and was +continuing, when "The Khan will be growing impatient," broke in the +Wazir, taking my hand and leading me hurriedly into the street. + +An Afghan guard of honour was drawn up at the entrance of the palace, +wearing the nearest approach to a uniform I had yet seen--dark-green +tunics, light-blue trousers, and white turbans, clean, well fitting, +and evidently kept for state occasions. Each man carried a Berdán +rifle and cavalry sabre. It struck me as a curious coincidence that +the former rifle is in general use throughout the Russian army. +Leaving my escort with strict injunctions to keep their tempers, and +under no circumstances to allow themselves to be drawn into a quarrel, +I followed the Wazir and his attendants into the Mir. The entrance is +through an underground passage about forty yards long by seven wide, +ill-smelling and in total darkness. Arrived at the end, we again +emerged into daylight, and, ascending a flight of rickety wooden +steps, found ourselves in the durbar-room--a spacious apartment, its +walls decorated with green, gold, and crimson panels, alternating with +large looking-glasses. Costly rugs and carpets from Persia and Bokhára +strewed the grimy floor of the chamber, which is about sixty feet +long, and commands a splendid view of the city and fertile plains +beyond. Awaiting me upon the balcony was the Khan, surrounded by +his suite and another guard of Afghans. A couple of dilapidated +cane-bottomed chairs were then brought and set one on each side of the +crimson velvet divan occupied by his Highness. Having made my bow, +which was acknowledged by a curt nod, I was conducted to the seat on +the right hand of the Khan by Azim Khan, his son, who seated himself +upon his father's left hand The Wazir, suite, soldiers, and attendants +then squatted round us in a semicircle, and the interview commenced. + +A long silence followed, broken only by the whish of the fly-brush +as a white-clad Baluchi whisked it lazily to and fro over the Khan's +head. The balcony on which we were received is poised at a dizzy +height over the beehive-looking dwellings and narrow, tortuous streets +of the brown city, which to-day were bathed in sunshine. The Khan's +residence is well chosen. The pestilent stenches of his capital cannot +ascend to this height, only the sweet scent of hay and clover-fields, +and the distant murmur of a large population, while a glorious +panorama of emerald-green plain stretches away to a rocky, picturesque +range of hills on the horizon. + +His Highness Mir Khudadad, Khan of Kelát, is about sixty years old. He +would be tall were it not for a decided stoop, which, together with a +toothless lower jaw, gives him the appearance of being considerably +more than his age. His complexion is very dark, even for a Baluch, and +he wears a rusty black beard and moustaches, presumably dyed, from +the streaks of red and white that run through them, and long, coarse +pepper-and-salt locks streaming far below his shoulders. His personal +appearance gave me anything but a favourable impression. The Khan has +a scowling expression, keen, piercing black eyes, and a sharp hooked +nose that reminded one forcibly of Cruikshank's picture of Fagin the +Jew in "Oliver Twist." + +The Khan was dressed in a long, loose, white garment, with red silk +embroidery of beautiful workmanship. A thin white Cashmere shawl was +thrown carelessly over his shoulders, and he wore a conical violet +silk cap, trimmed with gold lace, and a pair of pointed green morocco +slippers, turned up at the toes, and ornamented with the same +material. A massive gold necklace, or collar, thickly studded with +diamonds, rubies, and sapphires, hung round his neck. The stones, some +of them of great size, were set indiscriminately without any regard +to pattern or design. Mir Khudadad wore no other jewels, with the +exception of three small torquoise rings, all worn on the little +finger of the left hand. He carried no arms, but held in his right +hand a large and very dirty pocket-handkerchief of a bright yellow +hue with large red spots, which somewhat detracted from his regal +appearance. The Khan is a great snuff-taker, and during the audience +continually refreshed himself from the contents of a small gold box +carried by his son. Prince Azim, who was dressed in a green silk +jacket and loose magenta-coloured trousers, is a pleasant-mannered lad +of about twenty. He is of much lighter complexion than his father and +has a strong Jewish cast of feature. A huge cabochon emerald of great +value, suspended from the neck, was Azim's sole ornament. + +[Illustration: PALACE OF THE KHAN. KELÁT.] + +A conversation now commenced, carried on through the medium +of the Wazir and my interpreter. The Khan has a fidgety, uneasy +manner that must be intensely exasperating to his court. More +than once during the audience, having asked a question with +much apparent earnestness, he would suddenly break in, in the +middle of a reply, and hum a tune, or start off on a totally different +subject from the one under discussion. At other times he would repeat +a question twice or thrice, and, his eyes fixed on vacancy, utterly +ignore the answers of the Wazir, who evidently stood in great awe of +his eccentric sovereign. Though the following colloquy may appear +brief to the reader, it took nearly an hour to get through. + +"Where do you come from, and what are you?" was the Khan's first +question. + +"From Russia, your Highness." + +"From Russia!" returned the Khan, quickly. "But you are English, are +you not?" + +"Certainly I am." + +"How strong is Russia's army?" continued the Khan, after an +application to the gold snuff box, and a trumpet-blast on the yellow +bandanna. + +"Nominally about three millions." + +"And England?" + +"About two hundred thousand, not counting the reserves." + +"Humph!" grunted the Khan. "Tell me, do the English imagine that Abdur +Raman [B] is their friend?" + +"I believe so." + +"Then tell them from me," cried the Khan, excitedly, half rising from +his seat, "tell Queen Victoria from me that it is not so. Tell her to +beware of Abdur Raman. He is her enemy." + +"Is England afraid of Russia?" continued the Khan after a long pause. + +"No; the English fear no one." + +"Will England reach Kandahár before Russia takes Herat?" + +"I really cannot say," was my answer to this somewhat puzzling +question. + +Mir Khudadad then turned away to converse with the Wazir in a low +tone. About ten minutes elapsed, during which a long confabulation +was held, in which many of the suite, including the Afghan soldiers, +joined. Prince Azim meanwhile invited me to inspect his sword and +pistols. The former, a splendid Damascus blade, and hilt encrusted +with jewels, I especially admired. Had I known the use to which it +had been put that morning, I should not, perhaps, have been so +enthusiastic. + +Again the Khan addressed me. + +"Do you know Russia well?" + +"Pretty well." + +"Is it true that the Russians do not allow Mohammedans to worship in +Central Asia?" + +"I believe that is untrue." + +"It is a lie?" + +"Most certainly it is." + +"Your own countrymen told me so." At this there was a roar of +laughter, in which the Khan joined. + +The durbar-room of Kelát reminded me of an English court of justice. +When the Khan laughed his courtiers did, and _vice versâ_. After an +interval of more snuff-taking and whispering, the Khan drew forth and +examined my watch. Taking this for a polite hint that the interview +had lasted long enough, I rose to go, but was at once thrust back into +my chair by Azim. "You are not to go," said the Wazir. "The Khan is +much interested by you." + +"Dhuleep Singh is in Russia, is he not?" then asked the Khan. + +"Yes." + +"What does Russia pay him a year?" + +"I do not know." + +"More than England did?" + +"I do not know." + +"You English never do know anything," muttered the Khan, impatiently; +adding, "Do you know the Czar of Russia?" + +"I have seen him." + +"Is he a good man?" + +"I believe him to be so." + +"Then why do his people try to kill him?" + +"Some of them are Socialists." + +"Socialists!" repeated the Khan, slowly. "What is that?" + +I then explained with some difficulty the meaning of the word. + +"Humph!" was the rejoinder. Then, with a whisk of the yellow bandanna: +"I am glad I have none in Kelát!" + +A mark of great favour was then shown me, the Khan presenting me with +his photograph, with the request that I would show it to "Parliament" +when I got home. I think he was under the impression that the latter +is a human being. An incident that occurred but two years since is +typical of the intelligence of the ruler of Kelát and his court. It +was at Quetta, on the occasion of the presentation of Mir Khudadad +to the Viceroy of India. Previous to a grand _déjeûner_ given in his +honour, the Khan and his suite were shown into a dressing-room for the +purpose of washing their hands. On entering to announce that luncheon +was ready, the aide-de-camp found that the distinguished guests had +already commenced operations, and were greedily devouring the cakes +of Pears' soap that had been placed there for a somewhat different +purpose. That none of the party felt any after ill effects speaks well +for the purity of the wares of the mammoth advertiser--or the Baluch +digestion! + +The Khan shook my hand cordially at parting, and again begged me not +to forget his warnings anent the Ameer of Afghanistán, with whom he is +apparently not on the best of terms. I found, with some relief, that +my Beïla men had made friends with the Afghans, and, surrounded by an +admiring crowd, were hobnobbing over a hissing samovar. One of the +Afghans handed me a glass of tea, which, not to offend him, I drank +and found delicious. It had come from China _viâ_ Siberia, Samarcand, +and Cábul. "Russki!" said the man with a grin, as I handed back the +cup. + +The Khan of Kelát very rarely leaves his palace, and is seldom seen +abroad in the streets of Kelát except on Fridays, when he goes to the +mosque on foot, attended by an escort armed to the teeth. He is said +to live in constant dread of assassination, for his cruel, rapacious +character has made him universally detested in and around the capital. +His one thought in life is money and the increase of his income, +which, with the yearly sum allowed him by the British Government, may +be put down at considerably over £30,000 per annum. A thorough miser, +the Khan does not, like most Eastern potentates, pass the hours of +night surrounded by the beauties of the harem, but securely locked in +with his money-bags in a small, comfortless room on the roof of his +palace. + +[Illustration: THE KHAN OF KELÁT] + +There is not the smallest doubt in my mind that Russian influence +is, indirectly, being brought to bear on the Court of Kelát. But Mir +Khudadad may be said to have no policy. As the French say, "Il change +sa nationalité comme je change de chemise," and is to be bought by the +highest bidder. + +Although the Khan's subjects are heavily taxed, there is no protection +whatsoever of life or property in or around Kelát. Theft is, according +to the penal code, punished by fine and imprisonment, murder and +adultery by death; but the law is subject to great modifications. In a +word, the Khan is the law, and so long as a man can afford to pay or +bribe him handsomely, he may commit the most heinous offences with +impunity. + +Two instances of the way in which justice is carried out happened just +before I arrived at Kelát. In the one, a young Baluch woman was found +by her husband, a soldier, under circumstances which admitted no doubt +of her infidelity. Upon discovery, which took place at night, the +infuriated husband rushed off to the guard-house for his weapon. +During his absence the woman urged her lover, who was well armed, to +meet and slay him in the darkness. Under pretence of so doing the gay +Lothario left his paramour, but, fearful of consequences, made off to +Quetta. + +On his return home the husband used no violence, simply handing his +wife over to the guard to be dealt with according to law. Brought +before the Khan the next day, she was lucky enough to find that +monarch in a good temper. Her beauty probably obtained the free pardon +accorded her, and an order that her husband was also to condone her +offence. The latter said not a word, took her quietly home in the +evening, and cut her throat from ear to ear. The Khan, on hearing +of the murder next day, made no remonstrance, nor was the offender +punished. He was an Afghan. + +The second case is even more disgraceful. One of the Khan's own suite, +a well-known libertine and drunkard, contracted an alliance with +a young girl of eighteen. He had endeavoured in vain to marry her +younger sister, almost a child, and so beautiful that she was known +for many miles round the city as the "Pearl of Kelát." + +Six weeks after marriage this ruffian, in a fit of drunken frenzy +caused by jealousy, almost decapitated his wife with a tulwar, and +afterwards mutilated her body past recognition. The shrieks of the +poor woman having summoned the neighbours, he was seized, bound, and +led before the Khan, who at once sentenced him to death. The execution +was fixed for sunrise the following day. At midnight, however, +a messenger appeared at the gates of the Mir with a canvas bag +containing two thousand rupees. "Tell him he is free," said the ruler +of Kelát. "And if he sends in another thousand, I will _order_ the +younger sister to marry him." The money was paid, and the poor child +handed over to the tender mercies of the human devil who had so +ruthlessly butchered her sister. + +I have mentioned that Azim Khan showed me a sword of beautiful +workmanship. It had, the very morning of my visit to the palace, cut +down and hacked to pieces a waiting-maid, not sixteen years old, in +the Khan's harem. I myself saw the corpse of the poor girl the same +evening, as it was being carried outside the walls for interment. [C] + +This, then, is the state of things existing at Kelát, not a hundred +miles from the British outposts; this the enlightened sovereign who +has been made "Companion of the Star of India," an order which, among +his own people, he affects to look upon with the greatest contempt. + +The few women I saw at Kelát were distinctly good looking, far more so +than those further south. Most of them have an Italian type of face, +olive complexion, and large dark eyes, with sweeping lashes. But very +few wore the hideous nose-rings so common at Beïla and Sonmiani. +Morality is at a discount in the capital, and prostitution common. + + +The Wazir sent me a bag of dates the morning of my departure, with +a short note, written in English, begging that I would send him in +return the best gold watch and rifle "that could be bought for gold" +in London. The note ended jocosely, "Exchange is no robbery!" The old +man seemed well _au fait_ with Central Asian affairs. On my mentioning +the day before that I had intended entering India _viâ_ Cábul, he at +once said, "Ah! I supposed Alikhanoff stopped you. He is very shy of +strangers." + +We left Kelát at 6 a.m. on the 12th of April. The camels and heavy +baggage had been sent on four or five hours previously to Mangachar, +the first station. Our caravan now consisted of only eight camels, +which we found reduced to seven on arrival. Just before daylight a +couple of panthers had appeared close to the caravan and caused a +regular stampede, the beasts flying right and left. On order being +restored, two were found to be missing, one laden with the only small +remaining tent and some native luggage, the other with a couple of +cases of whisky (nearly empty) and my camp-stool. The former was +traced and brought in after a search of over two hours, but the latter +is still, for aught I know, careering over the boundless desert, an +unconscious advertiser of "Jameson and Co." I afterwards heard that +this plain is noted for panther and wolf, also an animal called the +"peshkori," somewhat larger than a cat, with a reddish-coloured hide. +It moves about the country in packs, carrying off deer and sheep. Its +method of descending precipices and steep hillsides is curious, each +animal fixing its teeth in the tail of another, thus forming a kind of +chain. + +The plain of Mangachar is situated nearly 6000 feet above sea-level, +and is well cultivated with wheat, lucerne, and tobacco. The +village itself is neatly laid out, and contains about three hundred +inhabitants. The different aspects of the country north and south of +Kelát are striking. We had now done with deserts for good, for at +night lights were seen twinkling all over the plain, while in the +daytime large tracts of well-cultivated land continually met the eye. + +Between Mangachar and Mastung a hot wind arose, which made the eyes +smart, and dried up the skin like a blast from a furnace. One's hair +felt as it does in the hottest room of a Turkish bath, with the +unpleasant addition of being filled with fine gritty sand. "I hope +this may not end in a juloh," said Kamoo, anxiously. This, my +interpreter proceeded to explain, is a hot poisonous wind peculiar to +these districts, and perhaps the greatest danger run by travellers in +Baluchistán. The warm breeze, as Kamoo called it, that we experienced +was, though almost unbearable, not dangerous, while the dreaded juloh +has slain its hundreds of victims. Cook, the traveller, who has given +this subject much attention, has come to the conclusion that it is +caused by the generation in the atmosphere of a highly concentrated +form of ozone, by some intensely marked electrical condition. As +evidence of its effect in destroying every green thing on its course, +and in being frequently fatal to human life, he cites the following +well-authenticated cases, which, not having encountered the +death-dealing blast myself, I place before the reader:-- + +(1) In the year 1851, during one of the hot months, certain officers +of the Sind Horse were sleeping at night on the roof of General +Jacob's house at Jacobabad. They were awakened by a sensation of +suffocation and an exceedingly hot and oppressive feeling in the air, +while at the same time a very powerful smell of sulphur was noticed. +On the following morning a number of trees in the garden were found to +be withered in a very remarkable manner. It looked as if a current of +fire, about two yards in breadth, had passed through the garden in a +perfectly straight line, singeing and destroying every green thing in +its course. Entering on one side, and passing out at the other, its +tract was as clearly defined as the course of a river. + +(2) At the close of 1856 a party of five men were crossing the desert +of Shikarpur, being on their way from Kandahár to that city, when +the blast crossed their path, killing three of them instantly and +seriously disabling the other two. + +(3) A "moonshi" with two companions was travelling about seven miles +south-east of Bagh, in Kachi (not far distant from Mangachar). About +two o'clock the blast struck them. They were sensible of a scorching +sensation in the air, accompanied by a peculiar sulphurous smell, but +remembered nothing further, as all three were immediately struck to +the ground. They were afterwards found and carried to Bagh, where, +every attention being afforded them, they ultimately, after many days +of sickness, recovered. + +As regards the strength of the juloh, Pottinger writes that, so +searching is its nature, it has been known to kill camels and other +hardy animals, and its effects on the human frame are said by +eye-witnesses to be the most agonizing and repulsive imaginable. +Shortly after contact with the wind the muscles of the sufferer become +rigid and contracted, the skin shrivels, a terrible sensation as if +the skin were on fire pervades the whole frame, while, in the last +stage, the skin cracks into deep gashes, producing haemorrhage, +quickly followed by death. It is curious to note that the juloh is +peculiar to the northern districts of Sarawán and Kach-Gandáva, +and does not exist in the southern provinces of Baluchistán. + +The road from Mangachar to Mastung is good, though slightly +undulating, and intersected by deep "nullahs." The estimated area of +the Mastung district is two hundred and eighty miles. It is aptly +named "The Garden of Baluchistán," for considerably more than +two-thirds of its area are under cultivation. Water at Mastung is +never-failing, and the pretty town, nestling in a valley of vineyards +and fruit-gardens, fig and olive trees, reminded one more of some +secluded town in the Pyrenees or south of France than a Baluch +settlement. The soil hereabouts is light and sandy and particularly +favourable to the cultivation of grapes, of which there are no less +than five kinds. Apricots, peaches, plums, and pomegranates are also +grown, and supply the markets of Quetta and Kelát. Madder and tobacco +are also exported in large quantities from Mastung, which possesses a +neatly built and busy bazaar. + +The plain of Dasht-bi-Dowlat, or "The Unpropitious Plain," lies +between Mastung and Quetta. The name, however, only applies after the +harvest has been gathered, for next to Mastung this is one of the most +fertile spots in Baluchistán. Dasht-bi-Dowlat is mainly cultivated +by wandering tribes. The inhabitants of Mastung were enthusiastic in +their description of the plain in summer. Then, they told us, the +surface is covered with verdure and flowers of all kinds, especially +the "lala," or tulip, which they averred cover it for miles with a +carpet of crimson and gold, and load the air with sweet intoxicating +perfume. The cultivation of this plain is mostly dependent on rain and +heavy dews. + +To the west of Dasht-bi-Dowlat is Chehel-Tan, a steep, rocky mountain, +13,000 feet high, in the ravines and valleys of which snow still lay +deeply. Only two Europeans, Masson the traveller, and Sir Henry Green, +have ever succeeded in reaching the summit, on which is a "Zariat," or +shrine. The ascent is difficult and dangerous, as, the mountain +being said to be haunted, no native guides are procurable. The word +"Chehel-Tan" signifies in Baluch "Forty Bodies," and is derived from +the following legend. + +A frugal pair, many years married, were unblest with offspring. They +therefore sought the advice of a holy man, who rebuked the wife, +saying that he had not the power to grant her what Heaven had denied. +The priest's son, however (also a moullah), felt convinced he could +satisfy her wishes, and cast forty pebbles into her lap, at the same +time praying that she might bear children. In process of time she was +delivered of forty babes--rather more than she wished or knew how +to provide for. The poor husband, at his wits' end, ascended to the +summit of Chehel-Tan with thirty-nine, and left them there, trusting +to the mercy of the Deity to provide for them, while the fortieth babe +was brought up under the paternal roof. + +One day, however, touched by remorse, the wife, unknown to her +husband, explored the mountain with the object of collecting the bones +of her children and burying them. To her surprise, they were all +living and gambolling among the trees and rocks. Wild with joy, she +ran back to her dwelling, brought out the fortieth babe, and, placing +it on the summit of the mountain, left it there for a night to allure +back its brothers, but, on returning in the morning, she found that +the latter had carried it off, and it was never seen again. It is +by the spirits of these forty babes that Chehel-Tan is said to be +haunted. + +At 8 a.m. on the 14th of April we sighted, afar off, an oasis on +the dead green plain, of long barrack-like buildings, garden-girt +bungalows, and white tents. We had reached our journey's end. The +church-bells were ringing as I rode into Quetta, for it was Sunday, +and, unfortunately, a bright, fine morning. Had it been otherwise, +I might have been spared the ordeal of riding, on a very dirty and +attenuated camel, past a crowd of well-dressed women and frock-coated +men on their way to church. As we passed a neat victoria, glistening +with varnish, and drawn by a pair of good-looking, high-stepping +ponies, containing a general in full uniform and a pretty, smartly +dressed lady, I cast a glance behind me. Gerôme, who brought up the +rear of the caravan, had (for coolness) divested himself of boots and +socks, and, sublimely unconscious, was refreshing himself from the +contents of a large wicker flask. One cannot, unfortunately, urge on +a camel or quicken his pace at these awkward moments, and I passed +a very uncomfortable quarter of an hour before reaching the Dák +bungalow. But a glance at a looking-glass reassured me. No one would +ever have taken the brick-coloured, ragged-looking ruffians we had +become for Europeans. + +I accepted a kind and courteous invitation from Mr. L----, of the +Indo-European Telegraph, with pleasure, for the Dák bungalow was dirty +and comfortless. Although my host and charming hostess would have made +any place agreeable, Quetta is, from everything but a strategical +point of view, dull and uninteresting. It is an English garrison town, +and all is said. The usual nucleus of scandal, surrounded by dances, +theatricals, polo, flirtation, drink, and--divorce. Are they not all +alike from Gibraltar to Hong Kong? + +Under the guidance of my host, however, a pleasant trip was made to +the Khojak tunnel. When one considers the comparatively short time +it has been in hand, it is almost incredible that, with so many +difficulties (water, hard rock, etc.), this work should have +progressed as it has. The tunnel, which runs due east and west, is, +or will be, two miles and a half in length and three hundred and +sixty-five feet in depth at the deepest part from the earth's surface. +From the eastern end only sixty-five miles over a firm and level plain +separates it from Kandahár. Even when I was there, [D] a light line +could have been laid to that city in six weeks without difficulty. The +plant, rails, and sleepers were on the spot, having been carried over +the hill, and a railway-carriage could then run from Calcutta to the +eastern extremity of the tunnel without break of gauge. The tunnel, +when completed, will be thirty-four feet broad, and twenty-five feet +in height. + +A curious incident happened at one of the railway-stations between +Quetta and Karachi. At the buffet of the one in question, I found +Gerôme conversing volubly in Russian with a total stranger, a native. +On inquiry I found he was a very old friend, a Russian subject and +native of Samarcand. "He has just come through from Cábul," said my +companion. "He often does this journey"--ostensibly for purposes of +trade. + +The 20th of April saw us in Bombay. An Italian steamer, the _Venezia_, +was leaving for the Black Sea direct, and in her I secured a passage +for Gerôme, who was not impressed with our Eastern possessions. The +crowd of curious natives who persistently followed him everywhere +may have had something to do with it, for a fur-clad Esquimaux +in Piccadilly would not have created a greater sensation than my +companion in high boots, black velvet breeches, and red caftan in +the busy streets of the great Indian city. Only a Russian could have +existed in that blazing sun with no other protection to the head than +the astrachan bonnet, which he obstinately refused to discard. I saw +him safely on board, and something very like a tear came into my +trusty little friend's eyes, as we shook hands and parted, to meet, +perhaps, never again. For a better companion no man could wish. +Plucky, honest as the day, and tender-hearted as a woman was Gerôme +Realini; and it was with a feeling of loneliness and sincere regret +that I watched the grey smoke of the _Venezia_ sink below the blue +waters, which were soon to bear me, also, back to England and European +civilization. + +Has the journey been worth it? Has the result repaid one for the cold, +dirt, and privation of Persia, the torrid heat and long desert marches +through Baluchistán? Perhaps not. There are some pleasant hours, +however, to look back upon. Kashán, a vision of golden domes and dim, +picturesque caravanserais; Ispahán, with its stately Madrassa and blue +Zandarood, winding lazily through miles on miles of white and scarlet +poppyland; Shiráz, a dream of fair women, poetry, and roses, in its +setting of emerald plain, sweet-scented gardens, and cypress trees. +These, at any rate, are bright oases in that somewhat dreary ride from +Teherán to the sea. And then--nearing India--the quiet midday siesta +after the hot dusty march; the _al fresco_ repast by the light of a +glorious sunset, and the welcome rest and fragrant pipe in the cool +night air of the silent, starlit desert. + + +[Footnote A: Parts of this palace are of great antiquity, as it +owes its foundation to the Hindu kings who preceded the Mohammedan +dynasty.] + +[Footnote B: The Ameer of Afghanistán.] + +[Footnote C: I am not at liberty to give the name of my authority for +these facts. The reader may rely on their authenticity.] + +[Footnote D: April, 1889. The boring of the tunnel is now +accomplished.] + + + + +APPENDIX A. + + +LIST OF STATIONS AND DISTANCES FROM RÉSHT TO + BUSHIRE, PERSIA. + + + + English + Miles. + + Résht --- + Koudoum----------- 20 + Rustemabad------- 20 + Menjil--------------- 12 + Patchinar----------- 8 + Kharzán------------- 16 + Kazvin--------------- 24 + Kavarek------------- 16 + Kishlak------------- 16 + Yengi-Imàm------- 16 + Hessarek---------- 16 + Shahabad---------- 16 + _Teherán_---------- 16 + Rabat Kerim------- 28 + Pitché----------- 24 + Kushku Baïra------ 16 + Mahometabad------ 28 + _Koom_--------------- 16 + Pasingán------------- 16 + Sin-sin--------------- 28 + _Kashán_------------ 24 + Khurood------------ 28 + Bideshk-------------- 24 + Murchakhar-------- 24 + _Géz_----------------- 24 + _Ispahán_------------ 12 + Djulfa----------------- 3 + + Carried forward------------------ 491 + Brought forward----------------- 491 + + Marg------------------ 12 + Mayar----------------- 24 + Koomisháh---------- 20 + Magsogh-Beg------- 16 + Yezdi-Ghazt--------- 24 + Shoulgistán--------- 24 + Abadéh--------------- 20 + Sourmah------------- 16 + Khina-Khoreh------ 28 + Deybid--------------- 20 + Mourghab------------ 28 + Kawamabad---------- 24 + Sivánd-------------- 8 + Poozeh-------------- 16 + Zergoon------------ 20 + Shiráz-------------- 20 + Chinar-Ráda----- 8 + Khaneh Zinián--- 24 + Dashti Arjin------- 12 + Meyun Kotal------ 12 + Kazeroon---------- 20 + Kamarij------------ 24 + Konar Takta------ 12 + Dalaki-------------- 12 + Borazjun------- 16 + Sheif-------------- 28 + ----------- + 979 + + From Sheif to Bushire by sea 7 + + Total English miles 986 + + + + +APPENDIX B. + + ROUTE--SONMIANI TO QUETTA. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------- +Halting-place. English Remarks. + Miles. +------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +Sonmiani.... | | Small sea-port town. + Water abundant, + but brackish. + Fodder and + supplies + procurable. + +Shekh-Raj.... | 18 | Road fairly good. + Water sweet and + plentiful. + +Outhal...... | 14 | Road stony and undulating; + crossed dry bed + of river Purali. + Well of brackish + water. + +Shekron-ka-Got | 22 | Road sandy. Passed several + salt marshes. + No water. + +Beïla....... | 24 | Road good through rich + alluvial land + irrigated by + river Purali. + Road near to + Beïla intersected + by deep nullahs + distressing to + camels. Water + plentiful; supplies + procurable. + +Lakh........ | 18 | Road good and level + till Pass of Lakh, + which is steep + and extremely + difficult. Water + usually procurable, + though very + brackish. + Forage for horse + and camel a + mile distant. + +Natchi...... | 19 | Road stony and + difficult, through + country irrigated + (in wet season) + by river Lakh. A + small grazing + ground midway, + frequented by + nomads. Water + uncertain. Forage + (for camel only) + plentiful. + +Lar-Anderi ... | 20 | Road along dry river + bed about three + hundred yards wide + (name unknown), for + about five miles. Then + over Plain of Arrah, + sparsely cultivated. + At end of stage + crossed river + Lar-Anderi, a + broad but shallow + stream about sixty + yards wide, seldom + dry. Good water + from river, but + brackish from + wells, of which + there are three. + Forage for horse + and camel. + + Jhow........ | 14 | Crossed Jhow and + Seridab rivers, + both dry. No + cultivation to + be seen. Water + plentiful and + sweet. Forage + for horse and + camel. + +Noundra..... | 20 | U { No road. Travelling + { fairly easy. + n { Water brackish. + +Kanéro...... |about| e {Road rough and + | 20 | { in parts with scrub. + x { stony, overgrown + { A very narrow track + p { extends from + { Noundra to Kanéro, + l { which we followed. + { No water or forage. + +Dhaïra...... |about| o { No road, but struck + | 20 | { several narrow + r { paths leading in + { all directions. + e { Water plentiful and + { good. Forage for + d { horse and camel. + +Gwarjak..... |about| {Road level and + | 20 | { good. Water + { abundant, also + { forage for horse + { and camel, but + { natives unfriendly. + +Gajjar...... | 13 | Road good, through + cultivated country. + Water good and + plentiful. Forage + for horse and camel + procurable, also + supplies. + +Jebri....... | 20 | Road good, though + deep and marshy + in places. Water + good and + plentiful, + also horse and + camel forage. + +Greshak..... | 26 | Road leads over + the Barida Pass. + Gradual and + easy ascent + and descent. + Water good + and plentiful. + Forage for + camel only. + +Loch........ | 18 | Road very narrow + and much + overgrown (lost + in places) with + scrub. Water + scarce. Forage + scarce for camel, + none for horse. + +Gidar........ | 32 | Good and level road. + Water procurable + from river only. + Forage for camel + only. + +Sohrab | 26 | Road difficult. + Passed several + steep, but not + lofty, ranges of + hills. Water + plentiful, but + brackish. No + forage for horse + or camel. + +Rodingo | 36 | Road level and + easy. Much + camelthorn, + wild thyme, + and (English) + furze on either + side of track. + Water good, but + scarce. No forage + for horse or camel. + +Kelát.... | 14 | Road well defined, + and level. Water + good and abundant. + Forage for horse + and camel. Supplies + of all kinds + procurable. + +Mangachar | 26 | Road well defined + and level. Leads + through a fertile + country. Water + good. Forage for + horse and camel, + and supplies + procurable. + +Mastung | 32 | Road level and good, + but intersected + by deep nullahs, + rendering it + difficult for heavily + laden camels. + Water good and + plentiful. Forage + for horse and camel, + and supplies + procurable. + +Quetta..... | 32 | Road excellent, and + in parts macadamized. + A garrison town, + and railway to all + parts of India. +Total English + miles | 504 | + + + + +APPENDIX C. + +TABLE OF LANGUAGES OF NORTH AND SOUTH BALUCHISTÁN. +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + Makrán (South). Kalati (North). +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + Ant Mor Khar + Ashes P[=u]r Hiss + Barley O S[=a]r + Boy Bachak M[=a]r + Cold Sara Yakt + Copper Rod Miss + Day Roch D[=e]h + Dog Kuchak Kuchik + Earth Duniah Daghar + Fire Ach Kh[=a]ka + Flower P[=u]l P[=u]l + Gold Tila Kisun + Heavy Giran Kolui + To eat Warága Kuning + To kill Kushàja Kasfing + To bring Aràga Atning + To see Guidàga Khanning + + + + +APPENDIX D + +TEMPERATURE (FAHRENHEIT) BETWEEN +SONMIANI AND QUETTA, BALUCHISTÁN. + +---------------------------------------------------------------------- + Remarks Mid day +---------------------------------------------------------------------- + Shade | Sun +---------------------------------------------------------------------- + March + + 16 Sonmiani. Fine, north + west breeze 79° 83° + + 17 Sonmiani. Fine, no + breeze 73° 88° + 18 Sonmiani. Fine, no + breeze 72° 105° + 19 Sonmiani. Fine, + strong + north-east + breeze 80° 98° + 20 Shekh-Raj. Fine, light + north-east + breeze 91° 118° + 21 Outhal. Fine, light + north-west + breeze 92° 114° + 22 Shekron-ka-Got + Fine, + south west + breeze 93° 109° + 23 Beïla Rain and + thunder, + light south + breeze 88° 92° + 24 Beïla Rain, no wind 83° 87° + 25 Lakh Fine, + west wind 84° 103° + 26 Natchi Fine, light + south-east + breeze 91° 115° + 27 Lar-Anden Dull, no + breeze 93° 108° + 28 Jhow. Fine, hot wind + (north east) 94° 110° + 29 Noundra Fine, hot + south-west + wind 96° 123° + 30 Kanéro Fine, south + west breeze 90° 120° + 31 Dhaïra Fine, light + north + breeze 95° 123° + April + + 1 Gwarjak. Fine, light + south-east + breeze 91° 111° + 2 Gajjar. Fine, south + wind 93° 110° + 3 Jebri. Fine, strong + north west + wind 91° 110° + 4 Greshak Fine, strong + north-west + wind 85° 88° + 5 Loch. Fine, strong + north wind 76° 89° + 6 Gidar. Fine, light + south-east + breeze 81° 86° + April + + 7 Sohrab. Fine; light + west breeze. 77° 86° + 8 Dám. Rain; + south-west + wind 77° 78° + 9 Kelát. Rain and + dust storm 73° 75° + 10 Kelát. Fine; west + wind 59° 87° + 11 Kelát. Fine; no + breeze. 58° 74° + 12 Mangachar. Fine; no + breeze 80° 95° + 13 Mastung. Fine; + hot wind. 89° 116° + 14 Quetta. Dull; + no breeze 64° 80° + 15 Quetta. Fine; + no breeze 61° 83° + 16 Quetta. Fine; + south-west + breeze 63° 68° + 17 Quetta. Fine; no + breeze 65° 67° + 18 Sukkur, Sind. A hot wind + blowing 99° 117° + -------------------------------------------------------------------- + + + + +APPENDIX E. + +GENEALOGY OF THE KHANS OF KELÁT. + + + Kambar Khan. + | + Sambar. + | + Mahammad Khan. + | + Abdulla Khan. + | + ------------------------------------------------ + | | | + Mobat Khan, Eltarz Khan, Nazir Khan, originally + reigned some slain a hostage at Kandahár; + time at Kelát; accidentally superseded his brother, + superseded by by his brother, Mobat Khan, and + his brother, Nazir Khan. reigned forty years. + Nazir Khan, | + and died a | + hostage at | + Kandahár. | + | | + | ------------------------------------ + | | | | + Haji Khan, Mahmud Mohamed Mustapha Khan, + died a Khan, Rehim Khan, slain by his + hostage at reigned slain by sister brother, Mohamed + Kandahár. at Kelát. of Mustapha Rehim Khan + | Khan. | + Baram Khan, | + died at Kelát | | + | |------------------- + Ahmad Yar | | | + Khan, Mehrab Khan, Azem Khan. + slain by slain by the | + Mehrab British troops. Sarafrez Khan, + Khan. slain by + | Mehrab Khan. + ------------------------------------ + | | + Hassan Khan Khudadad Khan, + (poisoned). present Ruler. + + +[Illustration] + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Ride to India across Persia and +Baluchistán, by Harry De Windt + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 10974 *** diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7d1a083 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #10974 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10974) diff --git a/old/10974-8.txt b/old/10974-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6f1a8de --- /dev/null +++ b/old/10974-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,6827 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Ride to India across Persia and +Baluchistn, by Harry De Windt + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: A Ride to India across Persia and Baluchistn + +Author: Harry De Windt + +Release Date: February 7, 2004 [EBook #10974] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RIDE TO INDIA *** + + + + +Produced by Jayam Subramanian and PG Distributed Proofreaders + + + + +[Illustration: IN THE DESERT SUNRISE] + + + +A RIDE TO INDIA + +ACROSS PERSIA AND BALUCHISTN. + + + +BY + + + +HARRY DE WINDT, F.R.G.S., + +AUTHOR OF "FROM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND," ETC. + + + +WITH ILLUSTRATIONS + +BY + +HERBERT WALKER _FROM SKETCHES BY THE AUTHOR_. + + + + +1891. + + + + +TO + +AUDLEY LOVELL, ESQUIRE, + +COLDSTREAM GUARDS, + +THIS VOLUME + +IS + +DEDICATED. + + + + +CONTENTS + +CHAPTER + +I. TIFLIS--BAKU + +II. THE CASPIAN--ASTAR--RSHT + +III. RSHT--PATCHINAR + +IV. PATCHINAR--TEHERN + +V. TEHERN + +VI. TEHERN--ISPAHN + +VII. ISPAHN--SHIRZ + +VIII. SHIRZ--BUSHIRE + +IX. BALUCHISTN--BEILA + +X. BALUCHISTN--GWARJAK + +XI. KELT--QUETTA--BOMBAY + +APPENDIX + +MAP + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. + + * * * * * + +IN THE DESERT SUNRISE + +TIFLIS + +A DIRTY NIGHT IN THE CASPIAN + +ASTAR, RUSSO-PERSIAN FRONTIER + +CROSSING THE KHARZN + +TEHERN + +PERSIAN DANCING-GIRL + +POST-HOUSE AT KUSHKU BAIRA + +A CORPSE CARAVAN + +A DAY IN THE SNOW + +A FAMILY PARTY + +YEZDI-GHAZT + +THE CARAVANSERAI, MEYUN KOTAL + +SONMIANI + +OUR CAMP AT OUTHAL + +MALAK + +A "ZIGRI" AT GWARJAK + +NOMAD BALUCH TENT + +JEBRI + +KELT + +PALACE OF H.H. THE KHAN KELT + +THE KHAN OF KELT + + + + +A RIDE TO INDIA. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +TIFLIS--BAKU. + + +"Ceci non!" + +A spacious apartment, its polished _parquet_ strewn with white +bearskins and the thickest and softest of Persian rugs; its panelled +walls hung with Oriental tapestries, costly daggers, pistols, and +shields of barbaric, but beautiful, workmanship, glistening with gold +and silver. Every detail of the room denotes the artistic taste of the +owner. Inlaid tables and Japanese cabinets are littered with priceless +porcelain and _cloisonn_, old silver, and diamond-set miniatures; the +low divans are heaped with cushions of deep-tinted satin and gold; +heavy violet plush curtains drape the windows; while huge palms, +hothouse plants, and bunches of sweet-smelling Russian violets occupy +every available nook and corner. The pinewood fire flashes fitfully +on a masterpiece of Vereschgin's, which stands on an easel by the +hearth, and the massive gold "ikon," [A] encrusted with diamonds and +precious stones, in the corner. A large oil painting of his Majesty +the Czar of Russia hangs over the marble chimneypiece. + +It is growing dark. Already a wintry wilderness of garden without, +upon which snow and sleet are pitilessly beating, is barely +discernible. By the window looms, through the dusk, the shadowy shape +of an enormous stuffed tiger, crouched as if about to spring upon a +spare white-haired man in neat dark green uniform, who, seated at a +writing-table covered with papers and official documents, has just +settled himself more comfortably in a roomy armchair. With a pleasant +smile, and a long pull at a freshly lit "papirosh," he gives vent to +his feelings with the remark that heads this chapter. + +There is silence for a while, unbroken save by the crackle of blazing +logs and occasional rattle of driving sleet against the window-panes. +It is the 5th of January (O.S.). I am at Tiflis, in the palace of +Prince Dondoukoff Korskoff, Governor of the Caucasus, and at the +present moment in that august personage's presence. + +"Ceci non!" repeats the prince a second time, in answer to my request; +adding impatiently, "They should know better in London than to send +you to me. The War Minister in St. Petersburg alone has power to grant +foreigners permission to visit Central Asia. You must apply to him, +but let me first warn you that it is a long business. No"--after a +pause--"no; were I in your place I would go to Persia. It is a country +replete with interest." + +I know, from bitter experience of Russian officials, that further +parley is useless. Making my bow with as good a grace as possible +under the circumstances, I take leave of the governor and am escorted +by an aide-de-camp, resplendent in white and gold, through innumerable +vestibules, and down the great marble staircase, to where my sleigh +awaits me in the cutting north-easter and whirling snow. Gliding +swiftly homewards along the now brilliantly lit boulevards, I realize +for the first time that mine has been but a wild-goose chase after +all; that, if India is to be reached by land, it is not _vi_ Merv and +Cbul, but by way of Persia and Baluchistn. + +The original scheme was a bold one, and I derive some consolation in +the thought that the journey would most probably have ended in defeat. +This was the idea. From Tiflis to Baku, and across the Caspian to +Ouzoun da, the western terminus of the Trans-Caspian Railway. Thence +by rail to Merv and Bokhra, and from the latter city direct to India, +_vi_ Balkh and Cbul, Afghanistn. A more interesting journey can +scarcely be conceived, but Fate and the Russian Government decreed +that it was not to be. Not only was I forbidden to use the railway, +but (notwithstanding the highest recommendation from the Russian +Ambassador in London) even to set foot in Trans-Caspia. + +The old adage, "delay is dangerous," is never so true as when applied +to travel. The evening of my interview with the governor, I had +resolved, ere retiring to rest, to make for India _vi_ Tehern. +My route beyond that city was, perforce, left to chance, and the +information I hoped to gain in the Shah's capital. + +Tiflis, capital of the Caucasus, is about midway between the Black +and Caspian seas, and lies in a valley between two ranges of low but +precipitous hills. The river Kr, a narrow but swift and picturesque +stream spanned by three bridges, bisects the city, which is divided in +three parts: the Russian town, European colony, and Asiatic quarter. +The population of over a hundred thousand is indeed a mixed one. +Although Georgians form its bulk, Persia contributes nearly a quarter, +the rest being composed of Russians, Germans, French, Armenians, +Greeks, Tartars, Circassians, Jews, Turks, and Heaven knows what +besides. [B] + +Tiflis is a city of contrasts. The principal boulevard, with its +handsome stone buildings and shops, tramways, gay cafs, and electric +light, would compare favourably with the Nevski Prospect in St. +Petersburg, or almost any first-class European thoroughfare; and yet, +almost within a stone's throw, is the Asiatic quarter, where the +traveller is apparently as far removed from Western civilization as in +the most remote part of Persia or Turkestn. The Armenian and Persian +bazaars are perhaps the most interesting, I doubt whether the streets +of Yzd or Bokhra present so strange and picturesque a sight, such +vivid effects of movement and colour. Every race, every nationality, +is represented, from the stalwart, ruddy-faced Russian soldier in flat +white cap and olive-green tunic, to the grave, stately Arab merchant +with huge turban and white draperies, fresh from Bagdad or +Bussorah. Georgians and Circassians in scarlet tunics and silver +cartridge-belts, Turks in fez and frock-coat, Greeks and Albanians in +snowy petticoats and black gaiters, Khivans in furs and quaint conical +lamb's-wool hats, Tartars from the Steppes, Turkomans from Merv, +Parsees from Bombay, African negroes,--all may be seen in the Tiflis +Bazaar during the busy part of the day. + +But woe to the luckless European who, tempted by the beauty of their +wares, has dealings with the wily Persian merchant. There is a proverb +in Tiflis that "It takes two Jews to rob an Armenian, two Armenians +to rob a Persian," and the "accursed Faringi" is mercilessly swindled +whenever he ventures upon a bargain. + +With the exception of the aforesaid boulevard, the European quarter of +Tiflis presents the same mixture of squalor and grandeur found in most +Russian towns, St. Petersburg not excepted. There is the same dead, +drab look about the streets and houses, the same absence of colour, +the same indescribable smell of mud, leather, and drainage, familiar +to all who have visited Asiatic Russia. I had intended remaining a +couple of days, at most, in Tiflis, but my stay was now indefinitely +prolonged. Such a severe winter had not been known for years. The +mountain passes into Persia were reported impassable, and the line to +Baku had for some days been blocked with snow. + +My Russian Christmas (which falls, O.S., on our 6th of January) was +not a cheerful one. A prisoner in a stuffy bedroom of the Htel de +Londres, I sat at the window most of the day, consuming innumerable +glasses of tea and cigarettes, watching the steadily falling snow, and +wondering whether the weather would ever clear and allow me to escape +from a place so full of unpleasant associations, and which had brought +me so much disappointment and vexation. The loud laughter and +bursts of song that ascended every now and then from the crowded +_salle--manger_ (for the Htel de Londres is the "Maison Dore" of +Tiflis) only served to increase my depression and melancholy. Had +there been a train available, I verily believe I should have taken a +ticket then and there, and returned to England! + +But morning brings consolation in the shape of blue sky and dazzling +sunshine. The snow has ceased, apparently for good. Descending +to breakfast full of plans for the future, I find awaiting me an +individual destined to play an important part in these pages--one +Germe Realini, a Levantine Russian subject, well acquainted with the +Persian language--who offers to accompany me to India as interpreter. +His terms are moderate, and credentials first-rate. The latter include +one from Baker Pasha, with whom he served on the Turkoman frontier +expedition. More for the sake of a companion than anything else, I +close with Germe, who, though he does not understand one word of +English, speaks French fluently. + +There is a very natural prejudice against the Levantine race, but my +new acquaintance formed an exception to the rule. I never had reason +to regret my bargain; a better servant, pluckier traveller, or +cheerier companion no man could wish for. Germe had just returned +from a visit to Bokhra, and his accounts of Central Asia were +certainly not inviting. The Trans-Caspian railway was so badly laid +that trains frequently ran off the line. There was no arrangement for +water, travellers being frequently delayed three or four hours, +while blocks of ice were melted for the boiler; while the so-called +first-class carriages were filthy, and crowded with vermin. The +advance of Holy Russia had apparently not improved Merv, which had +become, since its annexation, a kind of inferior Port Said, a refuge +for the scum, male and female, of St. Petersburg, Moscow, and Odessa. +Drunkenness and debauchery reigned paramount. Low gambling-houses, +_caf chantants_, and less reputable establishments flourished under +the liberal patronage of the Russian officers, who, out of sheer +_ennui_, ruined their pockets and constitutions with drunken +orgies, night and day. There was no order of any kind, no organized +police-force, and robberies and assassinations took place almost +nightly. Small-pox was raging in the place when Germe left it; also a +loathsome disease called the "Bouton d'alep "--a painful boil which, +oddly enough, always makes its appearance upon the body in odd +numbers, never in even. It is caused by drinking or washing in +unboiled water. Though seldom fatal, there is no cure for the +complaint but complete change of climate. + +We now set about making preparations for the journey. Provisions, +saddlery, both had to be thought of; and, having laid in a small stock +of Liebig, tea, biscuits, chocolate, and cigarettes (for space was +limited), I proceeded, under Germe's guidance, to purchase a saddle. +Seventy-five roubles bought a capital one, including bridle. Here let +me advise those visiting Persia to follow my example, and buy their +saddlery in Tiflis. There is a heavy duty payable on foreign saddles +in Russia, and they are not one whit better, or indeed so well suited +to the purpose, as those made in the Caucasus. + +One hears a deal, in Europe, of the beauty of the Circassian and +Georgian women. Although I remained in Tiflis over a week, I did not +see a single pretty woman among the natives. As in every Russian town, +however, the "Moushtad," or "Bois de Boulogne" of Tiflis, was daily, +the theatre nightly, crowded with pretty faces of the dark-eyed, +oval-faced Russian type. The new opera-house, a handsome building near +the governor's palace, is not yet completed. + +The Htel de Londres was the favourite _rendezvous_ after the play. +Here till the small hours assembled nightly the _lite_ of European +Tiflis. Russian and Georgian officers in gorgeous uniforms of dark +green, gold lace, and astrachan; French and German merchants with +their wives and daughters; with a sprinkling _demi-mondaines_ from +Odessa or Kharkoff, sipping tea or drinking kummel and "kakti" at the +little marble tables, and discussing the latest scandals. Kakti, a +wine not unlike Carlowitz, is grown in considerable quantities in +the Caucasus. There are two kinds, red and white, but the former is +considered the best. Though sound and good, it is cheap enough--one +rouble the quart. Tobacco is also grown in small quantities in parts +of Georgia and made into cigarettes, which are sold in Tiflis at three +kopeks per hundred. But it is poor, rank stuff, and only smoked by the +peasantry and droshki-drivers. + +[Illustration: TIFLIS] + +Tiflis has a large and important garrison, but is not fortified. Its +topographical dept is one of the best in Russia, and I managed, not +without some difficulty, to obtain from it maps of Afghanistn and +Baluchistn. The latter I subsequently found better and far more +accurate than any obtainable in England. The most insignificant +hamlets and unimportant camel-tracks and wells were set down with +extraordinary precision, especially those in the districts around +Kelt. + +There is plenty of sport to be had round Tiflis. The shooting is +free excepting over certain tracts of country leased by the Tiflis +shooting-club. Partridge, snipe, and woodcock abound, and there are +plenty of deer and wild boar within easy distance of the capital. Ibex +is also found in the higher mountain ranges. For this (if for no other +reason) Tiflis seems to be increasing in popularity every year for +European tourists. It is now an easy journey of little over a week +from England, with the advantage that one may travel by land the whole +way from Calais. This route is _vi_ Berlin, Cracow, Kharkoff, and +Vladikavkas, and from the latter place by coach (through the Dariel +Gorge) to Tiflis. + +The purchase of a warm astrachan bonnet, a bourka, [C] and bashlik, [D] +completed my outfit. It now consisted of two small portmanteaus (to be +changed at Tehern for saddle-bags), a common canvas sack for sleeping +purposes, and a brace of revolvers. Germe was similarly accoutred, +with the exception of the portmanteaus. My interpreter was evidently +not luxuriously inclined, for his _impedimenta_ were all contained in +a small black leather hand-bag! All being ready, eleven o'clock on the +night of the 12th of January found us standing on the platform of the +Tiflis railway station, awaiting the arrival of the Baku train, which +had been delayed by a violent storm down the line. + +I received a letter from the governor a few hours before my departure, +wishing me _bon voyage_, and enclosing a document to ensure help and +civility from the officials throughout his dominions. It may seem +ungrateful, but I felt that I could well have dispensed with this, +especially as I was leaving his Excellency's government at Baku, a +distance of only ten hours by rail. + +It was again snowing hard, and the east wind cut through my bourka as +if it had been a thin linen jacket. Seeking shelter in the crowded, +stuffy waiting-room, we solaced ourselves with cigarettes and vodka +till past 2 a.m., when the train arrived. Another delay of two hours +now occurred, the engine having broken down; but the carriages, like +those of most Russian railways, were beautifully warmed, and we slept +soundly, undisturbed by the howling of the wind and shouting of +railway officials. When I awoke, we were swiftly rattling through +the dreary monotonous steppe country that separates Tiflis from the +Caspian Sea. + +The Russians may, according to English ideas, be uncivilized in many +ways, but they are undoubtedly far ahead of other European nations, +with the exception perhaps of France, as regards railway travelling. +Although the speed is slow, nothing is left undone, on the most +isolated lines, to ensure comfort, not to say luxury. Even in this +remote district the refreshment-rooms were far above the average in +England. At Akstaf, for instance, a station surrounded by a howling +wilderness of steppe and marsh; well-cooked viands, game, pastry, and +other delicacies, gladdened the eye, instead of the fly-blown buns +and petrified sandwiches only too familiar to the English railway +traveller. The best railway buffet I have ever seen is at Tiumen, the +terminus of the Oural railway, and actually in Siberia. + +Railway travelling has, however, one drawback in this part of +Russia, which, though it does not upset the arrangements of a casual +traveller, must seriously inconvenience the natives--the distance of +stations from towns. We drank tea, a couple of hours or so before +arriving at Baku, at a station situated more than one hundred +versts [E] from the town of its name. The inhabitants of the latter +seldom availed themselves of the railway, but found it easier, except +in very bad weather, to drive or ride to the Caspian port. + +The dull wintry day wears slowly away, as we crawl along past +league upon league of wild steppe land. The _coup d'oeil_ from our +carriage-window is not inspiriting. It rests upon a bare, bleak +landscape, rolling away to the horizon, of waves of drab and +dirty-green land, unbroken save for here and there a pool of stagnant +water, rotting in a fringe of sedge and rush, or an occasional flock +of wild-fowl. At rare intervals we pass, close to the line, a Tartar +encampment. Half a dozen dirty brown tents surrounded by horses, +camels, and thin shivering cattle, the latter covered with coarse +sack-clothing tied round their bellies to protect them from the +cutting blast that sweeps from the coast across this land of +desolation. None of the human population are visible, and no wonder. +It must be cold enough outside. Even in this well-warmed compartment +one can barely keep feet and fingers from getting numbed. + +It is almost dark when, towards six o'clock, there appears, far ahead, +a thin streak of silver, separating the dreary brown landscape from +the cold grey sky. + +"We have nearly arrived, monsieur," says Germe. "There is the Caspian +Sea." + + +[Footnote A: The sacred image of the Saviour or Holy Virgin.] + +[Footnote B: The name Tiflis is derived from _Tbilis Kalaki_, or "Hot +Town," so called from the hot mineral springs near which it stands.] + +[Footnote C: _Bourka_, a long sleeveless coat made of goatskin.] + +[Footnote D: _Bashlik_, the soft camel-hair hood and neckerchief in +one, worn by Russian soldiers.] + +[Footnote E: A _verst_ is about three-quarters of a mile.] + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +THE CASPIAN--ASTAR--RSHT. + + +I arrived in Baku on (the Russian) New Year's Eve, and found railway +officials, porters, and droshki-drivers all more or less fuddled with +drink in consequence. With some difficulty we persuaded one of the +latter to drive us to the hotel, a clean and well-appointed house, a +stone's throw from the quay. Our Isvostchik [A] was very drunk. His +horses, luckily for us, were quiet; for he fell off his box on the +way, and smilingly, but firmly, declined to remount. Germe then +piloted the troika safely to our destination, leaving Jehu prone in +the mud. + +Baku, a clean, well laid-out city of sixty thousand inhabitants, is +the most important town on the shores of the Caspian. Its name is said +to be derived from the Persian words _bad_, "the wind," and _kubeda_, +"beaten," signifying "Wind-beaten;" and this seems credible, for +violent storms are prevalent along the coast. The town is essentially +European in character. One can scarcely realize that only fifty years +ago a tumble-down Persian settlement stood on the spot now occupied +by broad, well-paved, gas-lit streets, handsome stone buildings, +warehouses, and shops. Baku has, like Tiflis, a mixed population. +Although Russians and Tartars form its bulk, France, Germany, Italy, +Greece, Turkey, and Persia are all represented, most of the Europeans +being employed in the manufacture of petroleum. The naphtha springs +are said to yield over 170,000 tons of oil yearly. + +A French engineer, Mr. B----, whose acquaintance I made at the hotel, +described Baku as terribly monotonous and depressing to live in after +a time. There is not a tree or sign of vegetation for miles round the +town--nothing but bleak, desolate steppe and marsh, unproductive of +sport and cultivation, or, indeed, of anything save miasma and fever. +In summer the heat, dust, and flies are intolerable; in winter the sun +is seldom seen. There is no amusement of any kind--no _caf_, no band, +no theatre, to go to after the day's work. This seemed to distress the +poor Parisian exile more than anything, more even than the smell of +oil, which, from the moment you enter until you leave Baku, there is +no getting away from. Although the wells are fully three miles away, +the table-cloths and napkins were saturated with it, and the very +food one ate had a faint sickly flavour of naphtha. "I bathed in the +Caspian once last summer," said Mr. B------, despairingly, "and did +not get the smell out of my skin for a week, during which time my +friends forbade me their houses! Mon Dieu! Quel pays!" + +The steamer for Enzelli was to leave at eleven. Having wished my +French friend farewell, and a speedy return to his native country, we +set out for the quay. The night was fine, but away to our left dense +clouds of thick black smoke obscured the lights of the town and +starlit sky, while the furnaces of the "Tchornigorod" [B] blazed out +of the darkness, their flames reflected in the dark waters of the +Caspian, turning the little harbour into a lake of fire. + +The landing stage is crowded with passengers--a motley crowd of +Russian officials, soldiers, peasants, and Tartars. With difficulty we +struggle through the noisy, drunken rabble, for the most part engaged +in singing, cursing, fighting, and embracing by turns, and succeed at +last in finding our ship, the _Kaspia_, a small steamer of about a +hundred and fifty tons burthen. The captain is, fortunately for us, +sober, which is more than can be said of the crew. Alongside us lies +the _Bariatinsky_, a large paddle-steamer bound for Ouzounada, the +terminus of the Trans-Caspian Railway. She also is on the point of +departure, and I notice, with relief, that most of the crowd are +making their way on board her. + +The passenger-steamers on the Caspian are the property of the +Caucase-Mercure Company, a Russian firm. They are, with few +exceptions, as unseaworthy as they are comfortless, which says a great +deal. All are of iron, and were built in England and Sweden, sent to +St. Petersburg by sea, there taken to pieces and despatched overland +to Nijni-Novgorod, on the Volga. At Nijni they were repieced and taken +down the Volga to the Caspian. + +The _Bariatinsky_ was first away, her decks crammed with soldiers +bound for Central Asia. They treated us to a vocal concert as the ship +left port, and I paced the moonlit deck for some time, listening to +the sweet sad airs sung with the pathos and harmony that seems born +in every Russian, high or low. I retired to rest with the "Matoushka +Volga," a boat-song popular the length and breadth of Russia, ringing +in my ears. + +There are no private cabins on board the _Kaspia_. I share the stuffy +saloon with a greasy German Jew (who insists on shutting all the +portholes), an Armenian gentleman, his wife, and two squalling +children, a Persian merchant, and Germe. + +The captain's cabin, a box-like retreat about eight feet square, +leads out of our sleeping-place, which is also used as a drawing and +dining-room. As the latter it is hardly desirable, for the German and +Persian are both suffering violently from _mal-de-mer_ before we +have been two hours out, and no wonder. Though there is hardly a +perceptible swell on, the tiny cock-boat rolls like a log. To make +matters worse, the _Kaspia's_ engines are worked by petroleum, and the +smell pursues one everywhere. + +The passage from Baku to Enzelli (the port of Rsht) is usually made +in a little over two days in _fine weather_. All depends upon the +latter, for no vessel can enter if it is blowing hard. There is a +dangerous bar with a depth of barely five feet of water across the +mouth of the harbour, and several Europeans, impatient of waiting, +have been drowned when attempting to land in small boats. "I +frequently have to take my passengers back to Baku," said Captain +Z---- at the meal he was pleased to call breakfast; "but I think we +shall have fine weather to-morrow." I devoutly hoped so. + +Little did I know what was in store for us; for the glass at midday +was falling-fast, and at 2 p.m., when we anchored off Lenkorn, it +was snowing hard and blowing half a gale. + +The western coasts of the Caspian are flat and monotonous. There are +two ports of call between Baku and Enzelli--Lenkorn, a dismal-looking +fishing-village of mud huts, backed by stunted poplars and a range of +low hills; and Astar, the Russo-Persian frontier. Trade did not seem +very brisk at either port. We neither landed nor took in cargo at +either. A few small boats came out to the ship with fish to sell. The +latter is bad and tasteless in the Caspian, with the exception of +the sturgeon, which abounds during certain seasons of the year. The +fisheries are nearly all leased by Russians, who extract and export +the caviar. There is good shooting in the forests around Lenkorn, and +tigers are occasionally met with. The large one in the possession of +Prince Dondoukoff Korskoff, mentioned in the first chapter, was shot +within a few miles of the place. + +We arrived off Astar about 6.30 that evening. It was too dark to see +anything of the place, but I had, unfortunately for myself, plenty +of opportunities of examining it minutely a couple of days later. We +weighed anchor again at nine o'clock, hoping, all being well, to reach +Enzelli at daybreak. The sea had now gone down, and things looked more +promising. + +My spirits rose at the thought of being able to land on the morrow. I +was even able to do justice to the abominable food set before us at +dinner--greasy sausages and a leathery beefsteak, served on dirty +plates and a ragged table-cloth that looked as if it had been used to +clean the boiler. But the German Jew had recovered from his temporary +indisposition, the cadaverous Persian had disappeared on deck, and +the Armenian children had squalled themselves to sleep, so there +was something, at least, to be thankful for. Captain Z----, a tall, +fair-haired Swede, who spoke English fluently, had been on this line +for many years, and told us that for dangerous navigation, violent +squalls, and thick fogs the Caspian has no equal. Many vessels are +lost yearly and never heard of again. He also told us of a submarine +city some miles out of Baku, called by the natives "Tchortorgorod," or +"City of the Devil." "In calm, sunny weather," said Z----, "one can +distinctly make out the streets and houses." The German Jew, of a +facetious disposition, asked him whether he had not also seen people +walking about; but Z---- treated the question with contemptuous +silence. + +Man is doomed to disappointment. I woke at daylight next morning; to +find the _Kaspia_ at anchor, pitching, rolling, and tugging at her +moorings as if at any moment the cable might part. Every now and again +a sea would crash upon the deck, and the wind, howling through the +rigging, sounded like the yelling of a thousand fiends. Hurrying on +deck, I learn the worst. A terrific sea is running, and the glass +falling every hour. One could scarcely discern, through the driving +mist, the long low shore and white line of breakers that marked the +entrance to Enzelli. To land was out of the question. No boat would +live in such a sea. "I will lay-to till this evening," said Captain +Z---- "If it does not then abate, I fear you must make up your mind +to return to Baku, and try again another day." A pleasant prospect +indeed! + +[Illustration: A DIRTY NIGHT IN THE CASPIAN] + +I have seldom passed a more miserable twenty-four hours. The weather +got worse as the day wore on. Towards midday it commenced snowing; but +this, instead of diminishing the violence of the gale, seemed only to +increase it. Even the captain's cheery, ruddy face clouded over, as he +owned that he did not like the look of things. "Had I another anchor, +I should not mind," he said; calmly adding, "If this one parts, we +are lost!" I thought, at the time, he might have kept this piece +of information to himself. Meanwhile nothing was visible from the +cabin-windows but great rollers topped with crests of foam, which +looked as if, every moment, they would engulf the little vessel. But +she behaved splendidly. Although green seas were coming in over the +bows, flooding her decks from stem to stern, and pouring down the +gangway into the saloon, the _Kaspia_ rode through the gale like a +duck. To venture on deck was impossible. One could barely sit, much +less stand, and the atmosphere of the saloon may be better imagined +than described. Every aperture tightly closed; every one, with the +exception of the captain, Germe, and myself, sea-sick; no food, no +fire, though we certainly did not miss the former much. + +About ten o'clock Z---- weighed anchor and stood out to sea. It would +not be safe, he said, to trust to our slender cable another night. +About midnight I struggled on deck, to get a breath of fresh air +before turning in. The night was fine and clear, but the sea around +black as ink, with great foaming white rollers. The decks, a foot +deep in snow, were deserted save by Z---- and the steersman, whose +silhouettes stood out black and distinct against the starlit sky as +they paced the rickety-looking little bridge flanked by red and green +lights. The Enzelli lighthouse was no longer visible. The latter is +under the care of Persians, who light it, or not, as the humour takes +them. This is, on dark nights, a source of considerable danger to +shipping; but, though frequently remonstrated with by the Russian +Government, the Shah does not trouble his head about the matter. + +Three routes to Tehern were now open to us: back to Baku, thence to +Tiflis, and over the mountains to Talriz,--very dubious on account of +the snow; the second, from Baku to Astrabad, and thence _vi_ Mount +Demavend,--still more dubious on account of bad landing as well as +blocked passes; there remained to us Astar, and along the sea-beach +(no road) to Enzelli, with swollen rivers and no post-horses. All +things considered, we resolved to land at Astar, even at the risk of +a ducking. Daylight found us there, anchored a mile from the shore, +and a heavy swell running. But there is no bar here; only a shelving +sandy beach, on which, even in rough weather, there is little +danger. Some good-sized boats came out to the _Kaspia_ with fish and +vegetables, and we at once resolved to land. Anything sooner than +return to Baku! + +"There is no road from Astar," said Z----, "and deep rivers to cross. +You will be robbed and murdered like the Italian who travelled this +way three years ago! He was the last European to do so." + +Germe remembers the incident. In fact, he says, the murdered man was +a friend of his, travelling to Tehern with a large sum of money. +Unable to land at Rsht, and impatient to reach his destination, he +took the unfrequented route, was waylaid, robbed, tied to a tree, and +left to starve. "He was alone and unarmed, though," says my companion; +adding with a wink, "Let them try it on with us!" + +Seeing remonstrance is useless, Z---- wishes us God-speed. The +good-natured Swede presses a box of Russian cigarettes into my hand +as I descend the ladder--a gift he can ill afford--and twenty minutes +later our boat glides safely and smoothly on Persian soil. + +It was a lovely day, and the blue sky and sunshine, singing of birds, +and green of plain and forest, a pleasant relief to the eye and senses +after the cold and misery of the past two days. Astar (though the +port of Tabriz) is an insignificant place, its sole importance lying +in the fact that it is a frontier town. On one side of the narrow +river a collection of ramshackle mud huts, neglected gardens, foul +smells, beggars, and dogs--Persia; on the other, a score of neat stone +houses, well-kept roads and paths, flower-gardens, orchards, a pretty +church, and white fort surrounded by the inevitable black-and-white +sentry-boxes, guarded by a company of white-capped Cossacks--Russia. I +could not help realizing, on landing at Astar, the huge area of this +vast empire. How many thousand miles now separated me from the last +border town of the Great White Czar that I visited--Kiakhta, on the +Russo-Chinese frontier? + +Surrounded by a ragged mob, we walked to the village to see about +horses and a lodging for the night. The latter was soon found--a +flat-roofed mud hut about thirty feet square, devoid of chimney or +furniture of any kind. The floor, cracked in several places, was +crawling with vermin, and the walls undermined with rat-holes; but in +Persia one must not be particular. Leaving our baggage in the care of +one "Hassan," a bright-eyed, intelligent-looking lad, and instructing +him to prepare a meal, we made for the bazaar, a hundred yards away, +through a morass, knee deep in mud and abomination of all kinds, to +procure food. + +A row of thirty or forty mud huts composed the "bazaar," where, having +succeeded in purchasing tea, bread, eggs, and caviar, we turned our +attention to horseflesh. + +An old Jew having previously agreed to convert, at exorbitant +interest, our rouble notes into "sheis" and kerns, negotiations for +horses were then opened by Germe, and, as the _patois_ spoken in +Astar is a mixture of Turkish and Persian, with a little Tartar +thrown in, his task was no easy one, especially as every one spoke at +once and at the top of their voices. We discovered at last that but +few of the villagers owned a horse, and those who did were very +unwilling to let the animal for such an uncertain journey. "Who is +going to guarantee that the 'Farangis' will not steal it?" asked one +ragged, wild-looking fellow in sheepskins and a huge lamb's-wool cap. +"Or get it stolen from them?" added another, with a grin. "They can +have my old grey mare for two hundred kerns, but you won't catch me +letting her for hire," added a third. + +With the aid of our friend, the Jew, however, we finally persuaded +the sheepskin gentleman (a native of Khiva) to change his mind. After +considerable haggling as to price, he disappeared, to return with two of +the sorriest steeds I ever set eyes on. "We ought to reach Enzelli in +about three days, if we do not get our throats cut," said the Khivan, who +was to accompany us, encouragingly. + +Hassan had been busy in our absence; he had prepared an excellent +pilaff, and sent to Russian Astar for some kakti wine, which was +brought over in a goatskin. This, with our own provisions bought in +the morning, furnished a substantial and much-needed meal. Persian +native bread is somewhat trying at first to a weak digestion. It is +unleavened, baked in long thin strips, and is of suet-like consistency. +The hut, like most native houses in Persia, had no chimney, the only +outlet for the smoke being through the narrow doorway. This necessitates +lying flat on one's back in the clear narrow space between smoke and +flooring, or being suffocated--a minor inconvenience as compared with +others in Persian travel. + +The Khivan arrived with the horses at six next morning. By seven +o'clock we were well on the road, which for the first ten miles or so +led by the sea-shore, through dense thickets of brushwood, alternating +with patches of loose drifting sand. I was agreeably disappointed in +the ponies; for though it was deep, heavy going, they stepped out well +and freely. The clear sunshine, keen air, and lovely scenery seemed to +have the same inspiriting effect on them as on ourselves. + +The _coup d'oeil_ was indeed a lovely one. To our right a glorious +panorama of palm, forest, and river stretched away for miles, bounded +on the horizon by a chain of lofty precipitous mountains, their snowy +peaks white and dazzling against the deep cloudless blue, their +grassy slopes and rocky ravines hidden, here and there, by grey mists +floating lazily over depths of dark green forest at their feet. To our +left broad yellow sands, streaked with seaweed and dark driftwood, and +cold grey waters of the Caspian Sea--colourless and dead even under +this Mediterranean sky, and bringing one back, so to speak, from a +beautiful dream to stern reality. + +About midday we came to a broad but fordable river, which the Khivan +called the Chulmak. We all crossed in safety, notwithstanding the +deep holes our guide warned us against, and which, as the water was +thick and muddy, gave Germe and myself some anxiety. The stream was +about fifty yards across and much swollen by the snow. Landing on the +other side ahead of my companions, I rode on alone, and presently +found myself floundering about girth-deep in a quicksand. It was only +with great difficulty that we extricated the pony. These quicksands +are common on the shores of the Caspian, and natives, when travelling +alone, have perished from this cause. + +Nothing occurred worthy of notice till about 3 p.m., when we reached +the river Djemnil. An arm of the sea more accurately describes this +stream, which is (or was at the time of which I write) over three +hundred yards across. Here we had some difficulty with the Khivan, +who was for encamping till morning. I, however, strongly objected to +sleeping _a la belle toile_, especially as the sky had now clouded +over, and it was beginning to snow. Partly by conciliation, partly +by threats, we at last persuaded him to make the attempt, following +closely in his wake. It was nasty work. Twice our horses were carried +off their feet by the strong current running out to sea (we were +only a quarter of a mile from the mouth); and once we, or rather the +horses, had to swim for it; but we reached the opposite shore in under +half an hour, wet and numbed to the waist, but safe. At seven we were +snugly housed for the night at Katvesera, a so-called village of three +or four mud hovels, selecting the best (outwardly) for our night's +lodging. We were badly received by the natives. Neither money nor +threats would induce them to produce provisions of any kind, so we +fell back on sticks of chocolate and Valentine's meat-juice. The +latter I never travel without--it is invaluable in uncivilized and +desert countries. + +The inhabitants of Katvesera are under a score in number, and live +chiefly on fish, though I noticed in the morning that a considerable +quantity of land was under cultivation--apparently rice and barley. +They were a sullen, sulky lot, and we had almost to take the hut +by force. The Khivan, Germe, and myself took it in turns to watch +through the night. It was near here that the Italian was assassinated. + +A start was made at daybreak. The weather had now changed. A cutting +north-easter was blowing, accompanied with snow and sleet. We forded, +about 11 a.m., the Kokajeri river, a mountain stream about thirty +yards wide, unfordable except upon the sea-beach. At midday we halted +at Tchergri, a fishing-village on the shores of the Caspian. + +Tchergri contains about two hundred inhabitants, mostly fishermen +employed by a Russian firm. The houses, built of tree-trunks plastered +with mud, had roofs of thatched reed, and were far more substantial +and better built than any I had yet seen in Persia. Fearing a +reception like that of the previous evening, we had intended riding +straight through the place to our destination for the night, when a +European advanced to meet us through the snow. Mr. V----, a Russian, +and overseer of the fishery, had made his hut as comfortable as +circumstances would admit, and we were soon seated before a blazing +fire (with a chimney!), discussing a plate of steaming shtchi, [C] +washed down by a bottle of kakti. Roast mutton and pastry followed, +succeeded by coffee and vodka (for we had the good luck to arrive at +our host's dinner-hour). By the time cigarettes were under way we felt +fully equal to the long cold ride of fifteen miles that separated us +from our night's halting-place, Alal Rsht itself seemed at least +thirty miles nearer than it had before dinner. + +"You are bold," said Mr. V----, in French, "to attempt this journey +at this time of year. I do not mean as regards footpads and +robbers reports concerning them are always greatly exaggerated; but +the rivers are in a terrible state. There is one just beyond Alal, +that I know you cannot cross on horseback. I will send a man on at +once to try and get a boat for you, and you can pull the horses after +you. There is an Armenian at Alal, who will give you a lodging +to-night" Mr. V---- 's good fare and several glasses of vodka +considerably shortened our ride, and we arrived at Alal before dark, +where a hearty welcome awaited us. Turning in after a pipe and two +or three glasses of tea, we slept soundly till time to start in the +morning. The outlook from our snug resting-place was not inviting--the +sky of a dirty grey, blowing hard, and snowing harder than ever. + +Alal contains about eight hundred inhabitants. The land surrounding +it is thickly cultivated with rice and tobacco. Neither are, however, +exported in any quantity, the difficulties of transport to Astar or +Enzelli being so great. + +It is somewhat puzzling to a stranger to get at the names of places on +the southern shores of the Caspian. Most of the villages are known +by more than one, but Alal rejoices in as many _aliases_ as an old +gaol-bird, viz. Alal, Asalim, and Navarim. + +Thanks to our Russian friend, a boat and a couple of men were awaiting +us at the big river (I could not ascertain its name). Entering it +ourselves, we swam the horses over one by one. It took us the best +part of two hours. Though only two hundred yards wide, they were off +their legs nearly the whole way. What we should have done without Mr. +V---- 's aid I know not. + +Towards sundown the high tower of the Shah's palace at Enzelli came +in sight. At last the neck of this weary journey was broken, and +to-morrow, all being well, we should be at Rsht. The road is winding, +and it was not till past ten o'clock that we rode through the silent, +deserted streets to the caravanserai, a filthier lodging than any we +had yet occupied. But, though devoured by vermin, I slept soundly, +tired out with cold and fatigue. We dismissed the Khivan with a +substantial _pour-boire_. He had certainly behaved extremely well for +one of his race. + +Enzelli is an uninteresting place. It has but two objects of interest +(in Persian eyes)--the lighthouse (occasionally lit) and a palace of +the Shah, built a few years since as a _pied--terre_ for his Majesty +on the occasion of his visits to Europe. It is a tawdry gimcrack +edifice, painted bright blue, red, and green, in the worst possible +taste. The Shah, on returning from Europe last time, is said to have +remarked to his ministers on landing at Enzelli, "I have not seen +a single building in all Europe to compare with this!" Probably +not--from one point of view. + +The Caspian may indeed be called a Russian lake, for although the +whole of its southern coast is Persian, the only Persian vessel +tolerated upon it by Russia is the yacht of the Shah, a small steamer, +the gift of the Caucase-Mercure Company, which lies off Enzelli. Even +this vessel is only permitted to navigate in and about the waters of +the Mourdab ("dead water"), a large lake, a kind of encroachment of +the sea, eighteen to twenty miles broad, which separates Enzelli from +Peri-Bazar, the landing-place for Rsht, four miles distant. The +imperial yacht did once get as far as Astar (presumably by mistake), +but was immediately escorted back to Enzelli by a Russian cruiser. +There is, however, a so-called Persian fleet--the steamship +_Persepolis_, anchored off Bushire, in the Persian Gulf, and the +_Susa_, which lies off Mohammerah. The former is about six hundred +tons, and carries four Krupp guns; but the latter is little better +than a steam-launch. Both have been at anchor for about four years, +and are practically unseaworthy and useless. + +We embarked at nine o'clock, in a boat pulled by eight men. The +crossing of the Mourdab is at times impossible, owing to the heavy +sea; but this time luck was with us, and midday saw us at Peri-Bazar, +where there is no difficulty in procuring riding-horses to take one +into Rsht. The country between the two places was formerly morass and +jungle, but on the occasion of the Shah's visit to Europe about twenty +years ago, a carriage-road was made--not a good one, for such a +thing does not exist in Persia--but a very fair riding-track (in dry +weather). We reached Rsht wet to the skin, the snow having ceased and +given way to a steady downpour of rain. + +Rsht bears the unpleasant reputation of being the most unhealthy city +in Persia. Its very name, say the natives, is derived from the word +_rishta_, "death." "If you wish to die," says a proverb of Irak, "go +to Rsht!" The city, which had, at the beginning of the century, a +population of over sixty thousand inhabitants, now has barely thirty +thousand. This certainly looks as if there were some truth in the +foregoing remarks; and there is no doubt that, on the visitation of +the plague about ten years ago, the mortality was something frightful. +A great percentage of deaths are ascribed to Rsht fever--a terrible +disease, due to the water and the exhalations from the marshes +surrounding the city. It is certainly the dampest place in the world. +The sun is seldom seen, and one's clothes, even on a dry, rainless +day, become saturated with moisture. + +The town is, nevertheless, prettily situated in a well-wooded country. +It would almost be imposing were it not for the heavy rains and dews, +which cause a rapid decay of the buildings. The latter are mostly of +red brick and glazed tiles. + +Rsht is the dept for goods to and from Persia--chiefly silks. +Tobacco is also grown in yearly increasing quantities. Several Russian +firms have opened here for the manufacture of cigarettes, which, +though they may find favour among the natives, are too hot and coarse +for European tastes. They are well made and cheap enough--sevenpence a +hundred. + +In addition to the native population, Rsht contains about five +hundred Armenians, and a score or so of Europeans. Among the latter +are a Russian and a British vice-consul. To the residence of the +latter we repaired. Colonel Stewart's kindness and hospitality are a +byword in Persia, and the Sunday of our arrival at Rsht was truly a +day of rest after the discomfort and privations we had undergone since +leaving Baku. + + +[Footnote A: _Isvostchik_, a cab-driver.] + +[Footnote B: "Tchornigorod," or "Black Town," so called from the smoke +that hangs night and day over the oil-factories.] + +[Footnote C: Russian cabbage-soup.] + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +RSHT--PATCHINAR. + + +Day broke gloomily enough the morning following the day of our arrival +at Rsht. The snow, still falling fast, lay over two feet deep in +the garden beneath my window, while great white drifts barred the +entrance-gates of the Consulate. About eight o'clock our host made his +appearance, and, waking me from pleasant dreams of sunnier climes, +tried to dissuade me from making a start under such unfavourable +circumstances. An imperial courier had just arrived from Tehern, and +his report was anything but reassuring. The roads were in a terrible +state; the Kharzn, a long and difficult pass, was blocked with snow, +and the villages on either side of it crowded with weather-bound +caravans. + +The prospect, viewed from a warm and comfortable bed, was not +inviting. Anxiety, however, to reach Tehern and definitely map out +my route to India overcame everything, even the temptation to defer a +journey fraught with cold, hunger, and privation, and take it easy for +a few days, with plenty of food and drink, to say nothing of cigars, +books, and newspapers, in the snug cosy rooms of the Consulate. "You +will be sorry for it to-morrow," said the colonel, as he left the room +to give the necessary orders for our departure; adding with a smile, +"I suppose a wilful man must have his way." + +There are two modes of travelling in Persia: marching with a caravan, +a slow and tedious process; and riding post, or "chapar." The latter, +being the quickest, is usually adopted by Europeans, but can only +be done on the Government post-roads, of which there are five: from +Tehern to Rsht, Tabriz, Meshd, Kermn, and the Persian Gulf +port, Bushire. These so-called roads are, however, often mere +caravan-tracks, sometimes totally hidden by drifting sand or snow. +In the interior of the country the hard sun-baked soil is usually +trackless, so that the aid of a "Shagird Chapar," or post-boy, becomes +essential. + +The distance between the "Chapar khanehs," as the tumble-down sheds +doing duty for post-houses are called, is generally five farsakhs, or +about twenty English miles; but the Persian farsakh is elastic, and +we often rode more, at other times less, than we paid for. Travel is +cheap: one kern per farsakh (2-1/2_d_. a mile) per horse, with a +_pour-boire_ of a couple of kerns to the "Shagird" at the end of the +stage. + +Given a good horse and fine weather, Persian travel would be +delightful; but the former is, unfortunately, very rarely met with. +Most of the post-horses have been sold for some vice which nothing but +constant hard work will keep under. Kickers, rearers, jibbers, shyers, +and stumblers are but too common, and falls of almost daily occurrence +on a long journey. Goodness knows how many Germe and I had between +Rsht and the Persian Gulf. + +Notwithstanding these drawbacks, the speed attained by the wretched +half-starved animals is little short of marvellous. Nothing seems +to tire them. We averaged fifty miles a day after leaving Tehern, +covering, on one occasion, over a hundred miles in a little over +eleven hours. This is good work, considering the ponies seldom exceed +fourteen hands two inches, and have to carry a couple of heavy +saddle-bags in addition to their rider. Germe must have ridden quite +fourteen stone. + +About ten o'clock the horses arrived, in charge of a miserable-looking +Shagird, in rags and a huge lamb's-wool cap, the only warm thing about +him. It was pitiful to see the poor wretch, with bare legs and feet, +shivering and shaking in the cutting wind and snow. The ponies, too, +looked tucked up and leg-weary, as if they had just come off a long +stage (which, indeed, they probably had) instead of going on one. + +"Don't be alarmed; they are the proverbial rum 'uns to look at," said +our host, who would not hear of our setting out without saddle-bags +crammed with good things: cold meat, sardines, cigarettes, a couple of +bottles of brandy, and a flask of Russian vodka. But for these we must +literally have starved _en route_. + +"Good-bye. Good luck to you!" from the colonel. + +"En avant!" cries Germe, with a deafening crack of his heavy chapar +whip. We are both provided with this instrument of torture--a thick +plaited thong about five feet long, attached to a short thick wooden +handle, and terminating in a flat leathern cracker of eight or ten +inches. A cut from this would make an English horse jump out of his +skin, but had little or no effect on the tough hides of our "chapar" +ponies. The snow is almost up to the knees of the latter as we labour +through the gateway and into the narrow street. Where will it be on +the Kharzn Pass? + +Rsht is picturesquely situated. It must be a lovely place in +summer-time, when fertile plains of maize, barley, and tobacco stretch +away on every side, bounded by belts of dark green forest and chains +of low well-wooded hills, while the post-road leads for miles through +groves of mulberry trees, apple orchards, and garden-girt villas, half +hidden by roses and jasmine. But this was hardly a day for admiring +the beauties of nature. Once out of the suburbs and in the open +country, nothing met the eye but a dreary wilderness of white earth +and sullen grey sky, that boded ill for the future. The cold was +intense. Although dressed in the thickest of tweeds and sheepskin +jacket, sable pelisse, enormous "bourka," and high felt boots, it was +all I could do to keep warm even when going at a hand gallop, varied +every hundred yards or so by a desperate "peck" on the part of my +pony. + +The first stage, Koudoum, five farsakhs from Rsht, was reached about +three o'clock in the afternoon. This was my first experience of a Chapar +khaneh. The Shagird informed us that it was considered a very good one, +and was much frequented by Europeans in summer-time--presumably, +judging from the holes in the roof, for the sake of coolness. Let me +here give the reader a brief description of the accommodation provided +for travellers by his Imperial Majesty the Shah. The Koudoum Chapar +khaneh is a very fair example of the average Persian post-house. + +Imagine a small one-storied building, whitewashed, save where wind +and rain have disclosed the brown mud beneath. A wooden ladder (with +half the rungs missing) leads to the guest-chamber, a large bare +room, devoid of furniture of any kind, with smoke-blackened walls +and rotten, insecure flooring. A number of rats scamper away at our +approach. I wonder what on earth they can find to eat, until Germe +points out a large hole in the centre of the apartment. This affords +an excellent view of the stables, ten or twelve feet below, admitting, +at the same time, a pungent and overpowering odour of manure and +ammonia. A smaller room, a kind of ante-chamber, leads out of this. As +it is partly roofless, I seek, but in vain, for a door to shut out the +icy cold blast. Further search in the guest-room reveals six large +windows, or rather holes, for there are no shutters, much less +window-panes. It is colder here, if anything, than outside, for the +draughts are always at once; but we must in Persia be thankful +for small mercies. There is a chimney, in which a good log fire, +kindled by Germe, is soon blazing. + +Lunch and a nip of the colonel's vodka work wonders, and we are +beginning to think, over a "papirosh," that Persia is not such a bad +place after all, when the Shagird's head appears at the window. There +are only two horses available for the next stage, but a third has been +sent for from a neighbouring village, and will shortly arrive. As +night is falling fast, I set out with the Shagird for the next +station, Rustemabad, leaving Germe, who has already travelled the +road and knows it well, to follow alone. + +It is still snowing fast, but my mount is a great improvement on that +of the morning, luckily, for the stage is a long one, and we have a +stiff mountain to climb before reaching our destination for the night. + +We ride for three hours, slowly and silently, over a plain knee-deep +in snow. About half-way across a tinkle of bells is heard, clear and +musical, in the distance. Presently a large caravan looms out of the +dusk--fifty or sixty camels and half a dozen men. The latter exchange +a cheery "Good night" with my guide. Slowly the ungainly, heavily +laden beasts file past us, gaunt and spectral in the twilight, the +bells die away on the still wintry air, and we are again alone on the +desolate plain--not a sign of life, not a sound to be heard, but +the crunching of snow under our horses' feet, and the occasional +pistol-like crack of my guide's heavy whip. + +It is almost dark when we commence the ascent of the mountain on the +far side of which lies Rustemabad. The path is rough and narrow, and +in places hewn out of the solid rock. Towards the summit, where a +slip or false step would be fatal, a dark shapeless mass appears, +completely barring the pathway, on the white snow. Closer inspection +reveals a dead camel, abandoned, doubtless, by the caravan we +have just passed, for the carcase is yet warm. With considerable +difficulty, but aided by the hard slippery ground, we drag it to the +brink of the precipice, and send it crashing down through bush and +briar, to fall with a loud splash into a foaming torrent far below. +During this performance one of the ponies gets loose, and half an hour +is lost in catching him again. + +So the journey wore on. Half-way down on the other side of the +mountain, my pony stumbled and shot me head first into a pool of +liquid mud, from which I was, with some difficulty, extricated wet +through and chilled to the bone. The discomfort was bad enough, but, +worse still, my sable pelisse, the valuable gift of a Russian friend, +was, I feared, utterly ruined. + +It was nearly nine o'clock when we reached Rustemabad, to find rather +worse quarters than we had left at Koudoum. To make matters worse, +I had no change of clothes, and the black, ill-smelling mud had +penetrated to the innermost recesses of my saddle-bags, which did +not tend to improve the flavour of the biscuits and chocolate that +constituted my evening meal. No food of any kind was procurable at +the post-house, and all our own provisions were behind with Germe. +Luckily, I had stuck to the flask of vodka! + +With the help of the postmaster, a decrepit, half-witted old man, and +the sole inmate of the place, I managed to kindle a good fire, and set +to work to dry my clothes, a somewhat uncomfortable process, as it +entailed my remaining three-parts naked for half the night in an +atmosphere very little above zero. The sables were in a terrible +state. It was midnight before the mud on them was sufficiently dry to +brush off, as I fondly hoped, in the morning. + +Germe did not turn up till one o'clock a.m., his horse not having +arrived at Koudoum till past seven. He had lost his way twice, and had +almost given up all hopes of reaching Rustemabad till daylight, when +my fire, the only light in the place, shone out of the darkness. The +poor fellow was so stiff and numbed with fatigue and cold that I had +to lift him off his horse and carry him into the post-house. He was +a sorry object, but I could not refrain from smiling. My companion's +usually comical, ruddy face wore a woebegone look, while long +icicles hung from his hair, eyebrows, and moustaches, giving him the +appearance of a very melancholy old Father Christmas. + +Morning brought a cloudless blue sky and brilliant sunshine. My first +thought on awaking was for the pelisse. Summoning the old postmaster, +I confided the precious garment to him, with strict injunctions to +take it outside, beat it well with a stick, and bring it back to me to +brush. In the mean time, we busied ourselves with breakfast and a +cup of steaming cocoa, for a long ride was before us. It was still +bitterly cold, with a strong north-easter blowing. The thermometer +marked (in the sun) only one degree above zero. + +Rustemabad, a collection of straggling, tumble-down hovels, contains +about four or five hundred inhabitants. The post-house, perched on +the summit of a steep hill, is situated some little distance from +the village, which stands in the centre of a plateau, bounded on the +south-west by a chain of precipitous mountains. The country around is +fertile and productive, being well watered by the Sefid Roud (White +River). Rice is largely grown, but to-day not a trace of vegetation is +visible; nothing but the vast white plain, smooth and unbroken, save +where, here and there, a brown village blurrs its smooth surface, an +oasis of mud huts in this desert of dazzling snow. + +An exclamation from Germe suddenly drew my attention to the +postmaster, who stood at the open doorway, my pelisse in hand. I was +then unused to the ways and customs of the Persian peasantry, or +should have known that it was but labour lost to make one spring at +the old idiot, and, twining my fingers in his throat, shake him till +he yelled for mercy. Nothing but a thick stick has the slightest +effect upon the Shah's subjects; and I was, for a moment, sorely +tempted to use mine. The reader must own that I should have been +justified. It was surely enough to try the patience of a saint, for +the old imbecile had deliberately walked down to the river, made +a hole in the ice, and soaked the garment in water to the waist, +reducing it to its former condition of liquid slime. This was _his_ +method of getting the mud off. I may add that this intelligent +official had _assisted me in the drying process up till midnight_. + +There was no help for it; nothing to be done but cut off the damaged +portion from the waist to the heels--no easy matter, for it was frozen +as stiff as a board. "It will make a better riding-jacket now," said +Germe, consolingly; "but this son of a pig shall not gain by it," he +added, stamping the ruined remains into the now expiring fire. + +The village of Patchinar, at the foot of the dreaded Kharzn Pass, was +to be our halting-place for the night. The post-road, after leaving +Rustemabad, leads through the valley of the Sefid Roud river, in +which, by the way, there is excellent salmon-fishing. About six miles +from Rustemabad is a spot called by the natives the "Castle of the +Winds," on account of the high winds that, even in the calmest +weather, prevail there. Although, out on the plain, there was a +scarcely perceptible breeze, we had to literally fight our way against +the terrific gusts that swept through this narrow gorge. Fortunately, +it was a fine day, but the fine powdery snow whirled up and cut into +our eyes and faces, and made travelling very unpleasant. + +These violent wind-storms have never been satisfactorily accounted +for. They continue for a certain number of hours every day, summer +and winter, increasing in force till sunset, when they abate, to rise +again the following dawn. On some occasions horses, and even camels, +have been blown over, and caravans are sometimes compelled to halt +until the fury of the storm has diminished. + +Crossing a ridge of low hills, we descended into the valley of +Roudbar, a quiet and peaceful contrast to the one we had just left. +The wind now ceased as if by magic. Much of the snow had here +disappeared under the warm sunshine, while before us, nestling in +a grove of olive trees, lay the pretty village, with its white +picturesque houses and narrow streets shaded by gaily striped awnings. +It was like a transformation-scene, this sudden change from winter, +with its grey sky and cold icy blast, to the sunny stillness and +repose of an English summer's day. We rode through the bazaar, a busy +and crowded one for so small a place. A large trade is done here in +olives. Most of it is in the hands of two enterprising Frenchmen, who +started business some years ago, and are doing well. + +We managed to get a mouthful of food at Menjil while the horses were +being changed. + +Colonel S---- had especially warned us against sleeping here, the +Chapar khaneh being infested with the Meana bug, a species of camel +tick, which inflicts a poisonous and sometimes dangerous wound. It is +only found in certain districts, and rarely met with south of Tehern. +The virus has been known, in some cases, to bring on typhoid fever, +and one European is said to have died from its effects. For the truth +of this I cannot vouch; but there is no doubt that the bite is always +followed by three or four days' more or less serious indisposition. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +PATCHINAR--TEHERN. + + +Our troubles commenced in real earnest at Patchinar, a +desolate-looking place and filthy post-house, which was reached at +sunset. The post from Tehern had just arrived, in charge of a +tall strapping fellow armed to the teeth, in dark blue uniform and +astrachan cap, bearing the Imperial badge, the lion and sun, in brass. +The mail was ten days late, and had met with terrible weather on the +Kharzn. They had passed, only that morning, two men lying by the +roadway, frozen to death. The poor fellows were on their way to +Tehern from Menjil, and had lain where they fell for two or three +days. "You had far better have remained at Rsht," added our +informant, unpleasantly recalling to my mind the colonel's prophecy, +"You will be sorry for this to-morrow!" + +Notwithstanding hunger and vermin, we managed to enjoy a tolerable +night's rest. The post-house was warm at any rate, being windowless. +Patchinar was evidently a favourite halting-place, for the dingy walls +of the guest-room were covered with writing and pencil sketches, the +work of travellers trying to kill time, from the Frenchman who +warned one (in rhyme) to beware of the thieving propensities of the +postmaster, to the more practical Englishman, who, in a bold hand, +had scrawled across the wall, "_Big bugs here!_" I may add that my +countryman was not exaggerating. + +There was no difficulty in getting horses the next morning. The post, +which left for Rsht before we were stirring, had left us seven +sorry-looking steeds, worn out with their previous day's journey +through the deep snow-drifts of the Kharzn. By nine o'clock we were +ready to start, notwithstanding the entreaties of the postmaster, +whose anxiety, however, was not on our account, but on that of the +horses. + +"I don't believe I shall ever see them again!" he mumbled mournfully, +as we rode out of the yard. "And who is to repay me for their loss? +You will be dead, too, before sundown, if the snow catches you in the +mountains!" + +But there seemed no probability of such a contingency. The sky was +blue and cloudless, the sun so bright that the glare off the snow soon +became unbearable without smoked goggles. The promise of an extra +kern or two if we reached the end of the stage by daylight had a +wonderful effect on the Shagird. Though it was terribly heavy going, +and the snow in places up to our girths, we covered the five miles +lying between Patchinar and the foot of the Kharzn in a little over +three hours--good going considering the state of the road. We were as +often off the former as on it, for there was nothing to guide one; +nothing but telegraph poles and wires were visible, and these are +occasionally laid straight across country away from the track. + +Our destination for the night was the village of Kharzn, which is +situated near the summit of the mountain, about six thousand feet +high. The ascent is continuous and precipitous. An idea may be gained +of the steepness by the fact that we now left the valley of the Shah +Roud, barely one thousand feet above sea-level, to ascend, in a +distance of about twelve miles, over six thousand feet. + +The Kharzn Pass is at all times dreaded by travellers, native and +European, even in summer, when there are no avalanches to fear, +snow-drifts to bar the way, or ice to render the narrow, tortuous +pathway even more insecure. A serious inconvenience, not to say +danger, is the meeting of two camel caravans travelling in opposite +directions on the narrow track, which, in many places, is barely ten +feet broad, and barely sufficient to allow two horses to pass each +other, to say nothing of heavily laden camels. But to-day we were safe +so far as this was concerned. Not a soul was to be seen in the clefts +and ravines around, or on the great white expanse stretched out +beneath our feet, as we crept cautiously up the side of the mountain, +our guide halting every ten or fifteen yards to probe the snow with a +long pole and make sure that we had not got off the path. + +A stiff and tedious climb of nearly seven hours brought us to within a +mile of the summit. Halting for a short time, we refreshed ourselves +with a couple of biscuits and a nip of brandy, and proceeded on our +journey. We had now arrived at the most dangerous part of the pass. +The pathway, hewn out of the solid rock, and about ten feet wide, was +covered with a solid layer of ice eight or ten inches thick, over +which our horses skated about in a most uncomfortable manner. There +was no guard-rail or protection of any sort on the precipice side. All +went well for a time, and I was beginning to congratulate myself on +having reached the summit without-accident, when Gerdme's horse, just +in front of me, blundered and nearly lit on his head. "Ah, son of a +pig's mother!" yelled the little Russian in true Cossack vernacular, +as the poor old screw, thoroughly done up, made a desperate peck, +ending in a slither that brought him to within a foot of the brink. +"That was a close shave, monsieur!" he continued, as his pony +struggled back into safety, "I shall get off and walk. Wet feet are +better than a broken neck any day!" + +The words were scarcely out of his mouth, when a loud cry from +the Shagird, and a snort and struggle from the pack-horse behind, +attracted my attention. This time the beast had slipped with a +vengeance, and was half-way over the edge, making, with his fore +feet, frantic efforts to regain _terra firma_ while his hind legs and +quarters dangled in mid-air. There was no time to dismount and render +assistance. The whole thing was over in less than ten seconds. The +Shagird might, indeed, have saved the fall had he kept his head +instead of losing it. All he could do was, with a loud voice and +outstretched arms, to invoke the assistance of "Allah!" We were not +long in suspense. Slowly, inch by inch, the poor brute lost his hold +of the slippery ground, and disappeared, with a shrill neigh of +terror, from sight. For two or three seconds we heard him striking +here and there against a jutting rock or shrub, till, with a final +thud, he landed on a small plateau of deep snow-drifts at least +three hundred feet below. Here he lay motionless and apparently +dead, while we could see through our glasses a thin stream of +crimson flow from under him, gradually staining the white snow +around. + +[Illustration: CROSSING THE KHADZN] + +A cat is popularly supposed to have nine lives. After my experience +of the Persian post-horse, I shall never believe that that rough and +ill-shaped but useful animal has less than a dozen. The fall I +have described would assuredly have killed a horse of any other +nationality, if I may use the word. It seemed, on the contrary, to +have a tonic and exhilarating effect on this Patchinar pony. Before we +could reach him (a work of considerable difficulty and some risk) he +had risen to his feet, given himself a good shake, and was nibbling +away at a bit of gorse that peeped through the snow on which he had +fallen. A deep cut on the shoulder was his only injury, and, curiously +enough, our portmanteaus, with the exception of a broken strap, were +unharmed. There was, luckily, nothing breakable in either. + +Kharzn, a miserable village under snow for six months of the year, +was reached without further mishap. There is no post-house, and the +caravanserai was crowded with caravans. Before sundown, however, we +were comfortably installed in the house of the head-man of the place, +who spread carpets of soft texture and quaint design in our honour, +regaled us with an excellent "pilaff," and produced a flask of Persian +wine. The latter would hardly have passed muster in Europe. The cork +consisted of a plug of cotton-wool plastered with clay; the contents +were of a muddy-brown colour. "It is pure Hamadn," said our host with +pride, as he placed the bottle before us. "Perhaps the sahib did not +know that our country is famous for its wines." It was not altogether +unpalatable, something like light but rather sweet hock; very +different, however, in its effects to that innocent beverage, and one +could not drink much with impunity. Its cheapness surprised me: +one shilling a quart bottle. That, at least, is the price our host +charged--probably more than half again its real value. + +The winegrowers of Hamadn have many difficulties to contend with; +among others, the severe cold. In winter the wine is kept in huge +jars, containing six or seven hundred bottles. These are buried in +the ground, their necks being surrounded by hot beds of fermenting +horse-dung, to keep the wine from freezing. But even this plan +sometimes fails, and it has to be chopped out in solid blocks and +melted for drinking. + +Kharzn has a population of about a thousand inhabitants. It was here +that Baker Pasha was brought some years ago in a dying condition, +after being caught in a wind-storm on the Kharzn Pass, and lay for +three days in the house we were lodging at. Our old friend showed us a +clasp-knife presented him by the colonel, who on that occasion nearly +lost both his feet from frost-bite. Captains Gill and Clayton, [A] of +the Royal Engineers and Ninth Lancers, were with him, but escaped +unharmed. + +Stiff and worn out with the events of the day, we soon stretched +ourselves in front of the blazing fire in anticipation of a good +night's rest; but sleep was not for us. In the next room were a party +of Persian merchants from Astrakhan on their way to Bagdad _vi_ +Tehern, who had been prisoners here for five days, and were now +carousing on the strength of getting away on the morrow. A woman was +with them--a brazen-faced, shrill-voiced Armenian, who made more noise +than all the rest put together. Singing, dancing, quarrelling, and +drinking went on without intermission till long past midnight, our +neighbours raising such a din that the good people of Kharzn, a +quarter of a mile away, must have turned uneasily in their slumbers, +and wondered whether an army of fiends had not broken loose. Towards 1 +a.m. the noise ceased, and we were just dropping to sleep, when, at +about half-past two in the morning, our drunken friends, headed by the +lady, burst into our apartment, with the information, in bad Russian, +that a gang of fifty men sent that morning to clear a path through +the deep snow had just returned, and the road to Mazreh was now +practicable. The caravans would be starting in an hour, they +added. "And you'd better travel with them," joined in the lady, +contemptuously, "or you will be sure to get into trouble by +yourselves." A reply more forcible than polite from Germe then +cleared the apartment; and, rekindling the now expiring embers, we +prepared for the road. + +We set out at dawn for the gate of the village, where the caravans +were to assemble. It was still freezing hard, and the narrow streets +like sheets of solid ice, so that our horses kept their legs with +difficulty. We must have numbered fifty or sixty camels, and as many +mules and horses, all heavily laden. + +Daybreak disclosed a weird, beautiful scene: a sea of snow, over which +the rising sun threw countless effects of light and colour, from the +cold slate grey immediately around us, gradually lightening to the +faintest tints of rose and gold on the eastern horizon, where stars +were paling in a cloudless sky. Portrayed on canvas, the picture would +have looked unnatural, so brilliant were the hues thrown by the rising +sun over the land-, or rather snow-scape. The cold, though intense, +was not unbearable, for there was fortunately no wind, and the spirits +rose with the crisp, bracing air, brilliant sunshine, and jangle of +caravan bells, as one realized that Tehern was now well within reach, +and the dreaded Kharzn a thing of the past. Germe gave vent to his +feelings with a succession of roulades and operatic airs; for my +little friend had a very good opinion of his vocal powers, which I, +unfortunately, did not share. But he was a cheery, indefatigable +creature, and of indomitable pluck, and one gladly forgave him this, +his only failing. + +It was terribly hard work all that morning, and Germe had four, I +three, falls, on one occasion wrenching my right ankle badly. Some +of the drifts through which we rode must have been at least ten or +fifteen feet deep. Some tough faggots thrown over these afforded a +footing, or we should never have got over. Towards midday Mazreh +was sighted; and we pushed on ahead, leaving the caravan to its own +devices. The going was now better, and it was soon far behind us, the +only object visible from the low hills which we now ascended, the +camels and mules looking, from this distance, like flies crawling over +a huge white sheet. + +Lunch at Mazreh consisted of damp, mouldy bread, and some sweet, +sickly liquid the postmaster called tea. Procuring fresh horses +without difficulty, we set out about 3 p.m. for Kazvin. It was not +till 10 p.m. that we were riding through the great gate of that city, +which the soldier on guard consented, with some demur, to open. + +Kazvin boasts a hotel and a boulevard! The latter is lit by a dozen +oil-lamps; the former, though a palatial building of brick, with +verandahs and good rooms, is left to darkness and the rats in the +absence of travellers. Having groped our way for half an hour or so +about a labyrinth of dark, narrow streets, we presently emerged on the +dimly lit boulevard (three of the oil-lamps had gone out), and rode +up to the melancholy looking hostelry at the end. Failing to obtain +admission, we burst open the door, and made ourselves as comfortable +as circumstances would allow. Food was out of the question; drink, +saving some villainous raki of Germe's, also; but there was plenty +of firewood, and we soon had a good fire in the grate. This hotel +was originally built by the Shah for the convenience of himself +and ministers when on his way to Europe. It is only on these rare +occasions that the barn-like building is put in order. Visions of +former luxury were still visible in our bedroom in the shape of a +bedstead, toilet-table, and looking-glass. "But we can't eat _them_!" +said Germe, mournfully. + +Kazvin, which now has a population of 30,000, has seen better days. It +was once capital of Persia, with 120,000 inhabitants. Strolling out in +the morning before breakfast, I found it well and regularly built, and +surrounded by a mud wall, with several gates of beautiful mosaic, now +much chipped and defaced. + +Being the junction of the roads from Tabriz on the west, and Rsht on +the north to the capital, is now Kazvin's sole importance. The road to +Tehern was made some years ago at enormous expense by the Shah; but +it has now, in true Persian style, been left to fall into decay. It is +only in the finest and driest weather that the journey can be made on +wheels, and this was naturally out of the question for us. A +railway was mooted some time since along this, the only respectable +carriage-road in Persia--but the project was soon abandoned. + +The post-houses, however, are a great improvement on any in other +parts of the country. At Kishlak, for instance, we found a substantial +brick building with a large guest-room, down the centre of which ran +a long table with spotless table-cloth, spread out with plates +of biscuits, apples, nuts, pears, dried fruits, and sweetmeats, +beautifully decorated with gold and silver paper, and at intervals +decanters of water--rather cold fare with the thermometer at a few +degrees above zero. The fruits and biscuits were shrivelled and +tasteless, having evidently been there some months. It reminded me of +a children's doll dinner-party. With the exception of these Barmecide +feasts and some straw-flavoured eggs, there was nothing substantial to +be got in any of the post-houses till we reached our destination. + +About four o'clock on the 27th we first sighted the white peak of +Mount Demavend, and by three o'clock next day were within sight of the +dingy brown walls, mud houses, and white minarets of the city of the +Shah--Tehern. + + +[Footnote A: Both have since met violent deaths. Captain Gill was +murdered by natives with Professor Palmer near Suez, and Captain +Clayton killed while playing polo in India.] + + + +CHAPTER V. + +TEHERN. + + +A brilliant ball-room, pretty faces, smart gowns, good music, and +an excellent supper;--thus surrounded, I pass my first evening in +Tehern, a pleasant contrast indeed to the preceding night of dirt, +cold, and hunger. + +But it was not without serious misgivings that I accepted the +courteous invitation of the German Embassy. The crossing of the +Kharzn had not improved the appearance of dress-clothes and shirts, +to say nothing of my eyes being in the condition described by +pugilists as "bunged up," my face of the hue of a boiled lobster, the +effects of sun and snow. + +One is struck, on entering Tehern, with the apparent cleanliness of +the place as compared with other Oriental towns. The absence of heaps +of refuse, cess-pools, open drains, and bad smells is remarkable to +one accustomed to Eastern cities; but this was perhaps, at the time of +my visit, due to the pure rarified atmosphere, the keen frosty air, of +winter. Tehern in January, with its cold bracing climate, and Tehern +in June, with the thermometer above ninety in the shade, are two very +different things; and the town is so unhealthy in summer, that all +Europeans who can afford to do so live on the hills around the +capital. + +The environs are not picturesque. They have been likened to those of +Madrid, having the same brown calcined soil, the same absence of trees +and vegetation. The city, viewed from outside the walls, is ugly and +insignificant, and, on a dull day, indistinguishable at no great +distance. In clear weather, however, the beehive-like dwellings and +rumbling ramparts stand out in bold relief against a background of +blue sky and dazzling snow-mountains, over which towers, in solitary +grandeur, the peak of Mount Demavend, [A] an extinct volcano, over +20,000 feet high, the summit of which is reported by natives to be +haunted. The ascent is gradual and easy, and has frequently been made +by Europeans. + +Tehern is divided into two parts--the old city and the new. In the +former, inhabited only by natives, the streets are narrow, dark, and +tortuous, leading at intervals into large squares with deep tanks of +running water in the centre. The latter are characteristic of Persia, +and have in summer a deliciously cool appearance, the coping of the +fountain being only an inch or so in height, and the water almost +flush with the ground. The new, or European quarter, is bisected by +a broad tree-lined thoroughfare, aptly named the "Boulevard des +Ambassadeurs," for here are the legations of England, France, and +Germany. The Russian Embassy, a poor building in comparison with +the others, stands in another part of the town. Hard by the English +Embassy is the Htel Prevt, kept by a Frenchman of that name, once +confectioner-in-chief to his Majesty the Shah. Here we took up our +quarters during our stay in the capital. + +At the extremity of the Boulevard des Ambassadeurs is the "Place des +Canons," so called from the old and useless cannon of various ages +that surround it. The square is formed by low barn-like barracks, +their whitewashed walls decorated with gaudy and rudely drawn pictures +of Persian soldiers and horses. Beyond this again, and approached by +an avenue of poplar trees, lit by electric light, is the palace of the +Shah, with nothing to indicate the presence in town of the sovereign +but a guard of ragged-looking, unkempt Persians in Russian uniform +lounging about the principal gateway. + +The Persian soldier is not a credit to his country. Although drilled +and commanded by European officers, he is a slouching, awkward fellow, +badly paid, ill fed, and not renowned for bravery. The ordinary +infantry uniform consists of a dark-blue tunic and trousers with red +facings, and a high astrachan busby with the brass badge of the lion +and sun. To a stranger, however, the varied and grotesque costumes +in which these clowns are put by their imperial master is somewhat +confusing. One may see, for instance, Russian cossacks, French +chasseurs, German uhlans, and Austrian cuirassiers incongruously mixed +up together in the ranks on parade. His army is the Shah's favourite +toy, and nothing affords the eccentric monarch so much amusement as +constant change of uniform. As the latter are manufactured in and sent +out from the countries they represent, the expense to the state is +considerable. + +The first Europeans to instruct this rabble were Frenchmen, but +England, Russia, Germany, and Austria have all supplied officers and +instructors within the past fifty years, without, however, any +good result. Although the arsenal at Tehern is full of the latest +improvements in guns and magazine rifles, these are kept locked up, +and only for show, the old Brown Bess alone being used. The Cossack +regiment always stationed at Tehern, ostensibly for the protection of +the Shah, and officered by Russians, is the only one with any attempt +at discipline or order, and is armed with the Berdn rifle. + +The Tehern bazaar is, at first sight, commonplace and uninteresting. +Though of enormous extent (it contains in the daytime over thirty +thousand souls), it lacks the picturesque Oriental appearance of those +of Cairo or Constantinople, where costly and beautiful wares are set +out in tempting array before the eyes of the unwary stranger. Here +they are kept in the background, and a European must remain in +the place for a couple of months or so, and make friends with the +merchants, before he be even permitted to see them. The position is +reversed. At Stamboul the stranger is pestered and worried to buy; +at Tehern one must sometimes entreat before being allowed even to +inspect the contents of a silk or jewel stall. Even then, the owner +will probably remain supremely indifferent as to whether the "Farangi" +purchase or not. This fact is curious. It will probably disappear with +the advance of civilization and Mr. Cook. + +[Illustration: TEHERN] + +Debouching from the principal streets or alleys of the bazaar, which +is of brick, are large covered caravanserais, or open spaces for the +storage of goods, where the wholesale merchants have their +warehouses. The architecture of some of these caravanserais is very +fine. The cool, quiet halls, their domed roofs, embellished with +delicate stone carving, and blue, white, and yellow tiles, dimly +reflected in the inevitable marble tank of clear water below, are +a pleasant retreat from the stifling alleys and sun-baked streets. +Talking of tanks, there seems to be no lack of water in Tehern. I was +surprised at this, for there are few countries so deficient in this +essential commodity as Persia. It is, I found, artificially supplied +by "connaughts," or subterranean aqueducts flowing from mountain +streams, which are practically inexhaustible. In order to keep a +straight line, shafts are dug every fifty yards or so, and the earth +thrown out of the shaft forms a mound, which is not removed. Thus +a Persian landscape, dotted with hundreds of these hillocks, often +resembles a field full of huge ant-hills. The mouths of these shafts, +left open and unprotected, are a source of great danger to travellers +by night. Tehern is provided with thirty or forty of these aqueducts, +which were constructed by the Government some years ago at enormous +expense and labour. + +As in most Eastern cities, each trade has its separate alley or +thoroughfare in the Tehern bazaar. Thus of jewellers, silk mercers, +tailors, gunsmiths, saddlers, coppersmiths, and the rest, each +have their separate arcade. The shops or stalls are much alike in +appearance, though they vary considerably in size. Behind a brick +platform, about three feet wide and two feet in height, is the shop, +a vaulted archway, in the middle of which, surrounded by his wares, +kalyan [B] or cigarette in mouth, squats the shopkeeper. There are no +windows. At night a few rough boards and a rough Russian padlock are +the sole protection, saving a smaller apartment at the back of each +stall, a kind of strong-room, guarded by massive iron-bound doors, +in which the most valuable goods are kept. There is no attempt at +decoration; a few only of the jewellers' shops are whitewashed inside, +the best being hung with the cheapest and gaudiest of French or German +coloured prints. The stalls are usually opened about 6.30 a.m., and +closed at sunset. An hour later the bazaar is untenanted, save for +the watchmen and pariah dogs. The latter are seen throughout the day, +sleeping in holes and corners, many of them almost torn to pieces from +nightly encounters, and kicked about, even by children, with impunity. +It is only at night that the brutes become really dangerous, and when, +in packs of from twenty to thirty, they have been known to attack and +kill men. Occasionally the dogs of one quarter of the bazaar attack +those of another, and desperate fights ensue, the killed and wounded +being afterwards eaten by the victors. It is, therefore, unsafe to +venture out in the streets of Tehern after dark without a lantern and +good stout cudgel. + +From 11 to 12 a.m. is perhaps the busiest part of the day in the +bazaar. Then is one most struck with the varied and picturesque types +of Oriental humanity, the continuously changing kaleidoscope of +native races from Archangel to the Persian Gulf, the Baltic Sea to +Afghanistn. + +Nor are contrasts wanting. Here is Ivanoff from Odessa or Tiflis, in +the white peaked cap and high boots dear to every Russian, haggling +over the price of a carpet with Ali Mahomet of Bokhra; there +Chung-Yang, who has drifted here from Pekin through Siberia, with a +cargo of worthless tea, vainly endeavouring to palm it off on that +grave-looking Parsee, who, unfortunately for the Celestial, is not +quite such a fool as he looks. Such a hubbub never was heard. +Every one is talking or shouting at the top of their voices, women +screaming, beggars whining, fruit and water sellers jingling their +cymbals, while from the coppersmiths' quarter hard by comes a +deafening accompaniment in the shape of beaten metal. Occasionally a +caravan of laden camels stalk gravely through the alleys, scattering +the yelling crowd right and left, only to reassemble the moment it has +passed, like water in the wake of a ship. Again it separates, and a +sedan, preceded by a couple of gholams with long wands, is carried +by, and one gets a momentary glimpse of a pair of dark eyes and +henna-stained finger-tips, as a fair one from the "anderoon" [C] +of some great man is carried to her jeweller's or perfumer's. The +"yashmak" is getting very thin in these countries, and one can form a +very fair estimate of the lady's features (singularly plain ones) as +the sedan swings by. Towards midday business is suspended for a while, +and the alleys of the bazaar empty as if by magic. For nearly a whole +hour silence, unbroken save by the snarling of some pariah dog, the +hiss of the samovar, and gurgle of the kalyan, falls over the place, +till 2 p.m., when the noise recommences as suddenly as it ceased, and +continues unbroken till sunset. + +On the whole, the bazaar is disappointing. The stalls for the sale of +Persian and Central Asian carpets, old brocades and tapestries, and +other wares dear to the lover of Eastern art, are in the minority, +and must be hunted out. Manchester goods, cheap calicoes and prints, +German cutlery, and Birmingham ware are found readily enough, and form +the stock of two-thirds of the shops in the carpet and silk-mercers' +arcade. + +It is by no means easy to find one's way about. No one understands +a word of English, French, or German, and had it not been for my +knowledge of Russian--which, by the way, is the one known European +language among the lower orders--I should more than once have been +hopelessly lost. + +Europeans in Tehern lead a pleasant though somewhat monotonous life. +Summer is, as I have said, intolerable, and all who can seek refuge in +the hills, where there are two settlements, or villages, presented by +the Shah to England and Russia. Winter is undoubtedly the pleasantest +season. Scarcely an evening passes without a dance, private +theatricals, or other festivity given by one or other of the +Embassies, entertainments which his Imperial Majesty himself +frequently graces with his presence. + +There is probably no living sovereign of whom so little is really +known in Europe as Nasr-oo-din, "Shah of Persia," "Asylum of the +Universe," and "King of Kings," to quote three of his more modest +titles. Although he has visited Europe twice, and been made much of in +our own country, most English people know absolutely nothing of the +Persian monarch's character or private life. That he ate _entres_ +with his fingers at Buckingham Palace, expressed a desire to have the +Lord Chamberlain bowstrung, and conceived a violent and unholy passion +for an amiable society lady somewhat inclined to _embonpoint_, we are +most of us aware; but beyond this, the Shah's _vie intime_ remains, to +the majority of us at least, a sealed book. This is perhaps a pity, +for, like many others, Nasr-oo-din is not so black as he is painted, +and, notwithstanding all reports to the contrary, is said, by those +who should know, to be one of the kindest-hearted creatures breathing. + +The government of Persia is that of an absolute monarchy. The Shah +alone has power of life and death, and, even in the most remote +districts, the assent of the sovereign is necessary before an +execution can take place. The Shah appoints his own ministers. +These are the "Sadr-Azam," or Prime Minister; the "Sapar-Sala," +Commander-in-chief; "Mustof-al-Mamalak," Secretary of State, and +Minister of Foreign Affairs. These are supposed to represent the Privy +Council, but they very seldom meet, the Shah preferring to manage +affairs independently. The total revenue of the latter has been +estimated at seven million pounds sterling. + +Nasr-oo-din, who is now sixty-five years of age, ascended the throne +in 1848. His reign commenced inauspiciously with a determined attempt +to assassinate him, made by a gang of fanatics of the Babi sect. The +plot, though nearly successful, was frustrated, and the conspirators +executed; but it is said that the Shah has lived in constant dread of +assassination ever since. He is hypochondriacal, and, though in very +fair health, is constantly on the _qui vive_ for some imaginary +ailment. The post of Court physician, filled for many years past by +Dr. Tholozan, a Frenchman, is no sinecure. + +The habits of the Shah are simple. He is, unlike most Persians of high +class, abstemious as regards both food and drink. Two meals a day, +served at midday and 9 p.m., and those of the plainest diet, washed +down by a glass or two of claret or other light wine, are all he +allows himself. When on a hunting-excursion, his favourite occupation, +the Shah is even more abstemious, going sometimes a whole day without +food of any kind. He is a crack shot, and is out nearly daily, when +the weather permits, shooting over his splendid preserves around +Tehern. There is no lack of sport. Tiger and bear abound; also +partridge, woodcock, snipe, and many kinds of water-fowl; but the +Shah is better with the rifle than the fowling-piece. The Shah is +passionately fond of music, and has two or three string and brass +bands trained and conducted by a Frenchman. When away on a long +sporting-excursion, he is invariably accompanied by one of these +bands. + +Were it not for the running attendants in scarlet and gold, and the +crimson-dyed [D] tail of his horse, no one would take the slim, swarthy +old gentleman in black frock-coat, riding slowly through the streets, +and beaming benignly through a huge pair of spectacles, for the +great Shah-in-Shah himself. Yet he is stern and pitiless enough when +necessary, as many of the Court officials can vouch for. But few have +escaped the bastinado at one time or another; but in Persia this is +not considered an indignity, even by the highest in the land. The +stick is painful, certainly, but not a disgrace in this strange +country. + +Nasr-oo-din has three legal wives, and an unlimited number of +concubines. Of the former, the head wife, Shuku-Es-Sultana, is his own +cousin and the great-granddaughter of the celebrated Fatti-Ali-Shah, +whose family was so large that, at the time of his death, one hundred +and twenty of his descendants were still living. Shuku-Es-Sultana is +the mother of the "Valliad," or Crown Prince, now Governor of Tabriz. +The second wife is a granddaughter of Fatti-Ali-Shah; and the third +(the Shah's favourite) is one Anys-u-Dowlet. The latter is the best +looking of the three, and certainly possesses the greatest influence +in state affairs. Of the concubines, the mother of the "Zil-i-Sultan" +("Shadow of the King") ranks the first in seniority. The Zil-i-Sultan +is, though illegitimate, the Shah's eldest son, and is, with the +exception of his father, the most influential man in Persia, the +heir-apparent (Valliad) being a weak, foolish individual, easily led, +and addicted to drink and the lowest forms of sensuality. + +With the exception of eunuchs, no male person over the age of ten is +permitted in the seraglio, or anderoon, which is constantly receiving +fresh importations from the provinces. Persians deny that there are +any European women, but this is doubtful. The harems of Constantinople +and Cairo are recruited from Paris and Vienna; why not those of +Tehern? The indoor costume of the Persian lady must be somewhat +trying at first to those accustomed to European toilettes. The +skirt, reaching only to the knee, is full and _bouff_, like an +opera-dancer's, the feet and legs generally bare. The only becoming +part of the whole costume is the tightly fitting zouave jacket of +light blue or scarlet satin, thickly braided with gold, and the gauze +head-dress embroidered with the same material, and fastened under the +chin with a large turquoise, ruby, or other precious stone. + +Some of the women (even among the concubines) are highly educated; can +play on the "tar", [E] or harmonica, sing, and read and write poetry; +but their recreations are necessarily somewhat limited. Picnics, +music, story-telling, kalyan and cigarette smoking, sweetmeat-making, +and the bath, together with somewhat less innocent pastimes, form the +sum total of a Persian concubine's amusements. Outside the walls of +the anderoon they are closely watched and guarded, for Persians +are jealous of their women, and, even in the most formal social +gatherings, there is a strict separation of the sexes. Its imperial +master occasionally joins in the outdoor amusements of his harem; +indeed, he himself invented a game a few years since, which sounds +more original than amusing. A slide of smooth alabaster about twenty +feet long, on an inclined plane, was constructed in one of his +bath-houses. Down this the Shah would gravely slide into the water, +followed by his seraglio. The sight must have been a strange one, +the costumes on these occasions being, to say the least of it, scanty! + +[Illustration: PERSIAN DANCING-GIRL] + +The Shah's greatest failing is, perhaps, vacillation. He is constantly +changing his mind, on trifling matters chiefly, for his northern +neighbours take care that he is more consistent in affairs of state. +Two or three times, between his visits to Europe in 1871 and 1889, he +has started with great pomp and a large retinue for the land of the +"Farangi," but, on arrival at Rsht, has returned to Tehern, without +a word of warning to his ministers, or apparent reason for his sudden +change of plans. These "false starts" became a recognized thing after +a time, and when, in 1888, his Majesty embarked on his yacht and set +sail for Baku, it came as a surprise, pleasant or otherwise, to his +subjects at Tehern. The final undertaking of the journey may +have been advised by his astrologers, for the Shah is intensely +superstitious, and never travels without them. Nor will he, on any +account, start on a journey on a Friday, or the thirteenth day of the +month. + +The palace of Tehern is, seen from the outside, a shapeless, +ramshackle structure. The outside walls are whitewashed, and covered +with gaudy red and blue pictures of men and horses, the former in +modern military tunics and shakos, the latter painted a bright red. +The figures, rudely drawn, remind one of a charity schoolboy's +artistic efforts on a slate, but are somewhat out of place on the +walls of a royal residence. The interior of the "Ark," as it is +called, is a pleasant contrast to the outside, although even here, in +the museum, which contains some of the finest gems and _objets d'art_ +in the world, the various objects are placed with singular disregard +of order, not to say good taste. One sees, for instance, a tawdrily +dressed mechanical doll from Paris standing next to a case containing +the "Darai Nor," or "Sea of Light," a magnificent diamond obtained +in India, and said to be the largest yet discovered, though somewhat +inferior in quality to the "Koh-i-noor." A cheap and somewhat +dilapidated cuckoo-clock and toy velocipede flank the famous globe of +the world in diamonds and precious stones. This, the most costly and +beautiful piece of workmanship in the place, is about eighteen inches +in diameter, and is said to have cost eight millions of francs. The +different countries are marked out with surprising accuracy and +detail,--Persia being represented by turquoises, England by diamonds, +Africa by rubies, and so on, the sea being of emeralds. + +The museum itself is about sixty feet in length by twenty-five feet +broad, its ceiling composed entirely of looking-glasses, its parquet +flooring strewn with priceless Persian rugs and carpets. Large +oil-paintings of Queen Victoria, the Czar of Russia, and other +sovereigns, surround the walls, including two portraits of her Majesty +the Ex-Empress Eugenie. It would weary the reader to wade through a +description of the Jade work and _cloisonn_, the porcelain of all +countries, the Japanese works of art in bronze and gold, and last, but +not least, the cut and uncut diamonds and precious stones, temptingly +laid out in open saucers, like _bonbons_ in a confectioner's shop. The +diamonds are perhaps the finest as regards quality, but there is +a roughly cut ruby surmounting the imperial crown, said to be the +largest in the world. + +Though it was very cold, and the snow lay deep upon the ground, my +stay at Tehern was not unpleasant. The keen bracing air, brilliant +sunshine, and cloudless blue sky somewhat made amends for the sorry +lodging and execrable fare provided by mine host at the Htel Prevt. +I have seldom, in my travels, come across a French inn where, be the +materials ever so poor, the landlord is not able to turn out a decent +meal. I have fared well and sumptuously at New Caledonia, Saigon, and +even Pekin, under the auspices of a French innkeeper; but at Tehern +(nearest of any to civilized Europe) was compelled to swallow food +that would have disgraced a fifth-rate _gargotte_ in the slums of +Paris. Perhaps Monsieur Prevt had become "Persianized"; perhaps +the dulcet tones of Madame P., whose voice, incessantly rating her +servants, reminded one of unoiled machinery, and commenced at sunrise +only to be silenced (by exhaustion) at sunset, disturbed him at his +culinary labours. The fact remains that the _cuisine_ was, to any but +a starving man, uneatable, the bedroom which madame was kind enough to +assign to me, pitch dark and stuffy as a dog-kennel. + +A long conference with General S--, an Austrian in the Persian +service, decided my future movements. The general, one of the highest +geographical authorities on Persia, strongly dissuaded my attempting +to reach India _vi_ Meshd and Afghanistn. "You will only be stopped +and sent back," said he; "what is the use of losing time?" I resolved, +therefore, after mature deliberation, to proceed direct to Ispahn, +Shirz, and Bushire, and from thence by steamer to Sonmiani, on the +coast of Baluchistn. From the latter port I was to strike due north +to Kelt and Quetta, and "that," added the general, "will bring you +across eighty or a hundred miles of totally unexplored country. You +will have had quite enough of it when you get to Kelt--if you ever +_do_ get there," he added encouragingly. + +The route now finally decided upon, preparations were made for a start +as soon as possible. Portmanteaus were exchanged for a pair of light +leather saddle-bags, artistically embellished with squares of bright +Persian carpet let in at the side, and purchased in the bazaar for +twenty-two kerns, or about seventeen shillings English money. In +these I was able to carry, with ease, a couple of tweed suits, half a +dozen flannel shirts, three pairs of boots, and toilet necessaries, to +say nothing of a box of cigars and a small medicine-chest. Germe +also carried a pair of bags, containing, in addition to his modest +wardrobe, our stores for the voyage--biscuits, Valentine's meat juice, +sardines, tea, and a bottle of brandy; for, with the exception of eggs +and Persian bread, one can reckon upon nothing eatable at the Chapar +khanehs. There is an excellent European store shop at Tehern, and had +it not been for limited space, we might have regaled on turtle soup, +aspic jellies, quails, and _pt de foie gras_ galore throughout +Persia. Mr. R. N----, an _attach_ to the British Legation at Tehern, +is justly celebrated for his repasts _en voyage_, and assured me that +he invariably sat down to a _recherch_ dinner of soup, three courses, +and iced champagne, even when journeying to such remote cities as +Hamadn or Meshd, thereby proving that, if you only take your time +about it, you may travel comfortably almost anywhere--even in Persia. + + +[Footnote A: The word _Demavend_ signifies literally "abundance of +mist," so called from the summit of this mountain being continually +wreathed in clouds.] + +[Footnote B: A pipe similar to the Turkish "hubble-bubble," wherein +the tobacco is inhaled through plain or rose water.] + +[Footnote C: Harem.] + +[Footnote D: A badge of royalty in Persia.] + +[Footnote E: A stringed instrument played in the same way as the +European guitar.] + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +TEHERN--ISPAHN. + + +We are already some farsakhs [A] from Tehern when day breaks on the +4th of February, 1889. The start is not a propitious one. Hardly have +we cleared the Ispahn gate than down comes the Shagird's horse as +if he were shot, breaking his girths and rider's thumb at the same +moment. Luckily, we are provided with rope, and Persian saddles are +not complicated. In ten minutes we are off again; but it is terribly +hard going, and all one can do to keep the horses on their legs. +Towards midday the sun slightly thaws the surface of the frozen snow, +and makes matters still worse. Up till now the pace has not been +exhilarating. Two or three miles an hour at most. It will take some +time to reach India at this rate! + +Four or five hours of this work, and there is no longer a sign of life +to be seen on the white waste, saving, about a mile ahead of us, +a thin wreath of grey smoke and half a dozen blackened tents--an +encampment of gypsies. Far behind us the tallest minarets of the +capital are dipping below the horizon, while to the left the white and +glittering cone of Demavend stands boldly out from a background of +deep cloudless blue. Though the sun is powerful--so much so, indeed, +that face and hands are already swollen and blistered--the cold in the +shade is intense. A keen, cutting north-easter sweeps across the white +waste, and, riding for a time under the shadow of a low ridge of +snow, I find my cigar frozen to my lips--nor can I remove it without +painfully tearing the skin. Germe is in his element, and, as a +natural consequence, my spirits fall as his rise. The slowness of +our progress, and constant stumbling of my pony, do not improve the +temper, and I am forced at last to beg my faithful follower to desist, +for a time at least, from a vocal rendering of "La Mascotte" which +has been going on unceasingly since we left Tehern. He obeys, but +(unabashed) proceeds to carry on a long conversation with himself in +the Tartar language, with which I am, perhaps happily, unacquainted. +Truly he is a man of unfailing resource! + +But even his angelic temper is tried when, shortly afterwards, we ride +past the gipsy encampment As he dismounts to light a cigarette out +of the wind, one of the sirens in a tent catches sight of the little +Russian, and in less than half a minute he is surrounded by a mob of +dishevelled, half-naked females, who throw their arms about him, pull +his hair and ears, and try, but in vain, to secure his horse and drag +him into a tent. These gipsies are the terror of travellers in Persia, +the men, most of them, gaining a precarious living as tinkers and +leather-workers, with an occasional highway robbery to keep their +hand in, the women living entirely by thieving and prostitution. The +gentlemen of the tribe were, perhaps luckily for us, away from home on +this occasion. One of the women, a good-looking, black-eyed girl, was +the most persistent among this band of maenads, and, bolder than the +rest, utterly refused to let Germe get on his pony, till, white with +passion, the Russian raised his whip. This was a signal for a general +howl of rage. "Strike me if you dare!" said the girl, her eyes ablaze. +"If you do you will never reach the next station." But in the confusion +Germe had vaulted into his saddle, and, setting spurs to our horses, +we galloped or scrambled off as quick as the deep snow would allow us. +"Crapule va!" shouted the little man, whose cheek and hair still bore +traces of the struggle. "Il n'y a qu'en Perse qu'on fait des chameaus +comme cela!" + +Ispahn is about seventy farsakhs distant from Tehern. The journey +has, under favourable conditions, been ridden in under two days, but +this is very unusual, and has seldom been done except for a wager by +Europeans. In our case speed was, of course, out of the question, with +the road in the state it was. The ordinary pace is, on an average, six +to eight miles an hour, unless the horses are very bad. It was nearly +a week, however, before we rode through the gates of Ispahn, and even +this was accounted a fair performance considering the difficulties we +had to contend with. + +Towards sunset the wind rose--a sharp north-easter that made face and +ears feel as if they were being flogged with stinging-nettles. It was +not until dusk that we reached Rabat Kerim, a small mud village, with +a filthy windowless post-house. But a pigstye would have been welcome +after such a ride, and the vermin which a flickering oil-lamp revealed +in hundreds, on walls and flooring, did not prevent our sleeping +soundly till morning. My thermometer marked only one degree above zero +when we retired to rest, and the wood was too damp to light a fire. +But we are in Persia! + +It is only fair, however, to say that the road we were now travelling +is not the regular post-road, which lies some distance to the eastward +of Rabat Kerim, but was now impassable on account of the snow. +The smaller track joins the main road at Koom. By taking the less +frequented track, we were unable to go through the "Malak al Niote," +or "Valley of the Angel of Death," which lies about half-way between +the capital and Koom. The valley is so called from its desolate and +sterile appearance, though, if this be so, the greater part of Persia +might with reason bear the same name. Be this as it may, the Shagirds +and natives have the greatest objection to passing through it after +dark. A legend avers that it is haunted by monsters having the bodies +of men and heads of beasts and birds. Surrounded by these apparitions, +who lick his face and hands till he is unconscious, the traveller is +carried away--where, history does not state--never to return. + +If the first day's work had been hard, it was child's play compared to +the second. The track, leading over a vast plain, had recently been +traversed by a number of camel caravans, which had transformed it into +a kind of Jacob's ladder formed by holes a couple of feet deep in the +snow. As long as the horses trod into them all went well, but a few +inches to the right or left generally brought them blundering on to +their noses. The reader may imagine what a day of this work means. The +strain on mind and muscle was almost unbearable, to say nothing of the +blinding glare. Yet one could not but admire, during our brief pauses +for rest, the picture before us. The boundless expanse of sapphire +blue and dazzling white, with not a speck to mar it, save where, +occasionally, the warm sun-rays had, here and there, laid bare chains +of dark rocks, giving them the appearance of islands in this ocean of +snow. + +At Pitch, the midday station, no horses were to be had; so, +notwithstanding that deep snow-drifts lay between us and Kushku Bara, +the halt for the night, we were compelled, after a couple of hours' +rest, to set out on the ponies that had brought us from Rabat Kerim. +More perhaps by good luck than anything else, we reached the latter +towards 9 p.m. A bright starlit night favoured us, and, with the +exception of a couple of falls apiece, we were none the worse. We +found, too, to our great delight, a blazing fire burning in the +post-house, kindled by some caravan-men. But there is always a saving +clause in Persia. No water was to be had for love or money till the +morning, and, knowing the raging thirst produced by melted snow, we +had to forget our thirst till next day. + +[Illustration: POST-HOUSE AT KUSHKU BAIRA] + +A pleasant surprise also was in store for us. Two or three miles +beyond Kushku Bara we were clear of snow altogether. Not a vestige +of white was visible upon the bare stony plain. Nothing but dull drab +desert, stretching away on every side to a horizon of snow-capt hills, +recalling, by their very whiteness, the miseries of the past two days. +"Berik Allah!" [B] cried Germe. "We have done with the snow now." +"Inshallah!" [C] I replied, though with an inward conviction that we +should see it again further on, and suffer accordingly. + +The sacred city of Koom [D] is one of the pleasantest recollections I +retain of the ride between the capital and Ispahn. It was about two +o'clock on the afternoon of the 6th of February that, breasting a +chain of low sandy hills, the huge golden dome of the Tomb of Fatima +became visible. We were then still four miles off; but, even with our +jaded steeds, the ride became what it had not yet been--a pleasure. +The green sunlit plains of wheat and barley, interspersed with bars of +white and red poppies, the picturesque, happy-looking peasantry, the +strings of mule and camel caravans, with their gaudy trappings and +clashing bells,--all this life, colour, and movement helped to give +one new hope and energy, and drown the dreary remembrance of past +troubles, bodily and mental. Even the caravans of corpses sent to Koom +for interment, which we passed every now and again, failed to depress +us, though at times the effluvia was somewhat overpowering, many of +the bodies being brought to the sacred city from the most remote +parts of Persia. Each mule bore two dead bodies, slung on either +side, like saddle-bags, and one could clearly trace the outline of +the figure wrapped in blue or grey cloth. A few of the friends and +relatives of some of the deceased accompanied this weird procession, +but the greater number of the dead had been consigned to the care +of the muleteers. The latter, in true chalvadar [E] fashion, were +stretched out flat on their stomachs fast asleep, their heads lolling +over their animals, arms and legs dangling helplessly, while the +caravan roamed about the track unchecked, banging their loads against +each other, to the silent discomfiture of the unfortunate mourners. + +[Illustration: A CORPSE CARAVAN] + +Koom is said to cover nearly twice as much ground as Shirz, but more +than half the city is in ruins, the Afghans having destroyed it in +1722. The principal buildings are mainly composed of mosques and +sepulchres (for Koom is second only to Meshd in sanctity), but +most of them are in a state of decay and dilapidation. The mosque +containing the Tomb of Fatima is the finest, its dome being covered +with plates of silver-gilt--the natives say of pure gold. The sacred +character of this city is mainly derived from the fact that Fatima, +surnamed "El Masouna" ("Free from sin"), died here many years ago. The +tradition is that Fatima was on her way to the city of Tus, whither +she was going to visit her brother, Imm Riza. On arrival at Koom, she +heard of his death, which caused her to delay her journey and take up +her residence here for a time, but she shortly afterwards sickened, +and died of a broken heart. A mausoleum was originally built of a very +humble nature, but, by order of Shah Abbas, it was enlarged and richly +ornamented inside and out. Fatti-Ali-Shah and Abbas the Second are +both buried here; also the wife of Mahomet Shah, who died in 1873, +having had the dome of the mosque covered with gold. There is a legend +among natives that Fatima's body no longer lies in the mosque, but was +carried bodily to heaven shortly after death. + +The population of Koom, which now amounts to little more than between +ten and twelve thousand, was formerly much larger. Like many other +Persian cities--saving, perhaps, Tehern--it retains but little of +its greatness, either as regards art or commerce. The bazaar is, +notwithstanding, extensive and well supplied. Koom is noted for the +manufacture of a white porous earthenware, which is made into flasks +and bottles, some of beautiful design and workmanship. + +The city is entered from the north by a substantial stone bridge, +spanning a swift but shallow river. It presents, at first sight, much +more the appearance of a Spanish or Moorish town than a Persian one. +The dirty brown mud huts are replaced by picturesque white houses, +with coloured domes, gaily striped awnings, and carved wooden +balconies overhanging the stream. Riding through the city gate, we +plunge from dazzling sunshine into the cool semi-darkness of the +bazaar, through which we ride for at least a quarter of an hour, when +a sudden turning brings us once more into daylight in the yard of a +huge caravanserai, crowded with mule and camel caravans. + +The apartment or cell allotted to us was, however, so filthy that we +decided to push on at once to Pasingn, the next stage, four farsakhs +distant. Koom is noted for the size and venom of its scorpions; and +the dim recesses of the dark, cobwebby chamber, with its greasy +walls and smoke-blackened ceiling, looked just the place for these +undesirable bedfellows. + +So we rode on again into the open country, past crowds of beggars and +dervishes at the eastern gate, as usual, busily engaged, as soon as +they saw us coming, at their devotions. Clear of the city walls, one +sees nothing on every side but huge storks. They are held sacred by +the natives, being supposed to migrate to Mecca every year. I heard at +Ispahn that, notwithstanding the outward austerity and piety of +the people of Koom, there is no town in Persia where so much secret +depravity and licentiousness are carried on as in the "Holy City." + +The stage from Koom to Pasingn was accomplished in an incredibly +short time; and I may here mention that this was the only occasion +upon which, in Persia, I was ever given a fairly good horse. The word +_chapar_ signifies in Persian to "gallop," but it is extremely rare to +find "chapar post" pony which has any notion of going out of his own +pace--something between a walk and a canter, like the old grey horse +that carries round the lady in pink and spangles in a travelling +circus. But to-day I got hold of a wiry, game little chestnut, who was +evidently new to the job, and reached and tore away at his bridle as +if he enjoyed the fun. Seeing, about half-way, that he was bleeding at +the mouth, I called Germe's attention to the fact, and found that his +horse was in the same plight--as, indeed, was every animal we passed +on the road between Koom and Pasingn. This is on account of the +water at and between the two places, which is full of small leeches, +invisible except through a microscope. Horses, mules, and cattle +suffer much in consequence, for nothing can be done to remedy the +evil. + +A pleasant gallop of under an hour brought us to Pasingn. It was +hardly possible to realize, riding through the warm evening air, for +all the world like a June evening in England, that but two days before +we had well-nigh been frozen to death. Had I known what was in store +for us beyond Kashn, I might have marvelled even more at this sudden +and welcome change of climate. + +The guest-chamber at Pasingn was already taken by a Persian khan, +a rude, blustering fellow, who refused us even a corner; so we had, +perforce, to make the best of it downstairs among the rats and vermin. +Devoured by the latter, and unable to sleep, we rose at the first +streak of dawn, saddled two of the khan's horses, and rode away to +Sin-Sin before any one was astir. The poor Shagird, whom we had to +threaten with a severe chastisement if he did not accompany us, was in +a terrible state. The bow-string was the least he could expect when +the khan came to know of the trick we had played him. An extra kern +at Sin-Sin, however, soon consoled our guide. He probably never +returned to Pasingn at all, but sought his fortunes elsewhere. +Persian post-boys are not particular. + +Kashn is distant about fifty-two English miles from Pasingn, and +lies south-east of the latter. The caravan track passes a level tract +of country, sparsely cultivated by means of irrigation. Persian soil +is evidently of the kind that, "tickled with a hoe, laughs with a +harvest." Even in this sterile desert, covered for the most part with +white salt deposits, the little oases of grain and garden looked as +fresh and green as though they had been on the banks of a lake or +river. But the green patches were very few and far between, and, +half-way between the post-stations, ceased altogether. Nothing was +then visible but a waste of brown mud and yellow sand, cut clear and +distinct against the blue sky-line on the horizon. It is strange, when +crossing such tracts of country, to note how near to one everything +seems. Objects six or eight miles off, looked to-day as if you could +gallop up to them in five minutes; and the peak of Demavend, on which +we were now looking our last, seemed about twenty miles off, instead +of over one hundred and fifty. + +Kashn was reached on the 7th of February. At Nasirabd, a village a +few miles out of the city, there had been an earthquake that morning. +Many of the mud houses were in ruins, and their late owners sitting +dejectedly on the remains. Earthquakes are common enough in +Persia, and this was by no means our last experience in that line. +Commiserating with the homeless ones, we divided a few kerns among +them, in return for which they brought us large water-melons (for +which Nasirabd is celebrated), deliciously flavoured, and as cold as +ice. + +Kashn, which stands on a vast plain about two thousand feet above +sea-level, is picturesque and unusually clean for an Eastern town. The +bazaar is a long one, and its numerous caravanserais finer even than +those of the capital. The manufacture of silk [F] and copperware is +extensive; but, as usual, one saw little in the shops, _en evidence +_, but shoddy cloth and Manchester goods, and looked in vain for real +Oriental stuffs and carpets. I often wondered where on earth they +_were_ to be got, for the most persistent efforts failed to produce +the real thing. I often passed, on the road, camel and mule-cloths +that made my mouth water, so old were their texture and delicate their +pattern and colouring, but the owners invariably declined, under any +circumstances, to part with them. + +Kashn will ever be associated in my mind with the fact that I there +saw the prettiest woman it was my luck to meet in Persia. The glimpse +was but a momentary one, but amply sufficed to convince me that +those who say that _all_ Persian women are ugly (as many do) know +nothing-whatever about it. + +It was towards sunset, in one of the caravanserais, to which, hot and +tired with the long dusty ride, I came for a quiet smoke and a cup of +coffee. The sensation of absolute repose was delicious after the heat +and glare, the stillness of the place unbroken save for the plash of a +marble fountain, and, outside, the far-off voices of the "muezzims," +calling the faithful to evening prayer. From the blue dome, with its +golden stars and white tracery, the setting sun, streaming in through +coloured glass, threw the softest shades of violet and ruby, emerald +and amber, upon the marble pavement. The stalls around were closed +for the night; all save one, a "manna" [G] shop. Its owner, a +white-turbaned old Turk, and myself were the sole inmates of the +caravanserai. Even my "kafedji" [H] had disappeared, though probably +not without leaving instructions to his neighbour to see that I did +not make off with the quaint little silver coffee-cup and nargileh. + +It was here that I saw the "belle" of Kashn, and of Persia, for +aught I know--a tall slim girl, dressed, not in the hideous bag-like +garments usually affected by the Persian female, but soft white +draperies, from beneath which peeped a pair of loose baggy trousers +and tiny feet encased in gold-embroidered slippers. Invisible to her, +I made every effort, from my hiding-place behind a projecting stall, +to catch a glimpse of her face, but, alas! a yashmak was in the +way--not the thin gauzy wisp affected by the smart ladies of Cairo and +Constantinople, but a thick, impenetrable barrier of white linen, such +as the peasant women of Mohammedan countries wear. Who could she be? +What was she doing-out unattended at this late hour? + +I had almost given up all hope of seeing her features, when Fortune +favoured me. As the old Turk dived into the recesses of his shop to +attend to the wants of his fair customer, the latter removed her veil, +revealing, as she did so, one of the sweetest and fairest faces it has +ever been my good fortune to look upon. A perfectly oval face, soft +delicate complexion, large dark eyes full of expression, a small +aquiline nose, but somewhat large mouth, and the whitest and smallest +of teeth. Such was the apparition before me. She could not have been +more than sixteen. + +I could scarcely restrain from giving vent to my admiration in speech, +when the old Turk returned. In an instant the yashmak was in its +place, and, with a hasty glance around, my vision of beauty was +scuttling away as fast as her legs could carry her. A low musical +laugh like a chime of silver bells came back to me from the dark +deserted alleys of the bazaar, and I saw her no more. + +The manna-seller was evidently irritated, and intimated, in dumb show, +that I must leave the caravanserai at once, as he was shutting up for +the night. I bought a pound or so of the sweetmeat to pacify him, +and, if possible, glean some information about the fair one, but my +advances were of no avail. + +The history of Kashn is closely allied to that of Ispahn. The +former city was founded by Sultana Zobeide, wife of the celebrated +Haroun-al-Raschid. Ransacked and destroyed by the Afghans in the +eighteenth century, it was again restored, or rather rebuilt, by Haji +Husein Khan. Perhaps the most interesting thing the city contains is +a leaning minaret which dates from the thirteenth century. It is +ascended by a rickety spiral staircase. From here, not so many years +ago, it was the custom to execute adulterous wives. The husband, +accompanied by his relations, forced his unfaithful spouse to the top +of the tower and pushed her over the side (there is no balustrade), +to be dashed to pieces on stone flags about a hundred and thirty feet +below. + +"Pas de chance, monsieur," was Germe's greeting as I entered the +caravanserai. "The Koudoum Pass is blocked with snow, and almost +impassable. What is to be done?" Mature deliberation brought but one +solution to the question: Start in the morning, and risk it. "It +cannot be worse than the Kharzn, anyhow," said Germe, cheerfully, as +we rode out of Kashn next day, past the moated mud walls, forty feet +high, that at one time made this city almost impregnable. I more than +once during the morning, however, doubted whether we had done right in +leaving our comfortable quarters at the caravanserai to embark on this +uncertain, not to say dangerous, journey. + +Twenty-nine farsakhs still lay between us and Ispahn; but, once past +the Khurood Pass (which lies about seven farsakhs from Kashn), all +would be plain sailing. The summit of the pass is about seven thousand +feet above sea-level. Its valleys are, in summer, green and fertile, +but during the winter are frequently rendered impassable by the deep +snow, as was now the case. Khurood itself is a village of some size +and importance, built on the slope of the mountain, and here, by +advice of the villagers, we rested for the night. "It will take you at +least a day to get to Bideshk," said the postmaster--"that is, if you +are going to attempt it." + +The ride from Kashn had been pleasant enough. No snow was yet +visible, save in the ravines, and the extreme summits of a chain of +low rocky hills, of which we commenced the ascent a couple of hours +or so after leaving Kashn. Half-way up, however, it became more +difficult, the path being covered in places with a thick coating of +ice--a foretaste of the pleasures before us. Towards the summit of the +mountain is an artificial lake, formed by a strong dyke, or bank of +stonework, which intercepts and collects the mountain-streams and +melted snows--a huge reservoir, whence the water is let off to +irrigate the distant low plains of Kashn, and, indeed, to supply the +city itself. The waters of this lake, about fifteen feet deep, were +clear as crystal, the bottom and sides being cemented. + +This reservoir was constructed by order of Shah Abbas, who seems to +have been one of the wisest and best rulers this unfortunate country +has ever had, for he has certainly done more for his country +than Nasr-oo-din or any of his stock are likely to. Pass a finer +caravanserai than usual, travel a better road, cross a finer bridge, +and interrogate your Shagird as to its history, and you will +invariably receive the answer, "Shah Abbas." At the village of +Khurood, a huge caravanserai (his work) lies in ruins, having been +destroyed seven or eight years ago by an earthquake. Several persons +were killed, the shock occurring at night-time, when the inmates were +asleep. + +The post-house at Khurood was cold, filthy, and swarmed with rats--an +animal for which I have always had an especial aversion. Towards +midnight a Persian gentleman arrived from Kashn--a mild, +benign-looking individual, with a grey moustache and large blue +spectacles. The new-comer, who spoke a little French, begged to be +allowed to join us on the morrow, as he was in a hurry to get to +Ispahn. Notwithstanding Germe's protestations, I had not the heart +to refuse. He looked so miserable and helpless, and indeed was, as +I discovered too late next day. Our new acquaintance then suggested +sending for wine, to drink to the success of our journey. At this +suggestion Germe woke up; and seeing that, in my case, the rats had +successfully murdered sleep, I gladly agreed to anything that would +make the time pass till daylight. A couple of bottles were then +produced by the postmaster; but it was mawkish stuff, as sweet as +syrup, and quite flavourless. Germe and the Persian, however, did +not leave a drop, and before they had finished the second bottle were +sworn friends. Although wine is forbidden by the Mohammedan faith, it +is largely indulged in, in secret, by Persians of the upper class. I +never met, however, a follower of the Prophet so open about it as +our friend at Khurood. The wine here was from Ispahn, and cost, +the Persian told us, about sixpence a quart bottle, and was, in my +opinion, dear at that. Shirz wine is perhaps the best in Persia. It +is white, and, though very sweet when new, develops, if kept for three +or four years, a dry nutty flavour like sherry. This, however, does +not last long, but gives place in a few months to a taste unpleasantly +like sweet spirits of nitre, which renders the wine undrinkable. +With proper appliances the country would no doubt produce excellent +vintages, but at present the production of wine in Persia is a +distinct failure. + +Leaving at 8 a.m., we managed to reach the summit of the Koudoum by +two o'clock next day, when we halted to give the horses a rest, and +get a mouthful of food. Our Persian friend had returned to Koudoum +after the first half-mile, during which he managed to get three falls, +for the poor man had no notion of riding or keeping a horse on its +legs. He reminded one of the cockney who sat his horse with consummate +ease, grace, and daring, until it moved, when he generally fell off. +I was sorry for him. He was so meek and unresentful, even when +mercilessly chaffed by Germe. + +Our greatest difficulty up till now had arisen from ice, which +completely covered the steep narrow pathway up the side of the +mountain, and made the ascent slippery and insecure. The snow had as +yet been a couple of feet deep at most, and we had come across no +drifts of any consequence. Arrived at the summit, however, we saw what +we had to expect. Below us lay a narrow valley or gorge, about a mile +broad, separating us from the low range of hills on the far side of +which lay Bideshk. The depth of the snow we were about to make a way +through was easily calculated by the telegraph-posts, which in places +were covered to within two or three feet of the top. "You see, sahib," +said the Shagird, pointing with his whip to a huge drift some distance +to the left of the wires; "two men lying under that." The intelligence +did not interest me in the least. Could we or not get over this "Valley +of Death"? was the only question my mind was at that moment +capable of considering. + +[Illustration: A DAY IN THE SNOW] + +In less than a quarter of an hour we were in the thick of it, up to +our waists in the snow, and pulling, rather than leading, our horses +after us. It reminded me of a bad channel passage from Folkestone to +Boulogne, and took about the same time--two hours, although the actual +distance was under a mile and a half. Germe led the way as long as he +was able, but, about half-way across, repeated and violent falls had +so exhausted his horse that we were obliged to halt while I took his +place, by no means an easy one. During this stage of the proceedings +we could scarcely see one another for the steam and vapour arising +from the poor brutes, whose neighs of terror, as they blundered into a +deeper drift than usual, were pitiful to hear. More than once Germe's +pony fell utterly exhausted and helpless, and it took our united +efforts to get him on his legs again; while the Shagird and I left our +ponies prone on their sides, only too glad of a temporary respite from +their labours. If there is anything in the Mohammedan religion, the +Shagird was undoubtedly useful. He never ceased calling upon "Allah!" +for help for more than ten consecutive seconds the whole way across. +At four o'clock we rode into the post-house at Bideshk, thoroughly +done up, and wet through with snow and perspiration, but safe, +and determined, if horses were procurable, to push on at once to +Murchakhar, from whence two easy stages of six and three farsakhs +would land us next day at Ispahn. + +It was dusk, and we had just secured the only horses available, when +two Armenians, bound for Tehern, rode into the yard. When told they +were just too late for a relay, the rage of one of them--a short, +apoplectic-looking little man--was awful to behold. As I mounted, his +companion came up and politely advised us not to attempt to ride to +Murchakhar by night. "The road swarms with footpads," he said, in a +mysterious undertone; "you run a very great risk of being robbed and +murdered if you go on to-night." "You would have run a far greater +of being frozen to death, if we had not saved you by taking these +horses," cried Germe, as we rode coolly out of the gateway. + +Bideshk is noted for a great battle fought in its vicinity between +the army of Nadir Shah and Ashraf the Afghan. Its post-house is also +noted, as I can vouch for, for the largest and most venomous bugs +between Tehern and Ispahn. We only remained there three hours, and +felt the effects for days afterwards. + +All trace of ice and snow disappeared a few farsakhs from here, and we +galloped gaily across a hard and level plain to our destination for +the night. The post-house was a blaze of light. A couple of armed +sentries stood in front of the doorway, and a motley crowd of +soldiers, Shagird-chapars, and peasants outside. + +"You cannot come in," said the postmaster, full of importance. "The +Zil-i-Sultan is here on a hunting expedition. He will start away +early in the morning, and then you can have the guest-room, but not +before." Too tired to mind much--indeed, half asleep already--we +groped our way to the stables, where, on the cleanest bundle of straw +I have ever seen--or smelt, for it was pitch dark--in a Persian +post-stable (probably the property of his Highness the Governor of +Ispahn), we were soon in the land of dreams. Had we known that we +were calmly reposing within a couple of feet of the royal charger's +heels, our slumbers might not have been so refreshing. Daylight +disclosed the fact. + +The governor and his suite had apparently made a night of it. Although +it was past eight o'clock when we made a start, the prince, his suite, +soldiers, and grooms were none of them stirring, although his _chef_ +was busily engaged, with his staff of assistants, preparing a +sumptuous breakfast of kababs, roast meat and poultry, pastry, and +confectionery of various kinds. I could not help envying the man whose +appetite and digestion would enable him to sit down to such a meal +at such an hour. Sherbet, the Shagird from Murchakhar informed us in +confidence, is the favourite drink of the Zil-i-Sultan. I only once +tasted sherbet in Persia, and was somewhat surprised--so lasting are +one's youthful associations--to find it utterly different to the +refreshing but somewhat depressing beverage of my school-days, sold, +if I remember rightly, at twopence a packet. The real sherbet I was +given (in a native house at Shirz) consisted simply of a glass of +cold water with a lump of sugar in it--_eau sucr_, in fact. But +Persian sherbets are of endless varieties and flavours. Preserved +syrups of raspberry and pineapple, the juice of the fresh fruit of +lemon, orange, and pomegranate, are all used in the manufacture of +sherbet, which is, however, never effervescing. The water in which it +is mixed should be icy cold, and has, when served in Persia, blocks +of frozen snow floating on the surface. The "sherbet-i-bidmishk," or +"willow-flower sherbet," made from flowers of a particular kind of +willow distilled in water, is perhaps the most popular of all among +the higher classes, and is the most expensive. + +The hunting-expedition (the Shagird, who was of a communicative +disposition, informed us) consisted of three parties located at +villages each within a couple of farsakhs of Murchakhar. Numbering +altogether over six hundred men (all mounted), they had been out +from Ispahn nearly ten days. Yesterday the prince's party had been +exceptionally lucky, and had had splendid sport. We passed, on the +road to Gz, a caravan of fifteen mules laden with the spoil--ibex, +deer, wild sheep, and even a wild ass among the slain. The latter had +fallen to the governor's own rifle. There is plenty of sport to be +had in Persia, if you only take the trouble to look for it, and in +comparative comfort too, with tents, stores, cooking apparatus, etc., +if time is no object. The country swarms with wild animals--tiger, +bear, and leopard in the forests by the Caspian Sea; wild asses, +jackals, and wolves in the desert regions; deer and wild goats in the +mountainous districts; and, as we afterwards had uncomfortable proof, +lions in the southern provinces. There is no permission needed. A +European may shoot over any country he pleases, with the exception of +the Shah's private preserves around Tehern. His Imperial Majesty is +very tetchy on this point. + +We galloped nearly the whole of the short stage from Gz to Ispahn. +A couple of miles out of the city we overtook a donkey ridden by two +peasants, heavy men, who challenged us to a trial of speed. We only +just beat them by a couple of lengths at the gates, although our +horses were fresh and by no means slow. The Persian donkey is +unquestionably the best in the East, and is not only speedy, but as +strong as a horse. We frequently passed one of these useful beasts +carrying a whole family--monsieur, madame, and an unlimited number of +bebs--to say nothing of heavy baggage, in one of the queer-looking +arrangements (oblong boxes with a canvas covering stretched over a +wooden framework) depicted on the next page. An ordinary animal costs +from two to three pounds (English), but a white one, the favourite +mount of women and priests, will often fetch as much as ten or +fifteen. + +To reach Djulfa, the Armenian and European quarter of Ispahn, the +latter city must be crossed, also the great stone bridge spanning the +"Zandarood," or "Living River," so called from the supposed excellence +of its water for drinking purposes, and its powers of prolonging life. +Nearing the bridge, we met a large funeral, evidently that of a person +of high position, from the costly shawls which covered the bier. + + +[Illustration: A FAMILY PARTY] + +As in many Eastern countries, a man is never allowed to die in peace +in Persia. It is a ceremony like marriage or burial, and as soon as +the doctors have pronounced a case hopeless, the friends and relations +of the sick man crowd into his chamber and make themselves thoroughly +at home, drinking tea and sherbet, and watching, through the smoke of +many hubble-bubbles, the dying agonies of their friend. The wife of +the dying man sits at his side, occasionally holding to the nostrils +the Persian substitute for smelling-salts, i. e. a piece of mud torn +from the wall of the dwelling and moistened with cold water. As a last +resource, a fowl is often killed and placed, warm and bleeding, on the +patient's feet. This being of no avail, and death having taken place, +the wife is led from the apartment, and the preparations for interment +are commenced. Wet cotton-wool is stuffed into the mouth, nose, and +ears of the corpse, while all present witness aloud that the dead man +was a good and true Mohammedan. The body is laid out, a cup of water +is placed at its head, and a moollah, ascending to the roof of the +house, reads in a shrill nasal tone verses from the Korn. The +professional mourners then arrive, and night or day is made hideous +with their cries, while the "washers of the dead" proceed with their +work. The coffin, [I] in Persia, is made of very thin wood; in the case +of a poor man it is often dispensed with altogether, the corpse being +buried in a shroud. Interment in most cases takes place forty-eight +hours at most after death. + +We found the house of Mr. P--, the Telegraph Superintendent of the +Indo-European Company, with some difficulty, for the roads or rather +lanes of Djulfa are tortuous and confusing. Mr. P--was out, but +had left ample directions for our entertainment. A refreshing tub, +followed by a delicious curry, washed down with iced pale ale, +prepared one for the good cigar and siesta that followed, though +an unlimited supply of English newspapers, the _Times, Truth_, and +_Punch_, kept me well awake till the return of my host at sunset. + + +[Footnote A: A farsakh is about four miles.] + +[Footnote B: "Hurrah!"] + +[Footnote C: "Please God!"] + +[Footnote D: _Koom_ signifies "sand."] + +[Footnote E: Muleteer.] + +[Footnote F: Kashn silk, noted throughout Persia, is of two kinds: +the one thin and light for lining garments, the other thick and heavy +for divans, etc. The patterns are generally white, yellow, and green +on a red ground.] + +[Footnote G: A natural sweetmeat like nougat, found and manufactured +in Persia.] + +[Footnote H: Attendant.] + +[Footnote I: In the north of Persia the dead are buried in a shroud +of dark-blue cloth, which is, oddly enough, called in the Persian +language, a _kaffin_.] + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +ISPAHN--SHIRZ. + + +The seven telegraph-stations, in charge of Europeans, between Tehern +and Bushire, may be called the oases of Persia to the weary traveller +from Rsht to the Persian Gulf. He is sure, at any of these, of a +hearty welcome, a comfortable bedroom, and a well-cooked dinner from +the good Samaritan in charge. The latter is generally the best of +company, full of anecdote and information about the country, and, +necessarily, well posted in the latest news from Europe, from the last +Parliamentary debate to the winner of the Derby. These officials are +usually _ci-devant_ non-commissioned officers of Royal Engineers. Some +are married, for the life is a lonely one, and three or four months +often elapse without personal communication with the outer world, +except on the wires. By this means, when the latter are not in +public use, the telegraphist can lighten his weary hours by animated +conversation with his colleague two or three hundred miles away on +congenial topics--the state of the weather, rate of exchange, chances +of promotion, and so on. Living, moreover, at most of the stations is +good and cheap; there is plenty of sport; and if a young unmarried man +only keeps clear of the attractions of the fair sex, he soon makes +friends among the natives. Love intrigues are dangerous in Persia. +They once led to the massacre of the whole of the Russian Legation at +Tehern. + +Ispahn is a city of ruins. A Persian will tell you, with pride, that +it is nearly fifteen miles in circumference, but a third of this +consists of heaps of stones, with merely the foundation-lines around +to show that they were once palaces or more modest habitations. +Chardin the traveller, writing in A.D. 1667, gives the population of +Ispahn at considerably over a million, but it does not now exceed +fifty thousand, including the suburb of Djulfa. The Madrassa, or +College, the governor's palace, and "Chil Situn," or "Palace of the +Forty Pillars," are the only buildings that still retain some traces +of their former glory. Pertaining to the former is a dome of the most +exquisite tile-work, which, partly broken away, discloses the mud +underneath; a pair of massive gates of solid silver, beautifully +carved and embossed; a large shady and well-kept garden in the centre +of the Madrassa, with huge marble tanks of water, surrounded by an +oblong arcade of students' rooms--sixty queer little boxes about ten +feet by six, their walls covered with arabesques of great beauty. +These are still to be seen--and remembered. With the exception of the +"Maidan Shah," or "Square of the King"--a large open space in the +centre of the city, surrounded by modern two-storied houses--the +streets of Ispahn are narrow, dirty, and ill-paved, and its bazaar, +which adjoins the Maidan Shah, very inferior in every way to those of +Tehern or Shirz. + +The palace of "Chil Situn," or "The Forty Pillars," is like most +Persian palaces--the same walled gardens with straight walks, the +usual avenues of cypress trees, and the inevitable tank of stone or +marble in the centre of the grounds. It is owing to the reflection of +the _faade_ of the palace in one of the latter that it has gained its +name. There are in reality but twenty pillars, the forty being (with a +stretch of imagination) made up by reflection in the dull and somewhat +dirty pool of water at their feet. The palace itself is a tawdry, +gimcrack-looking edifice, all looking-glass and vermilion and green +paint in the worst possible taste. From the entrance-hall an arched +doorway leads into the principal apartment, a lofty chamber about +ninety feet long by fifty broad, its walls covered with large +paintings representing the acts of the various Persian kings. Shah +Abbas is portrayed under several conditions. In one scene he is +surrounded by a band of drunken companions and dancing-girls, in +costumes and positions that would hardly pass muster before our Lord +Chamberlain. This room once contained the most beautiful and costly +carpet in all Persia, but it has lately been sold "for the good of the +State," and a dirty green drugget laid down in its place. In one of +the side chambers are pictures representing ladies and gentlemen in +the costume of Queen Elizabeth's time. How they got to Ispahn I was +unable to discover. They are very old, and evidently by good masters. + +The way back to our comfortable quarters at Djulfa lay over the +Zandarood river. There are five bridges, the principal one being that +of Allaverdi Khan, named after one of the generals of Shah Abbas, who +superintended its construction. It is of solid stonework, and built in +thirty-three arches, over which are ninety-nine smaller arches +above the roadway on both sides, enclosing a covered-in pathway for +foot-passengers. The roadway in the centre, thirty feet wide, is well +paved with stone, and perfectly level. Every thirty yards or so are +stalls for the sale of kababs, fruit, sweetmeats, and the kalyan, for +a whiff from which passers-by pay a small sum. Ispahn is noted for +its fruit; apricots, peaches, nectarines, cherries, mulberries, and +particularly fine melons, are abundant in their season. + +There is a saying in Persia, "Shirz for wine, Yzd for women, but +Ispahn for melons." + +Since it has ceased to be the capital of Persia, the trade of Ispahn +has sadly deteriorated. There is still, however, a brisk trade +in opium and tobacco. Silks and satins are also made, as well as +quantities of a coarser kind of cotton stuff for wearing-apparel, +much used by the natives. The sword-blades manufactured here are, +in comparison with those of Khorassan or Damascus, of little value. +Genuine old blades from the latter city fetch enormous prices +everywhere; but a large quantity of worthless imitations is in the +market, and unless a stranger is thoroughly experienced in the art of +weapon-buying, he had better leave it alone in Persia. Modern firearms +are rarely seen in the bazaars, except cheap German and French +muzzle-loaders, more dangerous to the shooter than to the object aimed +at. + +If the streets of Ispahn are narrow, those of Djulfa, the Armenian +settlement, can only be described as almost impassable, for, although +the widest are barely ten feet across, quite a third of this space is +taken up by the deep ditch, or drain, lined with trees, by which all +are divided. But the town, or settlement, is as clean and well-kept as +Ispahn itself is the reverse, which is saying a great deal. + +Djulfa is called after the Armenian town of that name in Georgia, the +population of which, for commercial reasons, was removed to this place +by Shah Abbas in A.D. 1603. Djulfa, near Ispahn, was once a large +and flourishing city, with as many as twenty district parishes, and a +population of sixty thousand souls, now dwindled down to a little over +two thousand, the greater part of whom live in great want and poverty. +The city once possessed as many as twenty churches, but most of these +are now in ruins. The cathedral, however, is still standing, and in +fair preservation. It dates from A.D. 1655. There is also a Roman +Catholic colony and church. The latter stands in a large garden, +celebrated for its quinces and apricots. Lastly, the English Church +Missionary Society have an establishment here under the direction of +the Rev. Dr. Bruce, whose good deeds during the famine are not likely +to be forgotten by the people of Ispahn and Djulfa, whatever their +creed or religion. The trade of Djulfa is insignificant, although +there is a large amount of wine and arak manufactured there, and sold +"under the rose" to the Ispahnis. The production of the juice of the +grape is somewhat primitive. During the season (September and October) +the grapes are trodden out in a large earthenware pan, and the whole +crushed mass, juice and all, is stowed away in a jar holding from +twenty to thirty gallons, a small quantity of water being added to +it. In a few days fermentation commences. The mass is then stirred up +every morning and evening with sticks for ten or twenty days. About +this period the refuse sinks to the bottom of the jar, and the wine is +drawn off and bottled. In forty days, at most, it is fit to drink. + +My time at Ispahn was limited, so much so that I was not able to pay +a visit to the "Shaking minarets," about six miles off. These mud +towers, of from twenty to thirty feet high, are so constructed that a +person, standing on the roof of the building between the two, can, by +a slight movement of his feet, cause them to vibrate. + +I spent most of my time, as usual, strolling about the +least-frequented parts of the city, or in the cool, picturesque +gardens of the Madrassa. The people of Tehern, and other Persian +cities, are generally civil to strangers; but at Ispahn the prejudice +against Europeans is very strong, and I more than once had to make a +somewhat hasty exit from some of the lower quarters of the city. + +Mrs. S----, the wife of a telegraph official, was stabbed by some +miscreants while walking in broad daylight on the outskirts of the +town, a few months before my visit. The offenders were never caught; +probably, as Ispahn is under the jurisdiction of the Zil-i-Sultan, +were never meant to be. + +The Zil-i-Sultan returned to Ispahn before I left. He is rightly +named "Shadow of the King," for, saving his somewhat more youthful +appearance, he is as like Nasr-oo-din as two peas. Like his father in +most of his tastes, his favourite occupations are riding, the chase, +and shooting at a mark; but he is, perhaps, more susceptible to the +charms of the fair sex than his august parent. + +The prince is now nearly forty years of age. His wife, daughter of a +former Prime Minister of Persia, who was strangled by order of the +present Shah, died a few years ago, having borne him a son, the +"Jelal-u-dowleh," a bright, clever boy, now about eighteen years old, +and three daughters. The Zil-i-Sultan is adored by his people, and +has, unquestionably, very great influence over the districts of +which he is governor. Within the last two years, however, at least +two-thirds of his possessions have been taken from him--a proceeding +that caused him considerable annoyance, and drew forth the remark that +the Valliad would one day regret it. There can be little doubt that, +at the death of Nasr-oo-din, the Governor of Ispahn will make a +bold bid for the throne; in fact, the latter makes no secret of his +intentions. Drink and debauch having already rendered his younger +brother half-witted, the task should not be a difficult one, +especially as half the people and the whole army side with the +illegitimate, though more popular, prince. It is, perhaps, under +the circumstances, to be regretted that the latter is an ardent +Russophile, ever since his Majesty the Czar sent a special mission to +Ispahn to confer upon him the Order of the Black Eagle. Should the +Zil-i-Sultan succeed Nasr-oo-din, British influence in Persia may +become even less powerful than it is now, if that is possible. + +The Zil-i-Sultan is far more civilized in his habits and mode of life +than the Shah. A fair French scholar, he regularly peruses his _Temps, +Gil Blas_, and the latest works of the best French authors. It is +strange that, with all his common sense and sterling qualities, this +prince should, in some matters, be a perfect child. One of his whims +is dress. Suits of clothes, shirts, socks, hats, and uniforms are +continually pouring in from all parts of Europe, many of the latter +anything but becoming to the fat, podgy figure of the "King's Shadow." +A photograph of his Royal Highness the Duke of Connaught in Rifle +Brigade uniform was shown him a couple of years since. The Court +tailor was at once sent for. "I must have this; make it at once," was +the command, the humble request to be allowed to take the measure +being met by, "Son of a hell-burnt father! What do you mean? Make it +for a well-made man--a man with a better figure than that, and it will +fit me!" + +Popular as he is with the lower orders, the Zil-i-Sultan does not, +when offenders are brought before him, err on the side of mercy. +Persian justice is short, sharp, and severe, and a man who commits a +crime in the morning, may be minus his head before sunset. Although +a Persian would indignantly deny it, some of their punishments are +nearly as cruel as the Chinese. For instance, not so very long ago a man +in Southern Persia was convicted of incest, for which crime his eyes were +first torn out with pincers, and his teeth then extracted, one by one, +sharpened to a point, and hammered, like nails, through the top of his +skull. It should be said in justice that the present Shah has done all +he can to stop the torture system, and confine the death-sentence to one +of two methods--painless and instantaneous--throat-cutting and blowing +from a gun. Notwithstanding, executions such as the one I have mentioned +are common enough in remote districts, and crucifixion, walling up, or +burying and burning alive are, although less common than formerly, by no +means out of date. Women are usually put to death by being strangled, +thrown from a precipice or well, or wrapped up in a carpet and jumped +upon; but the execution of a woman is now, fortunately, rare in Persia. + +A dreary desert surrounds Ispahn on every side save to the southward, +where dark masses of rock, a thousand feet high, break the sky-line. +The environs of the city are well populated, and, as we rode out, _en +route_ for Shirz, we passed through a good deal of cultivated land. +This is irrigated by the Zandarood, whose blue waters are visible for +a long distance winding through the emerald-green plain, with its gay +patchwork of white and scarlet poppy-gardens. The cultivation of this +plant is yearly increasing in Persia, for there is an enormous demand +for the drug in the country itself, to say nothing of the export +market, the value of which, in 1871, was 696,000 rupees. In 1881 it +had progressed to 8,470,000 rupees, and is steadily increasing every +year. Opium is not smoked in Persia, but is taken in the form of +pills. Many among the upper classes take it daily, the dose being a +grain to a grain and a half. + +We covered, the first day out from Ispahn, nearly a hundred miles +between sunrise and 10 p.m.--not bad work for Persia. A little after +dark, and before the moon had risen, I was cantering easily along in +front of Germe, when a violent blow on the chest, followed by another +between the eyes, sent me reeling off my horse on to the sand. My +first thought, on collecting myself, was "Robbers!"--this part of the +road bearing an unpleasant reputation. Cocking my revolver, I called +to Germe, and was answered by a volley of oaths, while another +riderless horse galloped past me and disappeared in the darkness. +Our foe was a harmless one. The wind had blown down one of the +telegraph-posts, and the wires had done the mischief. By good luck and +the aid of lucifer matches, we managed to trace our ponies to a piece +of cultivated ground hard by, where we found them calmly feeding in a +field of standing corn. + +The moon had risen by nine o'clock. Before half-past we were in sight +of the rock on which stands the town of Yezdi-Ghazt, towering, shadowy +and indistinct, over the moonlit plain. This is unquestionably the +most curious and interesting village between Rsht and Bushire. The +post-house stands at the foot. As we rode to the latter through the +semi-darkness caused by the shadow of the huge mass of boulders and +mud on which the town is situated, the effect was extraordinary. +It was like a picture by Gustave Dor; and, looking up the dark +perpendicular side of the rock at the weird city with its white +houses, queer-shaped balconies, and striped awnings, standing out +clear and distinct against the starlit sky, gave one an uncomfortable, +uncanny feeling, hard to shake off, and heightened by the fact +that, although the hour was yet early, not a light was visible, not +a sound to be heard. It was like a city of the dead. + +[Illustration: YEZDI-GHAZT] + +Daylight does not improve the appearance of Yezdi-Ghazt. The city, +which looks so weird and romantic by moonlight, loses much of its +beauty, though not its interest, when seen by the broad light of day. +The system of drainage in Yezdi-Ghazt is simple, the sewage being +thrown over, to fall, haphazard, on the ground immediately below. I +nearly had a practical illustration during my examination, which, +however, did not last long, for the side of the rock glistened with +the filth of years, and the stench and flies were unbearable. + +Early next morning I set out alone to explore the strange place, and +with much difficulty and some apprehension--for I did not know how the +natives were disposed--ascended a steep rocky path, at the summit of +which a wooden drawbridge leads over a deep abyss to the gate of the +city. This bridge is the only access to Yezdi-Ghazt, which is, so to +speak, a regular fortress-town. + +The rock, about half a mile long, is intersected by one narrow street, +which, covered from end to end with awnings and wooden beams, was +almost in obscurity. The sudden change from the glare outside almost +blinded one. The appearance of a Farangi is evidently rare in +Yezdi-Ghazt, for I was immediately surrounded by a crowd, who, +however, were evidently inclined to be friendly, and escorted me to +the house of the head-man, under whose guidance I visited the city. + +The houses are of stone, two-storied, and mortised into the rock, +which gives them the appearance, from below, as if a touch would send +them toppling over, while a curious feature is that none of their +windows looks inwards to the street--all are in the outside wall +facing the desert. I took coffee with the head-man on his balcony--a +wooden construction, projecting over a dizzy height, and supported +by a couple of rickety-looking beams. It was nervous work, for the +flooring, which was rotten and broken into great holes, creaked +ominously. I could see Germe (who had evidently missed me) bustling +about the post-house, and reduced, from this height, to the size of a +fly. Making this my excuse, I quickly finished my coffee, and bade my +host farewell, nor was I sorry to be once more safe on _terra firma_. + +Yezdi-Ghazt, which has a population of about five hundred, is very +old, and is said to have existed long previous to the Mohammedan +conquest. The present population are a continual source of dread to +the neighbouring towns and villages, on account of their lawlessness +and thieving proclivities, and mix very little with any of their +neighbours, who have given the unsavoury city the Turkish nickname +of "Pokloo Kalla," or "Filth Castle." Yezdi-Ghazt would not be a +desirable residence during an earthquake. The latter are of frequent +occurrence round here. Many of the villages have been laid in ruins, +but, curiously enough, the rock-city has, up till now, never even felt +a shock. + +A ride of under fifty miles through level and fertile country brought +us to Abadh, a pretty village standing in the midst of gardens and +vineyards, enclosed by high mud walls. A European telegraph official, +Mr. G----, resides here. As we passed his house--a neat white stone +building easily distinguishable among the brown mud huts--a native +servant stopped us. His master would not be back till sunset, but had +left directions that we were to be well cared for till his return. +The temptation of a bed and dinner were too much, and, as time was no +object, and snowy passes things of the past, we halted for the night. + +An hour later, comfortably settled on Mr. G---- 's sofa, and dozing +over a cigar and a volume of _Punch_, my rest was suddenly disturbed +by a loud bang at the sitting-room door, which, flying open, admitted +two enormous animals, which I at first took for dogs. Both made at +once for my sofa, and, while the larger one curled comfortably round +my feet and quietly composed itself for sleep, the smaller, evidently +of a more affectionate disposition, seated itself on the floor, and +commenced licking my face and hands--an operation which, had I dared, +I should strongly have resented. But the white gleaming teeth and +cruel-looking green eyes inspired me with respect, to use no +stronger term; for I had by now discovered that these domestic +pets were--panthers! To my great relief, Mr. G---- entered at +this juncture. "Making friends with the panthers, I see," he said +pleasantly. "They are nice companionable beasts." They may have been +at the time. The fact remains that, three months after my visit, the +"affectionate one" half devoured a native child! The neighbourhood +of Abadh, Mr. G---- informed me, swarms with these animals. Bears, +wolves, and hyenas are also common, to say nothing of jackals, which, +judging from the row they made that night, must have been patrolling +the streets of the village in hundreds. + +A traveller starting from Tehern for Bushire is expected at every +European station on the telegraph-line. "I thought you would have got +here sooner," said Mr. G----. "P---- (at Ispahn) told me you were +coming through quick." + +The dining-room of my host at Abadh adjoined the little +instrument-chamber. Suddenly, while we were at dinner, a bell was +heard, and the half-caste clerk entered. "So-and-so of Shirz," naming +an official, "wants to speak to you." "All right," replied G----. +"Just tell him to wait till I've finished my cheese!" + +"It's from F----," he said, a few moments later, "to say he expects +you to make his house your head-quarters at Shirz." So the stranger +is passed on through this desert, but hospitable land. Persian +travel would be hard indeed were it not for the ever-open doors and +hospitality of the telegraph officials. + +We continue our journey next day in summer weather--almost too hot, +in the middle of the day, to be pleasant. Sheepskin and bourka are +dispensed with, as we ride lazily along under a blazing sun through +pleasant green plains of maize and barley, irrigated by babbling +brooks of crystal-clear water. A few miles from Abadh is a +cave-village built into the side of a hill. From this issue a number +of repulsive-looking, half-naked wretches, men and women, with dark +scowling faces, and dirty masses of coarse black hair. Most are +covered with skin-disease, so we push on ahead, but are caught up, for +the loathsome creatures get over the ground with extraordinary speed. +A handful of "sheis" [A] stops them, and we leave them swearing, +struggling, and fighting for the coins in a cloud of dust. Then on +again past villages nestling in groves of mulberry trees, past more +vineyards, maize, and barley, and peasants in picturesque blue dress +(save white, no other colour is worn in summer by the country-people) +working in the fields. Their implements are rude and primitive enough. +The plough is simply a sharpened stick covered with iron. The sickle +is used for reaping. Threshing is done by means of an axle with thin +iron wheels. If such primitive means can attain such satisfactory +results, what could not modern agricultural science be made to do for +Persia? + +Sunset brings a cool breeze, which before nightfall develops into a +cutting north-easter, and we shiver again under a bourka and heavy fur +pelisse. Crossing a ridge of rock, we descend upon a white plain, dim +and indistinct in the twilight. The ground crackles under our horses' +feet. It is frozen snow! A light shines out before us, however, and +by ten o'clock we are snug and safe for the night in the +telegraph-station of Deybid. + +These sudden changes of temperature make the Persian climate very +trying. At this time of year, however balmy the air and bright the +sunshine at midday, one must always be prepared for a sudden and +extreme change after sunset. The Plain of Deybid was covered with snow +at least two feet deep, the temperature must have stood at very few +degrees above zero, and yet, not five hours before, we were perspiring +in our shirt-sleeves. + +"Mashallah!" exclaims Germe next morning, shading his eyes and +looking across the dazzling white expanse. "Are we, then, never to +finish with this accursed snow?" By midday, however, we are out of it, +and, as we subsequently discover, for the last time. + +We had up till now been singularly fortunate as regards accidents, or +rather evil results from them. To-day, however, luck deserted us, for +a few miles out of Deybid my right leg became so swollen that I could +scarcely sit on my horse. The pain was acute, the sensation that of +having been bitten by some poisonous insect. Germe, ever the Job's +comforter, suggested a centipede, adding, "If so, you will probably +have to lie up for four or five days." The look-out was not cheerful, +certainly, for at Mourghab, the first stage, I had to be lifted off my +horse and carried into the post-house. + +With some difficulty my boot was cut off, and revealed the whole leg, +below the knee, discoloured and swollen to double its size, but no +sign of a wound or bite. "Blood-poisoning," says Germe, decidedly. "I +have seen hundreds of cases in Central Asia. It generally proves fatal +there," he adds consolingly; "but the Russian soldier is so badly +fed." The little man seems rather disappointed at my diagnosis of my +case--the effect due to a new and tight boot which I had not been able +to change since leaving Ispahn. Notwithstanding, I cannot put foot to +ground without excruciating pain. Spreading the rugs out on the dirty +earthen floor, I make up my mind to twenty-four hours here at least. +It is, perhaps, the dirtiest post-house we have seen since leaving +Tehern; but moving under the present circumstances is out of the +question. + +The long summer day wears slowly away. Germe, like a true Russian, +hunts up a samovar in the village, and consoles himself with +innumerable glasses of tea and cigarettes, while the medicine-chest is +brought into requisition, and I bathe the swollen limb unceasingly for +three or four hours with Goulard's extract and water, surrounded by a +ring of admiring and very dirty natives. But my efforts are in vain, +for the following morning the pain is as severe, the leg as swollen as +ever. Germe is all for applying a blister, which he says will "bring +the poison out"! Another miserable day breaks, and finds me still +helpless. I do not think I ever realized before how slowly time can +pass, for I had not a single book, with the exception of "Propos +d'Exil," by Pierre Loti, and even that delightful work is apt to pall +after three complete perusals in the space of as many weeks. From +sunrise to sunset I lay, prone on my back, staring up at the cobwebby, +smoke-blackened rafters, while the shadows shortened and lengthened in +the bright sunlit yard, the monotonous silence broken only by the deep +regular snores of my companion, whose capacity for sleep was something +marvellous, the clucking of poultry, and the occasional stamp or snort +of a horse in the stable below. Now and again a rat would crawl out, +and, emboldened by the stillness, creep close up to me, darting back +into its hole with a jump and a squeal as I waved it off with hand or +foot. My visitors from the village did not return to-day, which was +something to be thankful for, although towards evening I should have +hailed even them with delight--dirt, vermin, and all. Patience was +rewarded, for next day I was able to stand, and towards evening set +out for Kawamabad, twenty-four miles distant. Though still painful and +almost black, all inflammation had subsided, and three days later I +was able to get on a boot "You'd have been well in half the time," +insisted Germe, "if you had only let me apply a blister." + +The road from Mourghab to Kawamabad is wild and picturesque, leading +through a narrow gorge, on either side of which are precipitous cliffs +of rock and forest, three or four hundred feet high. A broad, swift +torrent dashes through the valley, which is about a quarter of a mile +broad. In places the pathway, hewn out of the solid rock, is barely +three feet wide, without guard or handrail of any kind. This part of +the journey was reached at sunset, and we did not emerge on the plain +beyond till after dark. Our horses were, fortunately, as active as +cats, and knew their way well, for to guide them was impossible. In +places one's foot actually swung over the precipice, and a false step +must have sent one crashing over the side and into the roaring torrent +below, which, perhaps luckily, we could only hear, not see. + +The ruins of Persepolis are situated about fifty miles north-east of +Shirz, two or three miles from the main road. Signs that we were +approaching the famous city were visible for some distance before we +actually reached them. Not fifty yards from the post-house of Poozeh, +a picturesque spot surrounded by a chain of rocky, snow-capped hills, +we came upon a kind of cave, with carvings in bas-relief on its +granite walls, representing figures of men and horses from eight to +ten feet high, evidently of great antiquity. The desecrating hand of +the British tourist had, however, left its mark in the shape of the +name "J. Isaacson" cut deep into one of the slabs, considerably +marring its beauty. + +It is not my intention to write a description of the ruins that now +mark the spot where once stood the capital of the Persian Empire. To +say nothing of its having been so graphically portrayed by far more +competent hands, my visit was of such short duration that I carried +away but faint recollections of the famous city. The fact that it +had been persistently crammed down my throat, upon every available +occasion, ever since I landed in Persia, may have had something to do +with the feeling of disappointment which I experienced on first sight +of the ruins. It may be that, like many other things, they grow upon +one. If so, the loss was mine. I cannot, however, help thinking that +to any but a student of archology, Persepolis lacks interest. The +Pyramids, Pompeii, the ancient buildings of Rome and Greece, are +picturesque; Persepolis is not. I noticed, however, that here, as at +Poozeh, the British tourist had been busy with chisel and hammer, and, +I am ashamed to add, some of the names I read are as well known in +England as that of the Prince of Wales. + +On the 18th of February, just before midnight, we rode into Shirz. +The approach to the city lying before us, white and still in the +moonlight, through cypress-groves and sweet-smelling gardens, gave me +a favourable impression, which a daylight inspection only served to +increase. Shirz is the pleasantest reminiscence I retain of the ride +through Persia. + + +[Footnote A: Small copper money.] + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +SHIRZ--BUSHIRE. + + + "The gardens of pleasure where reddens the rose, + And the scent of the cedar is faint on the air." + OWEN MEREDITH. + +Shirz stands in a plain twenty-five miles long by twelve broad, +surrounded by steep and bare limestone mountains. The latter alone +recall the desert waste beyond; for the Plain of Shirz is fertile, +well cultivated, and dotted over with prosperous-looking villages +and gardens. Scarcely a foot of ground is wasted by the industrious +inhabitants of this happy valley, save round the shores of the +Denia-el-Memek, a huge salt lake some miles distant, where the +sun-baked, briny soil renders cultivation of any kind impossible. + +Were it not for its surroundings--the green and smiling plains +of wheat, barley, and Indian corn; the clusters of pretty sunlit +villages; the long cypress-avenues; and last, but not least, the quiet +shady gardens, with rose and jasmine bowers, and marble fountains +which have been famous from time immemorial--Shirz would not be what +it now is, the most picturesque city in Persia. + +Although over four miles in circumference, the city itself has a +squalid, shabby appearance, not improved by the dilapidated ramparts +of dried mud which surround it. Founded A.D. 695, Shirz reached its +zenith under Kerim Khan in the middle of the eighteenth century, since +when it has slowly but steadily declined to its present condition. The +buildings themselves are evidence of the apathy reigning among the +Shirzis. Incessant earthquakes destroy whole streets of houses, but +no one takes the trouble to rebuild them, and the population was once +nearly double what it now is--40,000. + +There are six gates, five of which are gradually crumbling away. +The sixth, or Ispahn Gate, is the only one with any attempt at +architecture, and is crenellated and ornamented with blue and yellow +tile-work. A mean, poor-looking bazaar, narrow tortuous streets, +knee-deep in dust or mud, as the case may be, and squalid, filthy +houses, form a striking contrast to the broad, well-kept avenues, +gilded domes, and beautiful gardens which encircle the city. Shirz +has fifteen large mosques and several smaller ones, but the people are +as fanatical as those of Tehern are the reverse. Germe, who had a +singular capacity for getting into mischief, entered one of these +places of worship, and was caught red-handed by an old moullah in +charge. Half the little Russian's life having been spent among +Mohammedans, he quickly recited a few verses of the Korn in perfect +Arabic, which apparently satisfied the priest, for he let him depart +with his blessing. Had the trick been discovered, he would undoubtedly +have been roughly treated, if not killed, for the Shirzis have an +unmitigated contempt for Europeans. There are few places, too, in Asia +where Jews are more persecuted than in Shirz, although they have +their own quarter, in the lowest, most poverty-stricken part of the +town, and other privileges are granted them by the Government. Shortly +before my visit, a whole family was tortured and put to death by a mob +of infuriated Mohammedans. The latter accused them of stealing young +Moslem children, and sacrificing them at their secret ceremonies. [A] +Guilty or innocent of the charge, the assassins were left unpunished. + +The climate of Shirz is delicious, but dangerous. Though to a +new-comer the air feels dry, pure, and exhilarating, the city is +a hot-bed of disease, and has been christened the "Fever Box." +Small-pox, typhus, and typhoid are never absent, and every two or +three years an epidemic of cholera breaks out and carries off a +fearful percentage of the inhabitants. In spring-time, during heavy +rains, the plains are frequently inundated to a depth of two or three +feet, and the water, stagnating and rotting under a blazing sun, +produces towards nightfall a thick white mist, pregnant with miasma +and the dreaded Shirz fever which has proved fatal to so many +Europeans, to say nothing of natives. Medical science is at a very low +ebb in Persia; purging and bleeding are the two remedies most resorted +to by the native hakim. If these fail, a dervish is called in, and +writes out charms, or forms of prayer, on bits of paper, which are +rolled up and swallowed like pills. Inoculation is performed by +placing the patient in the same bed as another suffering from virulent +small-pox. Under these circumstances, it is scarcely to be wondered at +that the Shirzis die like sheep during an epidemic, and indeed at all +times. Persian surgery is not much better. In cases of amputation the +limb is hacked off by repeated blows of a heavy chopper. In the case +of fingers or toes a razor is used, the wound being dipped into +boiling oil or pitch immediately after the operation. + +The office of the Indo-European Telegraph is in Shirz, but the +private dwellings of the staff are some distance outside the city. A +high wall surrounds the grounds in which the latter are situated--half +a dozen comfortable brick buildings, bungalow style, each with its +fruit and flower garden. Looking out of my bedroom window the morning +following my arrival, on the shrubberies, well-kept lawns, bright +flower-beds, and lawn-tennis nets, I could scarcely realize that this +was Persia; that I was not at home again, in some secluded part of the +country in far-away England. Long residence in the East had evidently +not changed my host Mr. F---- 's ideas as to the necessity for European +comforts. The cheerful, sunlit, chintz-covered bedroom, with its white +furniture, blue-and-white wall-paper, and lattice windows almost +hidden by rose and jasmine bushes, was a pleasant _coup d'oeil_ after +the grimy, bug-infested post-houses; and the luxuries of a good +night's rest and subsequent shave, cold tub, and clean linen were that +morning appreciated as they only can be by one who has spent many +weary days in the saddle, uncombed, unshaven, and unwashed. + +There is no regular post-road between Shirz and Bushire, or rather +Sheif, the landing-place, eight miles from the latter city. The +journey is performed by mule-caravan, resting by night at the +caravanserais. Under the guidance of Mr. F----, I therefore set about +procuring animals and "chalvadars," or muleteers. The task was not an +easy one; for Captain T---- of the Indian Army was then in Shirz, +buying on behalf of the Government; and everything in the shape of a +mule that could stand was first brought for his inspection. By good +luck, however, I managed to get together half a dozen sorry-looking +beasts; but they suited the purpose well enough. The price of these +animals varies very much in Persia. They can be bought for as little +as 4, while the best fetch as much as 60 to 80. + +Those were pleasant days at Shirz. One never tired of wandering about +the outskirts of the city and through the quiet, shady gardens and +"cities of the silent," as the Persians call their cemeteries; +for, when the solemn stillness of the latter threatened to become +depressing, there was always the green plain, alive from morning till +night with movement and colour, to go back to. Early one morning, +awoke by the sound of a cracked trumpet and drums, I braved the dust, +and followed a Persian regiment of the line to its drill-ground. +The Persian army numbers, on a peace footing, about 35,000 men, the +reserve bringing it up to perhaps twice that number. + +Experienced military men have said that material for the smartest +soldiery in the world is to be found in Persia. If so, it would surely +be the work of years to bring the untrained rabble that at present +exists under discipline or order of any kind. The regiment whose +evolutions or antics I witnessed at Shirz was not in the dress of +the Russian cossack or German uhlan, as at Tehern, but in the simple +uniform of the Persian line--dark-blue tunic, with red piping; loose +red-striped breeches of the same colour, stuffed into ragged leather +gaiters; and bonnets of black sheepskin or brown felt (according to +the taste of the wearer), with the brass badge of the lion and sun. +All were armed with rusty flint-locks. + +As regards smartness, the officers were not much better than the +men, who did not appear to take the slightest notice of the words of +command, but straggled about as they pleased, like a flock of sheep. +Some peasants beside me were looking on. "Sons of dogs!" said one; +"they are good for nothing but drunkenness and frightening women and +children." There is no love lost between the army and the people in +Persia--none of the enthusiasm of other countries when a regiment +passes by; and no wonder. The pay of a Persian soldier is, at most, 3 +a year, and he may think himself lucky if he gets a quarter of that +sum. _En revanche_, the men systematically plunder and rob the +wretched inhabitants of every village passed through on the march. The +passage of troops is sometimes so dreaded that commanders of regiments +are bribed with heavy sums by the villagers to encamp outside +their walls. Troops are not the only source of anxiety to the poor +fellaheen. Princes and Government officials also travel with an +enormous following, mainly composed of hangers-on and riff-raff, who +plunder and devastate as ruthlessly as a band of Kurd or Turkoman +robbers. They are even worse than the soldiery, for the latter usually +leave the women alone. Occasionally a whole village migrates to the +mountains on the approach of the unwelcome guests, leaving houses and +fields at their mercy. + +There is probably no peasantry in the world so ground down and +oppressed as the Persian. The agricultural labourer never tries to +ameliorate his condition, or save up money for his old age, for the +simple reason that, on becoming known to the rulers of the land, it is +at once taken away from him. Though poor, however (so far as cash +and valuables are concerned), the general condition of the labouring +classes is not so bad as might be supposed. In a country so vast +(550,000 square miles) and so thinly populated (5,000,000 in all), a +small and sufficient supply of food is easily raised, especially with +such prolific soil at the command of the poorest. At Shirz, for +instance, there are two harvests in the year. The seifi, sown in +summer and reaped in autumn, consists of rice, cotton, Indian corn, +and garden produce; the tchatvi, sown in October and November, and +reaped from May till July, is exclusively wheat and barley. A quantity +of fruit is also grown--grapes, oranges, and pomegranates. Shirz is +famed for the latter. The heat and dust, to say nothing of smells, +prevented me from often entering the city; but I walked through the +bazaar once or twice, and succeeded in purchasing some old tapestries +and a prayer-carpet. The merchants here are not so reserved and +secretive as those of Tehern and other cities, and are, moreover, +civil enough to produce coffee and a kalyan at the conclusion of a +bargain, as at Stamboul. The best tobacco for kalyan-smoking is grown +round Shirz. Some, the coarser kind, from Kazeroon and Zulfaicar, +is exported to Turkey and Egypt, but the most delicate Shirz +never leaves the country. The pipe is on the same principle as the +narghileh, the smoke being drawn through a vessel of water. The tube, +a wooden stalk about two feet long, is changed when it becomes tainted +with use; for the people of the East (unlike some in the West) like +their tobacco clean. + +Manufactories are trifling in comparison with what they were in former +days. Where, a century since, there stood five hundred factories owned +by weavers, there are now only ten, for the supply of a coarse white +cotton material called "kerbas," and carpets of a cheap and common +kind. Earthenware and glass is also made in small quantities, the +latter only for wine-bottles and kalyan water-bowls. All the best +glass is imported from Russia. A kind of mosaic work called "khatemi," +much used in ornamenting boxes and pen-and-ink cases, is turned out in +large quantities at Shirz. It is pretty and effective, though some of +the illustrations on the backs of mirrors, etc., are hardly fit for a +drawing-room table. Caligraphy, or the art of writing, is also carried +by the Shirzis to the highest degree of perfection, and they are said +to be the best penmen in the East. To write really well is considered +as great an accomplishment in Persia as to be a successful musician, +painter, or sculptor in Europe; and a famous writer of the last +century, living in Shirz, was paid as much as five tomans for every +line transcribed. + +My favourite walk, after the heat of the day, was to the little +cemetery where Hafiz, the Persian poet, lies at rest--a quiet, +secluded spot, on the side of a hill, in a clump of dark cypress trees +a gap cut through which shows the drab-coloured city, with its white +minarets and gilt domes shining in the sun half a mile away. The tomb, +a huge block of solid marble, brought across the desert from Yzd, is +covered with inscriptions--the titles of the poet's most celebrated +works. Near it is a brick building containing chambers, where bodies +are put for a year or so previous to final interment at Kermanshh +or Koom. Each corpse was in a separate room--a plain whitewashed +compartment, with a square brick edifice in the centre containing the +body. Some of the catafalques were spread with white table-cloths, +flowers, candles, fruit, and biscuits, which the friends and relations +(mostly women and children) of the defunct were discussing in anything +but a mournful manner. A visit to a departed one's grave is generally +an excuse for a picnic in Persia. + +Hard by the tomb of Hafiz is a garden, one of many of the kind around +Shirz. It is called "The Garden of the Seven Sleepers," and is much +frequented in summer by Shirzis of both sexes. A small open kiosk, in +shape something like a theatre proscenium, stands in the centre, its +outside walls completely hidden by rose and jasmine bushes. Inside +all is gold moulding, light blue, green, and vermilion. A dome of +looking-glass reflects the tesselated floor. Strangely enough, this +garish mixture of colour does not offend the eye, toned down as it is +by the everlasting twilight shed over the mimic palace and garden by +overhanging branches of cypress and yew. An expanse of smooth-shaven +lawn, white beds of lily and narcissus, marble tanks bubbling over +with clear, cold water, and gravelled paths winding in and out of the +trees to where, a hundred yards or so distant, a sunk fence divides +the garden from a piece of ground two or three acres in extent,--a +perfect jungle of trees, shrubs, and flowers. + +Here, from about 4 p.m. till long after sunset, you may see the +Shirzi taking his rest, undisturbed save for the ripple of running +water, the sighing of the breeze through the branches, and croon of +the pigeons overhead. Now and again the tinkle of caravan-bells breaks +in upon his meditations, or the click-click of the attendant's sandals +as he crosses the tiled floor with sherbet, coffee, or kalyan; but +the interruption is brief. A few moments, and silence again reigns +supreme--the perfection of rest, the acme of _Dolce far niente._ From +here my way usually lay homewards, through the dusky twilight, past +the city gates and along the now deserted plain. A limestone hill to +the south of Shirz bears an extraordinary resemblance to the head of +a man in profile. Towards sunset the likeness was startling, and the +nose, chin, and mouth as delicately formed as if chiselled by the +tools of a sculptor. On fine, still evenings, parties of people would +sometimes sit out on the plain till long after dark, conversing, +eating sweetmeats, and tea-drinking, till the stars appeared, and the +white fever mist, gathering round the ramparts, hid the city from +view. Shirz has been called the "Paris of Persia," from the cheerful, +sociable character of its people as compared with other Persian +cities; also, perhaps, partly from the beauty and coquetry (to use no +other term) of its women. + +I was enabled, thanks to my host, to glean some interesting facts +concerning the latter, many European ladies having, from time to +time, resided in Shirz, and, obtaining access to the "anderoon," had +afterwards given Mr. F---- the benefit of their observations. + +Persian women are unquestionably allowed more freedom and liberty +than those of other Oriental countries. It is extremely rare, in the +bazaars of Stamboul or Cairo, to see a lady of the harem unattended, +but the sight is common enough in Shirz and Ispahn. Infidelity in +Persia is therefore more common in proportion to the licence allowed; +though, when discovered, it is severely punished, in some cases by +death. Though a few are highly educated, the majority of Persian women +are ignorant, indolent, and sensual. _Mariages de convenance_ are as +common as in France, and have a good deal to do with the immorality +and intrigue that go on in the larger cities. + +An eye-witness thus describes an "anderoon," or harem, of a prince in +Ispahn: "A large courtyard some thirty yards by ten in extent. All +down the centre is the 'hauz,' or tank--a raised piece of ornamental +water, the surface of which is about two feet above the ground. The +edges are formed of huge blocks of well-wrought stone, so accurately +levelled that the 'hauz' overflows all round its brink, making a +pleasant sound of running water. Goldfish of large size flash in +shoals in the clear tank. On either side of it are long rectangular +flower-beds, sunk six inches below the surface of the court. This +pavement, which consists of what we should call pantiles, is clean +and perfect, and freshly sprinkled; and the sprinkling and consequent +evaporation make a grateful coolness. In the flower-beds are irregular +clumps of marvel of Peru, some three feet high, of varied coloured +blossom, coming up irregularly in wild luxuriance. The moss-rose, too, +is conspicuous, with its heavy odour; while the edging, a foot wide, +is formed by thousands of bulbs of the _Narcissus poeticus_, massed +together like packed figs; these, too, give out a pleasant perfume. +But what strikes one most is the air of perfect repair and cleanliness +of everything. No grimy walls, no soiled curtains, here; all is clean +as a new pin, all is spick and span. The courtyard is shaded by orange +trees covered with bloom, and the heavy odour of neroli pervades the +place. Many of the last year's fruit have been left upon the trees for +ornament, and hang in bright yellow clusters out of reach. A couple of +widgeon sport upon the tank. All round the courtyard are rooms, the +doors and windows of which are jealously closed, but as we pass we +hear whispered conversations behind them, and titters of suppressed +merriment." + +"The interior resembles the halls of the Alhambra. A priceless carpet, +surrounded by felt edgings, two inches thick and a yard wide, appears +like a lovely but subdued picture artfully set in a sombre frame. In +the recesses of the walls are many bouquets in vases. The one great +window--a miracle of intricate carpentry, some twenty feet by +twenty--blazes with a geometrical pattern of tiny pieces of glass, +forming one gorgeous mosaic. Three of the sashes of this window +are thrown up to admit air; the coloured glass of the top and four +remaining sashes effectually shuts out excess of light." + +Such is the _coup d'oeil_ on entering an anderoon. With such +surroundings, one would expect to find refined, if not beautiful +women; but, though the latter are rare enough, the former are even +rarer in Persia. The Persian woman is a grown-up child, and a very +vicious one to boot. Her daily life, indeed, is not calculated to +improve the health of either mind or body. Most of the time is spent +in dressing and undressing, trying on clothes, painting her face, +sucking sweetmeats, and smoking cigarettes till her complexion is as +yellow as a guinea. Intellectual occupation or amusement of any kind +is unknown in the anderoon, and the obscene conversation and habits of +its inmates worse even than those of the harems of Constantinople and +Cairo, which, according to all accounts, is saying a good deal. A love +of cruelty, too, is shown in the Persian woman; when an execution or +brutal spectacle of any kind takes place, one-third at least of the +spectators is sure to consist of women. But this is, perhaps, not +peculiar to Persia; witness a recent criminal trial at the Old Bailey. + +It will thus be seen that sensuality is the prevalent vice of the +female sex in Persia. An English-speaking Persian at Bushire told me +that, with the exception of the women of the wandering Eeliaut tribes, +there were few chaste wives in Persia. Although the nominal punishment +for adultery is death, the law, as it stands at present, is little +else than a dead letter, and, as in some more civilized countries, +husbands who are fond of intrigue, do not scruple to allow their wives +a similar liberty. Not half an hour's walk from the Tomb of Hafiz, at +the summit of the mountain, is a deep well, so deep that no one has +ever yet succeeded in sounding it. The origin of the chasm is unknown; +some say it is an extinct volcano. But the smallest child in Shirz +knows the use to which it has been put from time immemorial. It is the +grave of adulterous women--the Well of Death. + +An execution took place about fifteen years ago, but there have been +none since. Proved guilty of infidelity, the wretched woman, dressed +in a long white gown, was placed on a donkey, her face to the tail, +with shaven head and bared face. In front of the _cortge_ marched +the executioner, musicians, dancers, and abandoned women of the town. +Arrived at the summit of the mountain, the victim, half dead with +fright, was lifted off and carried to the edge of the yawning abyss +which had entombed so many faithless wives before her. "There is but +one God, and Mohammed is His Prophet," cried a moullah, while +the red-robed executioner, with one spurn of his foot, sent the +unconscious wretch toppling over the brink, the awe-stricken crowd +peering over, watching the white wisp disappear into eternity. +Although the last execution is still fresh in the minds of many, the +Well has no terrors for the gay, intrigue-loving ladies of Shirz. +They make a jest of it, and their husbands jokingly threaten them with +it. Times are changed indeed in Persia! + +I left Shirz with sincere regret. Apart from the interest attached to +the place, I have never received a kinder or more hospitable welcome +than from the little band of Englishmen who watch over the safety, and +work the wires, of the Indo-European telegraph. They are under a dozen +in number. With cheap horseflesh, capital shooting, the latest books +and papers from India, a good billiard-room and lawn-tennis ground, +time never hangs very heavily. Living is absurdly cheap. A bachelor +can do well on 6 a month, including servants. He has, of course, no +house-rent to pay. + +A number of square stone towers about thirty feet high, loopholed and +crenelated, are visible from the caravan-track between Shirz and +Khaneh Zinin, where we rested the first night. The towers are +apparently of great antiquity, and must formerly have served for +purposes of defence. We lunched at the foot of one on a breezy upland, +with pink and white heather growing freely around, and a brawling, +tumbling mountain stream at our feet. It was like a bit of Scotland +or North Wales. The tower was in a state of decay and roofless, but a +wandering tribe of ragged Eeliauts had taken up their quarters +inside, and watched us suspiciously through the grey smoke of a damp, +spluttering peat fire. They are a queer race, these Eeliauts, [B] and +have little or nothing in common with the other natives. The sight of +a well-filled lunch-basket and flasks of wine (which our kind hosts +had insisted on our taking) would have brought ordinary gipsies out +like flies round a honey-pot, if recollections of Epsom or Henley go +for anything. Not so the Eeliauts, who, stranger still, never even +begged for a sheis--a self-control I rewarded by presenting the +chief, a swarthy handsome fellow, in picturesque rags of bright +colour, with a couple of kerns. But he never even thanked me! + +It seemed, next morning, as if we had jumped, in a night, from early +spring into midsummer. Although at daybreak the ice was thick on a +pool outside the caravanserai, the sun by midday was so strong, and +the heat so excessive, that we could scarcely get the mules along. +The road lies through splendid scenery. Passing Dashti Arjin, or "The +Plain of Wild Almonds," a kind of plateau to which the ascent is +steep and difficult, one might have been in Switzerland or the Tyrol. +Undulating, densely wooded hills, with a background of steep limestone +cliffs, their sharp peaks, just tipped with snow, standing out crisp +and clear against the cloudless sky, formed a fitting frame to the +lovely picture before us; the pretty village, trees blossoming on all +sides, fresh green pastures overgrown in places by masses of fern and +wild flowers, and the white foaming waterfall dashing down the side of +the mountain, to lose itself in the blue waters of a huge lake just +visible in the plains below. The neighbourhood of the latter teems +with game of all kinds--leopard, gazelle, and wild boar, partridge, +duck, snipe, and quail, the latter in thousands. + +A stiff climb of four hours over the Kotal Perizun brought us to the +caravanserai of Meyun Kotal. Over this pass, ten miles in length, +there is no path; one must find one's way as best one can through the +huge rocks and boulders. Some of the latter were two to three feet +in height. How the mules managed will ever be a mystery to me. We +dismounted, leaving, by the chalvadar's request, our animals to look +after themselves. The summit of the mountain is under two thousand +feet. We reached it at four o'clock, and saw, to our relief, our +resting-place for the night only three or four hundred feet below us. +But it took nearly an hour to do even this short distance. The passage +of the Kotal Perizun with a large caravan must be terrible work. + +[Illustration: THE CARAVANSERAI, MEYUN KOTAL] + +The caravanserai was crowded. Two large caravans had arrived that +morning, and a third was hourly expected from Bushire. There was +barely standing-room in the courtyard, which was crowded with +wild-looking men, armed to the teeth, gaily caparisoned mules, and +bales of merchandise. + +The caravanserai at Meyun Kotal is one of the finest in Persia. It was +built by Shah Abbas, and is entirely of stone and marble. Surrounded +by walls of enormous thickness, the building is in the shape of a +square. Around the latter are seventy or eighty deep arches for the +use of travellers. At the back of each is a little doorway, about +three feet by three, leading into a dark, windowless stone chamber, +unfurnished, smoke-blackened, and dirty, but dry and weather-proof. +Any one may occupy these. Should the beggar arrive first, the prince +is left out in the cold, and _vice vers_. Everybody, however, is +satisfied as a rule, for there is nearly as much accommodation for +guests as in a large London or Paris hotel. Behind the sleeping-rooms +is stabling for five or six hundred horses, and, in the centre of the +courtyard, a huge marble tank of pure running water for drinking and +washing purposes. This, and fodder for the horses, is all that there +was to be got in the way of refreshment. But Germe, with considerable +forethought, had purchased bread, a fowl, and some eggs on the road, +and, our room swept out and candles lit, we were soon sitting down +to a comfortable meal, with a hissing samovar, the property of the +caravanserai-keeper, between us. + +One need sleep soundly to sleep well in a caravanserai. At sunset the +mules, with loud clashing of bells, are driven into the yard from +pasture, and tethered till one or two in the morning, when a start +is made, and sleep is out of the question. In the interim, singing, +talking, story-telling, occasionally quarrelling and fighting, go on +all round the yard till nearly midnight. Tired out with the stiff +climb, I fell into a delicious slumber, notwithstanding the noise, +about nine o'clock, to be awakened shortly after by a soft, cold +substance falling heavily, with a splash, upon my face. Striking a +match, I discovered a large bat which the smoke from our fire (there +was no chimney) had evidently detached from the rafters. + +I purchased, the next morning before starting, a Persian dagger +belonging to one of the caravan-men. He was one of the Bakhtiari, +a wild and lawless tribe inhabiting a tract of country (as yet +unexplored by Europeans) on the borders of Persia and Asia Minor. The +blade of the dagger is purest Damascene work, the handle of fossilized +ivory. On the back of the blade is engraved, in letters of inlaid +gold, in Arabic characters-- + + "There is one God! He is Eternal!" + "Victory is nigh, O true believer!" + +Connoisseurs say that the dagger is over a hundred years old. After +quite an hour's haggling (during which our departure was delayed, much +to Germe's disgust), I managed to secure it for 9 English money, +although the Bakhtiari assured me that he had already sworn "by his +two wives" never to part with it. I have since been offered four times +the amount by a good judge of Eastern weapons. + +A second pass, the Kotal Doktar, lay between us and Bushire. Though +steep and slippery in places, the path is well protected, and there +are no boulders to bar the way. On leaving the caravanserai, we paused +to examine the second longest telegraph wire (without support) in the +world. It is laid from summit to summit of two hills, and spans a +valley over a mile in width. [C] + +The country round Meyun Kotal is well cultivated, and we passed not +only men, but women, ploughing with the odd-shaped primitive wooden +ploughs peculiar to these parts. Near the foot of the pass some +children were gathering and collecting acorns, which are here eaten in +the form of a kind of bread by the peasantry. Seldom has Nature seemed +more beautiful than on that bright cloudless morning, as we rode +through sweet-scented uplands of beans and clover, meadows of deep +rich grass. By the track bloomed wild flowers, violets and narcissus, +shedding their fresh delicate perfume. The song of birds and hum of +insects filled the air, bright butterflies flashed across our path, +while the soft distant notes of a cuckoo recalled shady country lanes +and the sunlit hay-fields of an English summer. It was like coming +from the grave, after the sterile deserts and bleak desolate plains of +Northern Persia. + +There is a small square building at the northern end of the Kotal +Doktar, a mud hut, in which are stationed a guard of soldiers to be +of assistance in the event of robbery of caravans or travellers. Such +cases are not infrequent. Upon our approach, three men armed with +flint-locks and long iron pikes accosted us. "We are the escort," said +one, apparently the leader, from the bar of rusty gold braid on his +sleeve. "You cannot go on alone. It is not safe." We then learnt that +a large lion had infested the caravan-track over the pass for some +days, and had but yesterday attacked the mail and carried off one of +the mules, the native in charge only just escaping by climbing a tree. + +Persian travel is full of these little surprises or rather items of +news; for one must be of a very ingenuous disposition to be surprised +at anything after a journey of any length in that country. If the man +had said that an ichthyosaurus or dodo barred the way, I should have +believed him just as much. Germe sharing my opinion that the report +was got up for the sake of extorting a few kerns, we soon sent our +informants about their business, and calmly proceeded on our journey. +Nevertheless, the Kotal Doktar would not be a pleasant place to +encounter the "king of beasts," I thought. The pass consists simply of +a narrow pathway four feet wide, on the one side a perpendicular wall +of rock, on the other an equally sheer precipice. + +"Did you come across the lion?" was Mr. J---- 's first question, as +we dismounted at the gate of his telegraph-station at Kazeroon. "I +suppose not," he added, seeing the surprise with which I greeted his +remark. "We have had three parties out from here this week, but with +no luck. I just managed to get a sight of him, and that's all. He is a +splendid beast." + +Ignorance had indeed been bliss in our case, and I felt some +compunction when I remembered how disdainfully we had treated the +ragged sergeant and his men. They would have been of no use, except +in the way of stop-gaps, like the babies, in cheap prints, that the +Russian traveller in the sleigh throws to the wolves to occupy their +attention while he urges on his mad career, a pistol in each hand and +the reins in his mouth. Still, even for this purpose, they might have +been useful, and were certainly worth a few kerns. I was glad not to +learn the truth till we reached Kazeroon. The enjoyment of the meal of +which we partook at the summit of the pass would have been somewhat +damped by the feeling that at any moment a loud roar, bursting out of +the silent fastnesses of the Kotal Doktar, might announce the approach +of its grim tenant. + +There was, after all, nothing very remarkable about the occurrence, +for the southern parts of Persia are infested with wild animals of +many kinds. Of this I was already aware, but not that lions were among +the number. + +Kazeroon is, next to Shirz, the most important place in the province +of Fars, and has a population of about 6000. Surrounded by fields of +tobacco and maize, it is neatly laid out, and presents a cheerful +appearance, the buildings being of white stone, instead of the +everlasting baked mud and clay. Many of the courtyards were +surrounded by date palms, and the people seemed more civilized and +prosperous-looking than those in the villages north of Shirz. + +"So you refused the escort over the Kotal?" said J--that evening, as +we sat over our coffee and cigars in his little stone courtyard, white +and cool in the moonlight, adding, with a laugh, "Well, I don't blame +you. A good story was told me the other day in Shirz _propos_ of +escorts. It happened not long ago to an Englishman who was going to +Bagdad from Kermanshh through a nasty bit of country. A good many +robberies with violence had occurred, and the Governor of Kermanshh +insisted on providing him with an escort, at the same time arranging +for a Turkish escort to meet him on the frontier and take him on to +Bagdad." + +"You have seen the ordinary cavalry soldier of this country. There +were twelve of them and a sergeant. V---- was the only European. All +went well till they reached a small hamlet near Zarna, about twenty +miles from the Turkish border. It was midday. V---- was quietly +breakfasting in his tent, the horses picketed, the men smoking or +asleep. Suddenly the sound of firing was heard about a mile off, not +sharp and loud, but slow and desultory, like the pop, pop, pop of a +rifle or revolver. V---- was not in the least alarmed, but, the firing +continuing for some time, he thought well at last to inquire into the +matter. What was his surprise, on emerging from his tent, to find +himself alone, not a trace of his companions to be seen. There were +the picket-ropes, a smouldering fire, a kalyan, and the remains of a +pilaff on the ground, but no men. The firing had done it. One and all +had turned tail and fled. The position was not pleasant, for V---- was +naturally absolutely ignorant of the road. 'They will come back,' he +thought, and patiently waited. But sunset came, then night, then the +stars, and still V---- was alone, utterly helpless and unable to move +backwards or forwards. At sunrise a head was shoved into his tent. But +it had a red fez on, not an astrakhan bonnet. It was one of the Bagdad +escort. The Turks laughed heartily when they heard the story. 'It must +have been us,' they said; 'we had nothing to do, and were practising +with our revolvers.' In the mean time the Persians returned post haste +to Kermanshh, and evinced great surprise that V---- was not with +them." + +"'He was the first to fly,' said the sergeant. 'I am afraid he must +have lost his way, and fallen into the hands of the robbers. If so, +God help him. There were more than fifty of them.'" + +"J---- 's anecdote was followed by many others, coffee was succeeded +by cognac and seltzer, Germe gave us some startling Central Asian +experiences, and we talked over men and things Persian far into the +night, or rather morning, for it was nearly 2 a.m. when I retired to +rest." + +"I hope you'll sleep well," said J----, as he led the way to a +comfortable bedroom looking out on to the needle-like peaks of the +Kotal Doktar, gleaming white in the moonlight. "By the way, I forgot +to tell you we usually have an earthquake about sunrise, but don't let +it disturb you. The shocks have been very slight lately, and it's sure +not to last long," added my host, as he calmly closed the door, and +left me to my slumbers. + +I am not particularly nervous, but to be suddenly aroused from sleep +by a loud crash, as if the house were falling about one's ears; to +see, in the grey dawn, brick walls bending to and fro like reeds, +floors heaving like the deck of a ship, windows rattling, doors +banging, with an accompaniment of women and children screaming as if +the end of the world had arrived, is calculated to give the boldest +man a little anxiety. I must at any rate own to feeling a good deal +when, about 6 a.m. the following morning, the above phenomena took +place. As prophesied, "it" did not last long--eight or ten seconds at +most, which seemed to me an hour. Not the least unpleasant sensation +was a low, rumbling noise, like distant thunder, that accompanied the +shock. It seemed to come from the very bowels of the earth. + + +"We have them every day," said J---- at breakfast, placidly, "but +one soon gets used to them." My host was obliged to acknowledge +reluctantly that this morning's shock was "a little sharper than +usual"! It was sharp enough, Germe afterwards told me, to send all +the people of Kazeroon running out of their houses into the street. +Common as the "Zil-Zillah" [D] is in these parts, the natives are +terrified whenever a shock occurs. The great Shirz earthquake some +years ago, when over a thousand lost their lives, is still fresh in +their minds. + + An easy ride, through a pretty and fertile country, brought us to +the telegraph-station of Konar Takta, where Mr. E----, the clerk in +charge, had prepared a sumptuous breakfast. But we were not destined +to enjoy it. They had, said Mr. E----, experienced no less than nine +severe shocks of earthquake the night before, one of which had rent +the wall of his house from top to bottom. His wife and children were +living in a tent in the garden, and most of the inhabitants of the +village had deserted their mud huts, and rigged up temporary shanties +of palm leaves in the road. "We will have breakfast, anyhow," continued +our host. "You must be hungry"--leading the way into the dining-room, +where a long, deep crack in the whitewashed wall showed traces of +last night's disaster. + +The latter had, apparently, considerably upset my host, who, +throughout the meal, kept continually rising and walking to the open +window and back again, in an evidently uneasy state of mind; so much +so that I was about to propose an adjournment to the garden, when a +diversion was created by the entrance of a servant with a dish of +"Sklitch," which he had no sooner placed on the table, than he rapidly +withdrew. Sklitch is peculiar to this part of Persia. It is made of a +kind of moss gathered on the mountains, mixed with cream and dates, +and, iced, is delicious. But scarcely had I raised the first mouthful +to my lips when my host leapt out of his seat. "There it is again," he +cried. "Run!" and with a bound disappeared through the window. Before +I could reach it the floor was rocking so that I could scarcely keep +my feet, and I was scarcely prepared for the drop of nine feet that +landed me on to the flower-beds. The shock lasted quite ten seconds. +Every moment I expected to see the house fall bodily over. I left poor +E---- busily engaged in removing his instruments into the garden. +"Another night like the last would turn my hair grey," he said, as we +bade him good-bye. Truly the lot of a Persian telegraph official is +not always a bed of roses. + +A gradual descent of over two thousand feet leads from Konar Takta +to the village of Dalaki, which is situated on a vast plain, partly +cultivated, the southern extremity of which is washed by the waters of +the Persian Gulf. There is a comfortable rest-house at this village, +the population of which is noted as being the most fierce and lawless +in Southern Persia. Rest, though undisturbed by earthquakes, was, +however, almost out of the question, on account of a most abominable +stench of drainage, which came on at sunset and lasted throughout the +night. So overpowering was it that towards 3 a.m. both Germe and +myself were attacked by severe vomiting, and recurrence was had to the +medicine-chest and large doses of brandy. One might have been sleeping +over an open drain. It was not till next day that I discovered the +cause--rotten naphtha, which springs in large quantities from the +ground all round the village. Curiously enough, the smell is not +observable in the daytime. + +"We have done with the snow now, monsieur," said Germe, as we rode +next morning through a land of green barley and cotton plains, date +palms, and mimosa. On the other hand, we had come in for other +annoyances, in the shape of heat, dust, and swarms of flies and +mosquitoes. Nearing the sea, vegetation entirely ceases. Nothing is +visible around but hard calcined plain, brown and level, lost on the +horizon seaward in a series of mirages, ending northward in a chain +of rocky, precipitous mountains. The bright, clear atmosphere was +remarkable; objects thirty or forty miles off looking but a mile or +so away. About midday an unusual sight appeared on the horizon--two +Europeans, a lady and gentleman, mounted on donkeys, and attended by +a chalvadar on a third, who apparently carried all the baggage of +the party. Halting for a few moments, and waiving introduction, +we exchanged a few words. Mr. and Mrs. D---- were on their way to +Tehern, with the object of making scientific researches at Persepolis +and other parts of Persia. I could not help admiring the courage of +the lady, though regretting, at the same time, the task she had set +herself. To inquiries of "How is the road?" I replied, "Very good," +May the lie be forgiven me! It was told for a humane purpose. + +Save a large herd of gazelle on the far horizon, nothing occurred to +break the monotony of the journey through deep heavy sand till about 4 +p.m., when a thin thread of dark blue, cutting the yellow desert and +lighter sky-line, appeared before us. It was the Persian Gulf. An hour +later, and Sheif, the landing-place for Bushire, was reached. + +A trim steam-launch, with Union Jack floating over her stern, awaited +us. She was sent by Colonel Ross, British Resident at Bushire, who +kindly invited me to the Residence during my stay in the Persian port. +I was not sorry, after the hot, dusty ride, to throw myself at length +on the soft, luxurious cushion, and, after an excellent luncheon, to +peruse the latest English papers. Skimming swiftly through the bright +blue waters, we neared the white city, not sorry to have successfully +accomplished the voyage so far, yet aware that the hardest part of the +journey to India was yet to come. + +At a distance, and seen from the harbour, Bushire is not unlike Cadiz. +Its Moorish buildings, the whiteness of its houses and blueness of +the sea, give it, on a fine day, a picturesque and taking appearance, +speedily dissipated, how ever, on closer acquaintance; for Bushire is +indescribably filthy. The streets are mere alleys seven or eight feet +broad, knee-deep in dust or mud, and as irregular and puzzling to a +stranger as the maze at Hampton Court. + +The Persian port is cool and pleasant enough in winter-time, but in +summer the stench from open drains and cesspools becomes unbearable, +and Europeans (of whom there are thirty or forty) remove _en masse_ to +Sabsabad, a country place eight or ten miles off. The natives, in +the mean time, live as best they can, and epidemics of cholera and +diphtheria are of yearly occurrence. The water of Bushire producing +guinea-worms (an animal that, unless rolled out of the skin with great +care, breaks, rots, and forms a festering sore), supplies of it are +brought in barrels from Bussorah or Mahommerah; but this is not within +reach of the poorer class. Nearly every third person met in the street +suffers from ophthalmia in some shape or other--the effect of the dust +and glare, for there is no shade in or about the city. + +The latter is built at the end of a peninsula ten miles in length and +three in breadth, the portion furthest away from the town being swampy +and overflowed by the sea. Most of the houses are of soft crumbling +stone full of shells; some, of brick and plastered mud; but all are +whitewashed, which gives the place the spurious look of cleanliness +to which I have referred. The inhabitants of this "whited sepulchre" +number from 25,000 to 30,000. There is a considerable trade in +tobacco, attar of roses, shawls, cotton wool, etc.; but vessels +drawing over ten feet cannot approach the town nearer than a distance +of three miles--a great drawback in rough or squally weather. + +Were it five thousand miles away, Bushire could scarcely be less like +Persia than it is. It has but one characteristic in common with other +cities--its ruins. Although of no antiquity, Bushire is rich in these. +With this exception, it much more resembles a Moorish or Turkish city. +The native population, largely mixed with Arabs, carries out the +illusion, and bright-coloured garments, white "bournouses," and green +turbans throng the streets, in striking contrast to the sombre, +rook-like garments affected by the natives of Iran. A stranger, too, +is struck by the difference in the mode of life adopted by Europeans +as compared with those inhabiting other parts of the Shah's dominions. +The semi-French style of Tehern and Shirz is here superseded by +the Anglo-Indian. _Djeuner la fourchette, vin ordinaire_, and +cigarettes are unknown in this land of tiffins, pegs, and cheroots. + +My recollections of Bushire are pleasant ones. The Residency is a +large, rambling building, all verandahs, passages, and courtyards, +faces the sea on three sides, and catches the slightest breath of air +that may be stirring in hot weather. Two or three lawn-tennis courts, +and a broad stone walk almost overhanging the waves, form a favourite +rendezvous for Europeans in the cool of the evening. From here may be +seen the Persian Navy at anchor, represented by one small gunboat, the +_Persepolis_. This toy of the Shah's was built by a German firm in +1885, and cost the Government over 30,000 sterling. + +She has never moved since her arrival. Her bottom is now covered with +coral and shells, her screw stuck hard and fast, while the four steel +Krupp guns which she mounts are rusty and useless. + +My preparations for Baluchistn were soon completed. The escort +furnished me by the Indian Government had been awaiting me for some +days at Sonmiani, our starting-point on the coast. A telegram from +Karachi, saying that men, camels, tents, and stores were ready, was +the signal for our departure, and on March 7 I took leave of my host +to embark on the British India Company's steamer _Purulia_, for +Baluchistn. With genuine regret did I leave my pleasant quarters at +the Residency. Enjoyable as my visit was, it had not come upon me +quite as a surprise, for the hospitality of Colonel Ross, Resident of +Bushire, is well known to travellers in Persia. + + +[Footnote A: A similar case happened not long ago in Southern Russia.] + +[Footnote B: The Eeliauts are said to be of Arab and Kurd descent.] + +[Footnote C: The longest is in Cochin China, across the river Meikong, +the distance from post to post being 2560 feet.] + +[Footnote D: Earthquake.] + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +BALUCHISTN--BEILA. + + +The coast-line of Baluchistn is six hundred miles long. On it there +is one tree, a sickly, stunted-looking thing, near the telegraph +station of Gwdar, which serves as a landmark to native craft and a +standing joke to the English sailor. Planted some years since by a +European, it has lived doggedly on, to the surprise of all, in this +arid soil. The Tree of Baluchistn is as well known to the manner in +the Persian Gulf as Regent Circus or the Marble Arch to the London +cabman. + +With this solitary exception, not a trace of vegetation exists along +the sea-board from Persian to Indian frontier. Occasionally, at +long intervals, a mud hut is seen, just showing that the country is +inhabited, and that is all. The steep, rocky cliffs, with their sharp, +spire-like summits rising almost perpendicularly out of the blue sea, +are typical of the desert wastes inland. + +"And this is the India they talk so much about!" says Germe, +contemptuously, as we watch the desolate shores from the deck of the +steamer. I do not correct the little man's geography. It is too hot +for argument, for the heat is stifling. There is not a breath of air +stirring, not a ripple on the smooth oily sea, and the sides of the +ship are cracking and blistering in the fierce, blinding sunshine. +Under the awning the temperature is that of a furnace, and one almost +regrets the cold and snow of three weeks ago, so perverse is human +nature. + +Mark Tapley himself would scarcely have taken a cheerful view of +things on landing at Sonmiani. Imagine a howling wilderness of rock +and scrub, stretching away to where, on the far horizon, some low +hills cut the brazen sky-line. On the beach the so-called town of +Sonmiani--a collection of dilapidated mud huts, over which two or +three tattered red and yellow banners flutter in the breeze, and +beneath which a small and shallow harbour emits a powerful odour of +mud, sewage, and rotten fish. Every hut is surmounted by a "badgir," +or wind-catcher--a queer-looking contrivance, in shape exactly like a +prompter's box, used in the summer heats to cool the interior of the +dark, stifling huts. A mob of ragged, wild-looking Baluchis, with +long, matted locks and gaudy rags, completes this dreary picture. + +Shouts of "Kamoo!" from the crowd brought a tall, good-looking native, +clad in white, out of an adjacent hut, who, I was relieved to find, +was the interpreter destined to accompany us to Kelt. The camels and +escort were, he said, ready for a start on the morrow, if necessary. +In the mean time there was a bare but clean Government bungalow at our +disposal, and in this we were soon settled. But notwithstanding the +comparative comfort of our quarters compared with the filthy native +houses around, I determined to get away as soon as possible. The +mosquitoes were bad enough, but the flies were far worse. Ceiling, +walls, and floor were black with them. One not only ate them with +one's food, but they inflicted a nasty, poisonous bite. As for the +smells, they were beyond description; but the fact that a dead camel +was slowly decomposing in the immediate vicinity of our dwelling may +have had something to do with this. + +With all these drawbacks, I was glad to find the population, although +dirty, decidedly friendly--rather too much so, indeed; for the little +whitewashed room was crowded to overflowing the greater part of the +day with relays of visitors, who apparently looked upon us as a kind +of show got up for their entertainment. Towards sunset a tall, swarthy +fellow, about fifty years old, with sharp, restless eyes and a huge +hook nose, made his appearance at the doorway; and this was the signal +for a general stampede, for my visitor was no other than the head-man +of Sonmiani--Chengiz Khan. + +Chengiz was attired in a very dirty white garment, loose and flowing +to the heels, and a pair of gold-embroidered slippers. A small conical +cap of green silk was perched rakishly on the top of his head, from +which fell, below the shoulders, a tumbled mass of thick, coarse, +black hair. The head-man was unarmed, but his followers, five in +number, fairly bristled with daggers and pistols. Like all natives, +Chengiz was at first shy and reserved. It was only when I had +prevailed upon him to take a cigar that my visitor became more at his +ease. Having lit his cheroot, he took a long pull and passed it on to +one of his followers, who repeated the performance. When it had gone +the round twice it was thrown away; and Chengiz, turning to Kamoo, +gravely asked if I wished for anything before he retired for the +night. + +"You should reach Kelt in twenty-five days," was the answer to my +question, "provided the camels keep well and you have no difficulty +with the people at Gwarjak; they are not used to Europeans, and may +give you some trouble." + +One of the men here whispered to his chief. + +"Malak is the name of the head-man at Gwarjak," went on Chengiz--"a +treacherous, dangerous fellow. Do not have much to do with Malak; he +detests Europeans." + +Malak was, judging from my experiences that night, not the only +Baluchi possessed of this failing. Chengiz having left, I retired to +rest, to be suddenly aroused at midnight by a piercing yell, and to +find a tall, half-naked fellow, with wild eyes and a face plastered +with yellow mud, standing over me, brandishing a heavy club. Though a +revolver was at hand, it was useless; for I saw at a glance that I had +to deal with a madman. After a severe tussle, Germe and I managed to +throw out the unwelcome visitor and bar the door, though we saw him +for an hour or more prowling backwards and forwards in the moonlight +in front of the bungalow, muttering to himself, waving his arms about, +and breaking every now and then into peals of loud laughter. The +incident now seems trifling enough, though it left a powerful +impression upon my mind that night, on the eve of setting out through +an unknown country, where the life of a European more or less is of +little moment to the wild tribes of the interior. The madman was a +dervish, the head-man said, and perfectly harmless as a rule, but +liable to fits of rage at sight of a European and unbeliever. I was, +therefore, not sorry to hear next morning that this ardent follower +of the Prophet had been securely locked up, and would not be released +till the morrow, when we were well on the road to Bela. + +There are, I imagine, few countries practically so little known to +Europeans as the one we were about to traverse. I had, up to the time +of my visit, often wondered that, with India so near, Baluchistn +should have been so long allowed to remain the _terra incognita_ +it is. My surprise ceased on arrival at Kelt. It is impossible +to conceive a more monotonous or uninteresting journey, from a +traveller's point of view, than that from the sea to Quetta--a +distance (by my route) of nearly five hundred miles, during which +I passed (with the exception of Kelt and Bela) but half a dozen +villages worthy of the name, and met, outside the villages in +question, a dozen human beings at the most. This is, perhaps, scarcely +to be wondered at. The entire population of the country does not +exceed 450,000, while its area is estimated at something like 140,000 +square miles, of which 60,000 are under Persian rule, and the +remaining 80,000 (nominally) under the suzerainty of the Khan of +Kelt. + +The inhabitants of Baluchistn may be roughly divided into two +classes: the Brahuis [A] in the north, and the Baluchis in the south. +The former ascribe their origin to the earliest Mohammedan invaders of +Persia, and boast of their Arab descent; the latter are supposed by +some to have been originally a nation of Tartar mountaineers who +settled at a very early period in the southern parts of Asia, where +they led a nomad existence for many centuries, governed by their own +chiefs and laws, till at length they became incorporated and attained +their present footing at Kelt and throughout Northern Baluchistn. +Both races differ essentially in language and customs, and are +subdivided into an infinitesimal number of smaller tribes under the +command or rule of petty chiefs or khans. Although somewhat similar in +appearance, the Brahuis are said to be morally and physically superior +to their southern neighbours. The Baluch, as I shall now call each, is +not a prepossessing type of humanity on first acquaintance, with his +swarthy sullen features, dark piercing eyes, and long matted locks. +Most I met in the interior looked, a little distance off, like +perambulating masses of dirty rags; but all, even the filthiest and +most ragged, carried a bright, sharp tulwar. Though rough and uncouth, +however, I found the natives, as a rule, hospitable and kindly. It was +only in the far interior that any unpleasantness was experienced. This +was, perhaps, only natural, seeing that seventy miles of the journey +lay through a region as yet unexplored by Europeans, the inhabitants +of which were naturally resentful of what they imagined to be +intrusion and interference. + +Owing to the nomadic nature of the Baluchis, the barrenness of +their country, and consequent absence of manufactures and commerce, +permanent settlements are very rare. + +[Illustration: SONMIANI] + +With the exception of Quetta, Kelt, Bela, and Kej, there are no +towns in Baluchistn worthy of the name. Even those I have mentioned +are, with the exception of Quetta (now a British settlement), +mere collections of tumble-down mud huts, invariably guarded by a +ramshackle fort and wall of the same material. The dwellings of the +nomads consist of a number of long slender poles bent and inverted +towards each other, over which are stretched slips of coarse fabrics +of camel's hair. It was only in the immediate neighbourhood of Gwarjak +that the native huts were constructed of dried palm-leaves, the +fertile soil of that district rendering this feasible. + +Attended by Chengiz Khan in a gorgeous costume of blue and yellow +silk, and followed by a rabble of two or three hundred men and boys, I +visited the bazaar next morning. Chengiz had preceded his visit with +the present of a fine goat, and evidently meant to be friendly, +informing me, before we had gone many yards, that the Queen of England +had just invested the Djam of Bela (a neighbouring chief) with the +Star of India, and did I think that that honour was very likely to +accrue to him? + +The trade of Sonmiani is, as may be imagined, insignificant. Most of +the low dark stalls were kept for the sale of grain, rice, salt, and +tobacco, by Hindus; but I was told that a brisk trade is done in fish +and sharks' fins; and dried fruits, madder, and saffron, sent down +from the northern districts, are exported in small quantities to +India and Persia. In the vicinity are some ancient pearl-fisheries of +considerable value, which were once worked with great profit. These +have been allowed to lie for many years undisturbed, owing to lack of +vigour and enterprise on the part of those in power in the state. Here +is a chance for European speculators. + +By a well in the centre of the village stood some young girls and +children. The former were decidedly good looking, and one, but for the +hideous gold nose-ring, [B] would have been almost beautiful. Here, as +elsewhere in Baluchistn, the women present much more the Egyptian +type of face than the Indian--light bronze complexions, straight +regular features, and large, dark, expressive eyes. None of these made +the slightest attempt at concealment. As we passed, one of them +even nodded and smiled at Chengiz, making good use of her eyes, and +disclosing a row of small, pearly teeth. Their dress, a loose divided +skirt of thin red stuff, and short jacket, with tight-fitting sleeves, +open at the breast, showed off their slight graceful figures and +small, well-shaped hands and feet to perfection. Chengiz, pointing to +the group, smiled and addressed me in a facetious tone. "He wants to +know if you think them pretty," said my interpreter; but I thought it +best to maintain a dignified silence. The chief of Sonmiani was, for a +Mohammedan, singularly lax. + +A kind of rough pottery is made at Sonmiani, and this is the only +industry. Some of the water-jars were neatly and gracefully fashioned, +of a delicate grey-green colour; others red, with rude yellow devices +painted on them. The clay is porous, and keeps the water deliciously +cool. + +By four o'clock next morning all was ready for a start. The caravan +consisted of eighteen camels, four Baluchis, Kamoo, and Germe, +with an escort of ten soldiers of the Djam of Bela, smart-looking, +well-built fellows in red tunics, white baggy trousers, and dark-blue +turbans. Each man, armed with a Snider rifle and twenty rounds of +ammunition, was mounted on a rough, wiry-looking pony. As we were +starting, Chengiz Khan rode up on a splendid camel, and announced his +intention of accompanying us the first stage, one of eighteen miles, +to Shekh-Raj. + +Here the honest fellow bade us good-bye. "The sahib will not forget me +when he gets to India," he said, on leaving, thereby implying that he +wished to be well reported to the Indian Government. "But take care of +Malak; he is a bad man--a very bad man." + +A rough and tedious journey of two days over deep sandy desert, +varied by an occasional salt marsh, brought us to Bela, the seat of +government of the Djam, or chief of the province of Las Bela, eighty +miles due north of Sonmiani. With a feeling of relief I sighted the +dirty, dilapidated city, with its mud huts and tawdry pink and green +banners surmounting the palace and fort. The Baluch camel is not the +easiest animal in existence, and I had, for the first few hours of the +march, experienced all the miseries of _mal de mer_ brought on by a +blazing sun and the rolling, unsteady gait of my ship of the desert. +Though awkward in his paces, the Baluch camel is swift. They are small +and better looking than most; nor do their coats present so much the +appearance of a "doormat with the mange," as those of the animals of +other countries. We had as yet passed but two villages--three or four +low shapeless huts, almost hidden in rock and scrub by the side of +the caravan-track, which, as far as Bela, is pretty clearly defined. +There had been nothing else to break the dull, dead monotony of sand +and swamp, not a sign of human life, and but one well (at Outhal) of +rather brackish water. + +On the second day one of the escort had pointed out a dry rocky bed +as the river Purali, which is one of the largest in Baluchistn, but, +like all the others, quite dry the greater portion of the year. There +are no permanent rivers in this country. To this fact is perhaps due +the slight knowledge obtained up to the present time of the interior, +where arid sandy deserts, dangerous alike to native or European +travellers, are the rule, and cover those large open spaces marked +upon maps as "unexplored." Notwithstanding the great width of the bed +of the Purali river in many places, it has no regular outlet into the +sea. Its waters, when in flood from rainfall, lose themselves in +the level plains in a chain of lagoons or swamps. Some of these are +several miles in length, but decrease considerably in the dry season, +when the water becomes salt. The Habb river, which divides Las from +the British province of Sind, is another case in point. It possesses +permanent banks, is fed from the Pabb chain of mountains, and after +heavy rains in these hills a large body of water is formed, which +rushes down to the sea with great force and velocity. But at other +times water is only to be found in a few small pools in its rocky bed. +It is, in short, a mountain torrent on a large scale. So also with the +greater number of streams in the western districts, though a few of +these have more the semblance of rivers than can be found elsewhere in +Baluchistn. Of lakes there are none throughout the entire area of the +country. + +At Outhal we were met by one Hussein Khan, a wild-looking fellow +mounted on a good-looking chestnut horse, its saddle and headstalls +ornamented with bright-coloured leathers and gold and silver +ornaments. Hussein was from Bela, with a message from the Djam to say +that I was welcome in his dominions. Tents were then pitched, and +I invited Hussein to partake of refreshment, which was refused. He +accepted a cigarette, however, but seemed undecided whether to smoke +or eat it, till presented with a light. Having asked if I would like +to be saluted with guns on arrival, an offer I politely declined, my +visitor then left to prepare for our reception on the morrow. + + +[Illustration: OUR CAMP AT OUTHAL] + +Daybreak saw us well _en route_ and by 10 a.m. we were in sight of +Bela. About a mile or so out of the city, a mounted sowar in scarlet +and gold uniform, and armed with two huge horse-pistols and a long +cavalry sabre, galloped up to the caravan. "It is a messenger from +the palace," said Kamoo, "to say that his Highness the Djam has been +suddenly called away to Kej, [C] but that his son, Prince Kumal Khan, +is riding out in state to meet the sahib, and conduct him to his +father's city." + +The prince shortly afterwards appeared, mounted on a huge camel, +the tail and hind quarters of which were ornamented with intricate +patterns stamped on the hide by some peculiar process. A guard of +honour of thirty soldiers accompanied, while a rabble of two or three +hundred foot people surrounded the party, for the sight of a white +face is rare in Bela. It was a strange scene: the picturesque city, +brilliant barbaric costume of the young chief and his followers, and +crowd of wild, half-naked Baluchis were fitly set off by surroundings +of desert landscape and dazzling sunshine. A Germe or Vereschgin +would have revelled in the sight. + +Shaking hands with Kumal (no easy matter on camels), he placed me on +his right hand, and, heading the procession, we rode into Bela, where +a large tent had been erected for my accommodation. Having placed a +guard at my disposal, the prince then left, announcing his intention +of receiving me in state that afternoon at the palace. + +Bela, which is protected by a fort and high mud wall, is situated on +the right bank of the river Purali, which, at the time of my visit, +was no more than a dry rocky bed. The town contains about 4000 +inhabitants, and, from a distance, presents a curious appearance, +each house being fitted, as at Sonmiani, with a large "badgir," or +wind-catcher. Like most Eastern cities, Bela does not improve on +closer acquaintance. The people are dirty and indolent. There is +little or no trade, and the dark, narrow streets, ankle-deep in mud +and filth, are crowded with beggars and pariah dogs, while the dull +drab colour of the mud houses is depressing in the extreme. The fort +and palace alone are built of brick, and, being whitewashed, relieve +to a certain extent the melancholy aspect of the place. I was escorted +to the latter the afternoon of my arrival by a guard of honour, +preceded by the Djam's band--half a dozen cracked English cavalry +trumpets! + +Djam Ali Khan, the present ruler of the state of Las Bela, is about +fifty years of age, and is a firm ally of England. The Djam is a +vassal of the Khan of Kelt, but, like most independent Baluch chiefs, +only nominally so. So far as I could glean, the court of Kelt has no +influence whatsoever beyond a radius of twenty miles or so from that +city. The provinces of Sarawn, Jhalawn, Kach-Gandva, Mekrn, [D] and +Las Bela, which constitute the vast tract of country known as Kalati +Baluchistn, are all governed by independent chiefs, nominally +viceroys of the Khan of Kelt. Practically, however, the latter +has little or no supremacy over them, nor indeed over any part of +Baluchistn, Kelt and its suburbs excepted. + +Prince Kumal Khan received me in his father's durbar-chamber, a +cheerless, whitewashed apartment, bare of furniture save for a +somewhat rickety "throne" of painted wood, and a huge white linen +punkah, overlooking a dreary landscape of barren desert and mud roofs. +The prince, a tall, slim young man, about twenty-five years of +age, has weak but not unpleasing features. He was dressed in a +close-fitting tunic of dark-blue cloth, heavily trimmed with gold +braid, baggy white linen trousers, and a pair of European side-spring +boots, very dirty and down at heel. A light-blue turban completed his +attire. + +The interview was not interesting. Notwithstanding all my efforts and +the services of the interpreter, Kumal was evidently shy and ill at +ease, and resolutely refused to enter into conversation. One thing, +however, roused him. Hearing that I was accompanied by a Russian, +Kumal eagerly demanded that he should be sent for. Germe presently +made his appearance, and was stared at, much to his discomfiture and +annoyance, as if he had been a wild beast. A pair of white-linen +drawers, no socks, carpet slippers, and a thin jersey, were my +faithful follower's idea of a costume suitable to the Indian +climate--surmounted by the somewhat inappropriate head-dress of a +huge astrakhan cap, which for no earthly consideration could he be +persuaded to exchange for a turban. "So that is a Russian!" said the +prince, curiously surveying him from head to foot. "I thought they +were all big men!" But patience has limits, and, with a muttered +"Dourk," [E] poor Germe turned and left the princely presence in +anything but a respectful manner. + +Coffee and nargileh discussed, my host moved an adjournment to the +roof of the palace, where, he said, I should obtain a better view of +his father's city. This ceremony concluded, the trumpets sounded, a +gentle hint that the audience was at an end, and I took leave, and +returned to camp outside the walls of the town. + +The Wazir, or Prime Minister, of the Djam paid me a visit in the +evening _sans crmonie_--a jolly-looking, fresh-complexioned old +fellow, dressed in a suit of karki, cut European fashion, and with +nothing Oriental about him save a huge white linen turban. The Wazir +spoke English fairly well, and, waxing confidential over a cigar and +whisky-and-water (like my Sonmiani friend, the Wazir was no strict +Mussulman), entertained me with an account of the doings of the +Court in Bela and the _aventures galantes_ of Kumal, who, from all +accounts, was a veritable Don Juan. "Will the Russians ever take +India?" asked the old fellow of Germe, as he left the tent. "You can +tell them they shall never get it so long as _we_ can prevent them;" +but the next moment the poor Wazir, to Germe's delight, had measured +his length on the ground. Either the night was very dark, or the +whisky very strong; a tent-rope had avenged the taunt levelled at my +companion's countrymen. + +Early next morning came a message from Prince Kumal, inviting me +to visit the caves of Shahr-Rogan, an excavated village of great +antiquity, about ten miles from Bela. I gladly accepted. The camels +were tired; the men of the caravan unwilling to proceed for another +day, and time hung heavily on one's hands, with nothing to vary the +monotony but an occasional shot at a wood-pigeon (which swarm about +Bela), or a game of _ecart_ (for nuts) with Germe. + +The caves were well worth a visit. I could gain no information at +Bela, Quetta, or even Karachi, as to the origin of this curious +cave-city, though there can be no doubt that it is of great antiquity. +Carless the traveller's account is perhaps the most authentic. + +"About nine miles to the northward of Bela a range of low hills +sweeps in a semicircle from one side of the valley to the other, and +forms its head. The Purali river issues from a deep ravine on the +western side, and rushes down (in the wet season) about two hundred +yards broad. It is bounded on one side by steep cliffs, forty or +fifty feet high, on the summit of which is an ancient burial-ground. +Following the stream, we gained the narrow ravine through which +it flows, and, turning into one of the lateral branches, entered +Shahr-Rogan." + +Here, on the day in question, Prince Kumal called a halt. A couple +of small tents were pitched, and a meal, consisting of an excellent +curry, stewed pigeons, beer, and claret, served. Leaving the Prince +to amuse himself and delight his followers with his skill in +rifle-shooting at a mark chalked out on the rocks, I continued my +explorations. The result is, perhaps, better explained to the reader +in the words of an older and more experienced observer. Carless +says--"The scene was singular. On either side of a wild broken ravine +the rocks rise perpendicularly to the height of four or five hundred +feet, and are excavated, as far as there is footing to ascend, up to +the summit. The excavations are most numerous along the lower part +of the hills, and form distinct houses, most of which are uninjured +by-time. They consist, in general, of a room fifteen feet square, +forming a kind of open verandah, with an interior chamber of the same +dimensions, to which admittance is gained by a narrow doorway. There +are niches for lamps in many, and a place built up and covered in, +apparently to hold grain. Most of the houses or caves at the summits +of the cliffs are now inaccessible, from the narrow precipitous +paths by which they were approached having worn away. The cliffs are +excavated on both sides of the valley for a distance little short of +a mile. There cannot be less than fifteen hundred of these strange +habitations." + +The caves of Shahr-Rogan are not the only sights of interest near +Bela. Time, unfortunately, would not admit of my visiting the +mud-volcanoes of Las, situated near the Harra Mountains, about sixty +miles from Shahr-Rogan. The hills upon which these are found are +from three to four hundred feet high, and are conical in form, with +flattened and discoloured tops and precipitous sides. At their bases +are numerous fissures and cavities reaching far into their interior. +Captain Hart, who visited these geysers some years ago, describes +them as basins of liquid mud, about a hundred paces in diameter, in a +continual state of eruption. These geysers, or "chandra-kupr," as they +are called by the Baluchis, are also found on parts of the Mekrn +coast. Colonel Ross, H.M.'s Resident at Bushire, is of opinion that +these coast craters have communication with the sea, as the state of +the tides has considerable influence on the movements of the mud. This +theory is, perhaps, strengthened by the fact that by the coast natives +the volcanoes are called "Darya-Chn," or "Eyes of the Sea." + +On the way back from Shahr-Rogan to Bela a herd of antelope was +seen. I may here mention that, with one exception, this was the only +occasion upon which I came across big game of any kind throughout the +journey, although, from all accounts, there is no lack of wild animals +in Baluchistn. Bear and hyena are found in the southern districts, +and the leopard, wolf, ibex, and tiger-cat exist in other parts of +the country. The wild dog is also found in the northern and more +mountainous regions. The latter hunt in packs of twenty and thirty, +and will seize a bullock and kill him in a few minutes. On the other +hand, vermin and venomous animals are not so common as in India. +Dangerous snakes are rare, though we were much annoyed by scorpions +and centipedes in the villages of the north, and a loathsome bug, the +"mangar," which infests the houses of Kelt. + +Riding homewards, we stopped about a mile out of Bela to inspect the +Djam's garden, a large rambling piece of ground about fifty acres in +extent, enclosed by high walls of solid masonry. Never was I more +surprised than upon entering the lofty iron gates guarded by a sowar +in neat white uniform. It seemed incredible that such fertility and +abundance could exist in this dry, arid land. The cool fragrant +gardens, with their shady grass walks, forest trees, and palms, +springing up, as it were, out of the scorched, stony desert, reminded +one of a bunch of sweet-smelling flowers in a fever ward, and the +scent of rose, jasmine, and narcissus was apparent quite half a mile +away. In the centre of the garden is a tamarind tree of enormous +girth. It takes twelve men with joined hands to surround it. Half an +hour was spent in this pleasant oasis, which was constructed by the +late Djam, after infinite trouble and expense, by means of irrigation +from the Purali river. There are also two deep wells of clear water in +the grounds, which are never quite dry even in the hottest seasons. + +Proceeding homewards, we had scarcely reached camp when a terrific +thunderstorm burst over our heads. The thunderclaps were in some +instances nearly a minute in duration, and the lightning unpleasantly +close and vivid. + +The weather clearing, I visited the bazaar in the evening, under +the guidance of my old friend, the Wazir. Trade is, as I have said, +practically _nil_ in Bela, and the manufactures, which are trifling, +are confined to oil, cotton, a rough kind of cloth, and coarse +carpets; indeed, throughout the country, commerce is almost at a +standstill. + +This is scarcely surprising when the semi-savage state of the people, +and consequent risks to life and property, are taken into account. The +export trade of the interior is, though trifling at present, capable, +under firm and wise rule, of great improvement. Madder, almonds, and +dried fruit from Kelt and Mastung, seed and grain from Khozdar, small +quantities of assa-foetida from Nushki, and sulphur from Kach-Gandva, +comprise all the exports. From Mekrn and Las Bela are exported +"rogan," or clarified butter used for cooking purposes, hides, tobacco +(of a very coarse kind), salt fish, oil-seeds, and dates. The imports +chiefly consist of rice, pepper, sugar, spices, indigo, wood, and +piece goods, chiefly landed at the ports of Gwdar or Sonmiani. But +little is as yet known of the mineral products of this district. Iron +ore is said to exist in the mountains north of Bela, while to the +south copper is reported as being found in large quantities; but +nothing has as yet been done to open up the mineral resources of the +district. Although silver and even gold have been found in small +quantities, and other minerals are known to exist, the only mines at +present in Baluchistn are those near Khozdar, in the province of +Jhalawn, where lead and antimony are worked, but in a very primitive +manner. + +Notwithstanding the trade stagnation, there seems to be a good deal of +cultivation in and around Bela. Water is obtained from deep wells; +and vegetables, rice, and tobacco are largely grown. Most of the +stalls in the bazaar were devoted to the sale of rice, wheat, and +tobacco, cheap cutlery, and Manchester goods; and I noticed, with some +surprise, cheap photographs of Mrs. Langtry, Ellen Terry, Miss Nelly +Farren, Sylvia Grey, and other leading lights of society and art, +spread out for sale among the many-bladed knives, nickel forks and +spoons, and German timepieces. Although the narrow alleys reeked with +poisonous smells and filth and abomination of all kinds, Bela is not +unhealthy--so at least the Wazir informed me. I doubted the truth of +this assertion, however, for the features of every second person I met +were scarred more or less with small-pox. + +My caravan, on leaving Bela, was considerably increased. It now +consisted of twenty-two camels (six of which were laden with water), +five Baluchis, my original escort, and six of the Djam's cavalry. I +could well have dispensed with the latter, but the kindly little Wazir +would not hear of my going without them. An addition also to our party +was a queer creature, half Portuguese, half Malay, picked up by Germe +in the Bela bazaar, and destined to fulfil the duties of cook. How he +had drifted to Bela I never ascertained, and thought it prudent not +to inquire too much into his antecedents. No one knew anything about +him, and as he talked a language peculiar to himself, no one was ever +likely to; but he was an undeniably good _chef_, and that was the +chief consideration. Gatan, this strange being informed us, was his +name--speedily transformed by Germe into the more euphonious and +romantic name of Gaetano! + +I took leave of the Prince and my old friend the Wazir with some +misgivings, for the new camel-drivers were Bela men, and frankly +owned that their knowledge of the country lying between Gwarjak and +Noundra (where we were to leave the caravan-track) was derived chiefly +from hearsay. + +There are two caravan-roads through Bela. One, formerly much used, is +that over which we had travelled from the coast, and which, on leaving +Bela, leads due north to Quetta _vi_ Wadd and Sohrab. An ordinary +caravan by this route occupies at least forty days in transit. +Traffic is now, therefore, usually carried on by means of the safer +trade-routes through British Sindh, whereby the saving of time is +considerable, and chances of robbery much lessened. The second road +(which has branches leading to the coast towns of Gwdar, Pasui, and +Ormara) proceeds due west to Kej, capital of the Mekrn province, +near the Persian border. The latter track we were to follow as far as +Noundra, ninety miles distant. I should add that the so-called roads +of Baluchistn are nothing more than narrow, beaten paths, as often as +not entirely obliterated by swamp or brushwood. Beyond Noundra, where +we left the main track to strike northwards for Gwarjak, there was +absolutely nothing to guide us but occasional landmarks by day and the +stars at night. + +Barring the intense monotony, the journey was not altogether +unenjoyable. To reach Noundra it took us five days. This may appear +slow work, but quicker progress is next to impossible in a country +where, even on the regular caravan-road, the guides are constantly +losing the track, and two or three hours are often wasted in regaining +it. The first two or three days of the journey lay through swampy +ground, through which the camels made their way with difficulty, for a +cat on the ice in walnut-shells is less awkward than a camel in mud. +Broad deep swamps alternating with tracts of sandy desert, with +nothing to relieve the monotonous landscape but occasional clumps of +"feesh," a stunted palm about three feet in height, and rough cairns +of rock erected by travellers to mark the pathway where it had become +obliterated, sufficiently describes the scenery passed through for the +first three days after leaving Bela. Large stones accurately laid out +in circles of eighteen or twenty feet in diameter were also met with +at intervals of every two miles or so by the side of the track, and +this very often in districts where nothing was visible but a boundless +waste of loose, drifting sand. Our Baluchis could not or would not +explain the _raison d'tre_ of them, though the stones must, in many +instances, have been brought great distances and for a definite +purpose. I could not, however, get any explanation regarding them at +either Kelt or Quetta. + +With the exception of the Lakh Pass leading over a chain of hills +about eighteen miles due west of Bela, the road to Noundra was as +flat as a billiard-table. The crossing of the Lakh, however, was not +accomplished without much difficulty and some danger; for the narrow +pathway, leading over rocky, almost perpendicular, cliffs, three to +four hundred feet high, had, in places, almost entirely crumbled away. +The summits of these cliffs present a curious appearance--fifty to +sixty needle-like spires, hardly a couple of feet thick at the top, +which look as if the hand of man and not of nature had placed them in +the symmetrical order in which they stand, white and clear-cut against +the deep-blue sky, slender and fragile as sugar ornaments, and looking +as though a puff of wind would send them toppling over. The ascent +was terribly hard work for the camels, and, as the track is totally +unprotected by guard-rail of any kind, anything but comfortable for +their riders. Towards the summit we met a couple of these beasts laden +with tobacco from Kej, in charge of a wild-looking fellow in rags, +as black as a coal, who eyed us suspiciously, and answered in sulky +monosyllables when asked where he hailed from. His merchandise, +consisting of four small bags, seemed hardly worth the carrying, but +Kej tobacco fetches high prices in Bela. At this point the pathway +had latterly been widened by order of the Djam. Formerly, if two +camels travelling in opposite directions met, their respective owners +drew lots. The animal belonging to the loser was then sacrificed and +pushed over the precipice to clear the way for the other. + +In the wet season a foaming torrent dashes through the Valley of Lakh, +but this was, at the time of my visit, a dry bed of rock and shingle. +Indeed, although we were fairly fortunate as regard wells, and I was +never compelled to put the caravan on short allowance, I did not +pass a single stream of running water the whole way from Sonmiani to +Dhara, twenty miles south of Gwarjak, though we must in that distance +have crossed at least fifteen dry river-beds, varying from twenty to +eighty yards in width. + +Travelling in the daytime soon became impossible, on account of the +heat, as we proceeded further inland. A start was therefore generally +made before it was light, and by 11 a.m. the day's work was over, +tents pitched, camels turned loose, and a halt made till three or four +the next morning. Though the sun at midday was, with the total absence +of shade, dangerously powerful, and converted the interior of our +canvas tents into the semblance of an oven, there was little to +complain of as regards weather. The nights were deliciously cool, and +the pleasantest part of, the twenty-four hours was perhaps that from +8 till 10 a.m., when, dinner over and camp-fires lit, the Baluchis +enlivened the caravan with song and dance. Baluch music is, though +wild and mournful, pleasing. Some of the escort had fine voices, +and sang to the accompaniment of a low, soft pipe, their favourite +instrument. Germe was in great request on these occasions, and, +under the influence of some fiery raki, of which he seemed to have an +unlimited stock, would have trolled out "Matoushka Volga" and weird +Cossack ditties till the stars were paling, if not suppressed. As +it was, one got little enough rest, what with the heat and flies at +midday, and, at the halt about 8 a.m., the shouting, hammering of +tent-pegs, and braying of camels that went on till the sun was high in +the heavens. + +There is a so-called town or village, Jhow (situated about twenty +miles east of Noundra), in a sparsely cultivated plain of the same +name. Barley and wheat are grown by means of irrigation from the Jhow +river, which in the wet season is of considerable size. I had expected +to find, at Jhow, some semblance of a town or village, as the Wazir +of Bela had told me that the place contained a population of four or +five hundred, and it is plainly marked on all Government maps. But I +had yet to learn that a Baluch "town," or even village, of forty or +fifty inhabitants often extends over a tract of country many miles +in extent. The "town" of Jhow, for instance, is spread over a plain +thirty-five miles long by fourteen broad, in little clusters of from +two to six houses. A few tiny patches of green peeping out of the +yellow sand and brushwood, a wreath of grey smoke rising lazily here +and there at long intervals over the plain, a few camels and goats +browsing in the dry, withered herbage by the caravan-track, showed +that there were inhabitants; but we saw no dwellings, and only one +native, a woman, who, at sight of Germe, who gallantly rode forward +to address her, turned and fled as if she had seen the evil one. +Noundra, which was reached on the 30th of March, was a mere repetition +of Jhow. Neither houses nor natives were visible, though we passed +occasional patches of cultivated ground. About five miles west of this +we left the beaten track and struck out due north for Gwarjak, which, +according to my calculation, lay about seventy miles distant. + + +[Footnote A: The traveller Masson says that the word _Brahui_ is a +corruption of _Ba-roh-i_, meaning literally, "of the waste."] + +[Footnote B: These rings are sometimes so heavy that they are attached +to a band at the top of the head to lessen the weight on the nostril.] + +[Footnote C: A town in Western Baluchistn.] + +[Footnote D: The word "Mekrn" is said to be derived from +"Mahi-Kharan," or "Fish-eaters," which food the inhabitants of this +maritime province subsisted on in Alexander's time, and do still.] + +[Footnote E: Russian, "Fool."] + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +BALUCHISTN--GWARJAK. + + +Most European travellers through this desolate land have testified to +the fact that the most commendable trait in the Baluch is his practice +of hospitality, or "zang," as it is called. As among the Arabs, a +guest is held sacred, save by some of the wilder tribes on the Afghan +frontier, who, though they respect a stranger actually under their +roof, will rob and murder him without scruple as soon as he has +departed. The natives of Kanro and Dhara (the two villages lying +between Noundra and Gwarjak) were, though civil, evidently not best +pleased at our appearance, but the sight of a well-armed escort +prevented any open demonstration of ill feeling. + +The first day's work after Noundra was rough, so much so that the +camels could scarcely struggle through the deep sand, or surmount the +steep, pathless ridges of slippery rock that barred our progress every +two or three miles. Though the greater part of the journey lay through +deep, drifting sand, the soil in places was hard and stony, and here +the babul tree and feesh palm grew freely, also a pretty star-shaped +yellow flower, called by Baluchis the "jour." This plant is poisonous +to camels, but, strangely enough, harmless to sheep, goats, and other +animals. + +For a desert-journey, we had little to complain of as regards actual +discomfort. There were no mosquitoes or sandflies, and the heat, +though severe, was never excessive save for a couple of hours or so at +midday, when enforced imprisonment in a thin canvas tent became rather +trying. There was absolutely no shade--not a tree of any kind visible +from the day we left Bela till our arrival at Dhara about midday on +the 31st of March. Scarcity of water was our greatest difficulty. At +Noundra it had been salt and brackish; at Kanro we searched in vain +for a well. Had we known that a couple of days' march distant lay a +land "with milk and honey blest," this would have inconvenienced us +but little. The fact, however, that only three barrels of the precious +liquid remained caused me some anxiety, especially as the first well +upon which we could rely was at Gwarjak, nearly sixty miles distant. + +The sight of Dhara, on the morning of the 31st, relieved us of all +further anxiety. This fertile plain, about fifteen miles long by ten +broad, is bounded on the north-west by a chain of limestone mountains, +the name of which I was unable to ascertain. Here for the second time +since Bela we found a village and traces of inhabitants, the former +encircled for a considerable distance by fields of maize and barley, +enclosed by neat banks and hedges--a grateful contrast to the desolate +waste behind us. It was the most perfect oasis imaginable. Shady +forest trees and shrubs surrounded us on every side, a clear stream of +running water fringed with ferns and wild flowers rippled through our +camp, while the poor half-starved horses of the escort revelled in the +long, rich grass. Hard by a cluster of three or four leaf huts, half +hidden in a grove of date palms, lay (part of) the little village +of Dhara, deserted at this busy hour of the day save by women and +children. The latter fled upon our arrival, and did not reappear until +the evening, when the return of the men reassured them sufficiently to +approach our tents and look upon the strange and unwelcome features of +the Farangi without fear. + +From here, by advice of the Wazir of Bela, a messenger was despatched +to Malak, at Gwarjak, twenty miles distant, requesting permission to +travel through his dominions. I resolved to proceed no further without +the chief's sanction, or to afford him in any way an excuse for making +himself unpleasant. In the mean time, arms and accoutrements were +looked to, and the escort cleaned and smartened up as well as +circumstances would permit. The natives overcame their shyness next +morning, and brought us goat's milk and "rogan," or clarified butter. +The Baluchis seldom eat meat, their food principally consisting of +cakes or bread made of grain, with buttermilk and rice. A favourite +preparation known as "shalansh," and called "krout" by the Afghans, is +made by boiling buttermilk till the original quantity is reduced by +half. The remainder is then strained through a thick felt bag, in the +sun. When the draining ceases, the mass in the bag is formed into +small lumps dried hard by the sun's rays. When required for use these +lumps are pounded and placed in warm water, where they are worked by +the hands until dissolved. The thickened fluid is then boiled with +rogan and eaten with bread. + +Assafoetida, indigenous to the country, is largely used among all +classes for flavouring dishes. So much is this noxious plant liked +by Baluchis, that it goes by the name of "khush-khorak," or pleasant +food. At Kelt, in the palace of the Khan, I was offered it pickled, +but it is usually eaten stewed in butter. + +About midday, to my great surprise, Malak made his appearance in +person, mounted on a good-looking chestnut stallion, its bridle +and saddle adorned with gold and silver trappings. Four attendants +followed on sorry-looking steeds. The chief, a tall, well-built +fellow, about thirty years of age, with a sulky, sinister cast of +countenance, was clad in a bright green satin jacket, white and gold +turban, loose dark-blue trousers, and embroidered slippers. The loss +of one eye gave him a still more unpleasant expression, a lock +of coarse black hair being dragged over the face to conceal the +disfigurement. The whole party were armed to the teeth, and carried +guns, shields, and revolvers. + +Our interview did not commence propitiously. Swinging himself off his +horse, Malak returned my salutation with a sulky nod, and swaggered +into the tent, signing to his suite to follow his example. Curtly +refusing my offer of refreshment, he called for his pipe-bearer, and, +lighting a kalyan, commenced puffing vigorously at some abominably +smelling tobacco, which soon rendered the interior of the tent +unbearable. It is, unfortunately, Baluch etiquette to allow a guest +to open the conversation. Malak, well aware of this, maintained +a stolid silence, and appeared hugely to enjoy the annoyance and +impatience I tried in vain to conceal. It was not till nearly an hour +had elapsed that this amiable visitor at last inquired, in a rude, +surly tone, what I wanted. My interpreter's services were then called +in, but it was not without demur and a long consultation with his +suite that Malak consented to accompany me to Gwarjak on the morrow. +Matters were finally arranged, on the understanding that I did not +remain more than one day at Gwarjak, but proceeded to Kelt without +delay. + +I strolled out with a gun in the evening, and managed to bag a +brace of partridges, which swarmed in the maize and barley fields. +Overcoming the fears of the women, I was permitted to approach and +inspect, though not enter, one of their dwellings. The latter, +constructed of dried palm leaves, were about fifteen feet long by +eight feet broad, and were entirely devoid of rugs, carpets, or +furniture of any kind, and indescribably filthy. The men, though shy +and suspicious, would have been friendly, had it not been for Malak, +who followed me like a shadow; but nothing would induce the women and +children to approach either Germe or myself. "What is this?" said one +old fellow to Malak, stroking my face with his horny, grimy palm. "I +never saw anything like it before." Most of the men were clothed in +dirty, discoloured rags. The women wore simply a cloth tied loosely +over the loins, while male and female children fourteen or fifteen +years old ran about stark naked. + +A curious flower, the "kosisant," grows luxuriantly about here. It is +in shape something like a huge asparagus, and about two feet high, +being covered from top to bottom with tiny white-and-yellow blossoms, +with a sweet but sickly perfume. It consists but of one shoot or +stalk, and bursts through the ground apparently with great force, +displacing the soil for several inches. + +We left for Gwarjak at 5.30 the following morning. Etiquette compelled +Malak to offer me his horse, while he mounted my camel--an operation +effected with very bad grace by my host. The Baluch saddle consists +simply of two sharp pieces of wood bound together by leathern thongs, +and the exchange was by no means a welcome one so far as I was +concerned. Had it cut me in two, however, I would have borne it, if +only to punish this boorish ruffian for his insolence of yesterday. +Malak's chief failing was evidently vanity, and he was very reluctant, +even for an hour, to cede the place of honour to a European. + +The road for the first ten miles or so lay along the dry bed of +a river, which, I ascertained with difficulty from my one-eyed +companion, is named the Mashki. Large holes, from eight to ten feet +deep, had been dug for some distance by the Dhara natives, forming +natural cisterns or tanks. These were, even now, after a long spell of +dry weather, more than half full, and the water, with which we filled +barrels and flasks, clear, cold, and delicious. + +The Shirengaz Pass, which crosses a chain of hills about five hundred +feet high, separates the Dhara Valley from the equally fertile +district of Gwarjak. The ascent and descent are gradual and easy, and +by ten o'clock we were in sight of Gwarjak, before midday had encamped +within half a mile of the town, if a collection of straggling +tumble-down huts can so be called. The news of our arrival had preceded +us, and before tents were pitched the population had turned out _en +masse_, and a mob of quite two hundred men, women, and children were +squatted around our camp, watching, at a respectful distance, the +proceedings of my men with considerable interest. Malak had meanwhile +disappeared, ostensibly to warn the Wazir of our arrival. + +Gwarjak is situated on the left bank of the Mashki river, and consists +of some thirty huts, shapeless and dilapidated, built of dried palm +leaves. About two hundred yards north of the village rises a steep +almost perpendicular rock about a hundred feet high, on the summit of +which is perched a small mud fort. The latter is crenelated, loopholed +for musketry, and mounts six cannon of a very primitive kind. It was +at once apparent that we were anything but welcome. The very sight of +my armed escort seemed to annoy and exasperate the male population, +while the women and children gathered together some distance off, +flying in a body whenever one of our party approached them. I looked +forward, with some impatience, to Malak's return, for Kamoo's request +for the loan of a knife from one of the bystanders was met with +an indignant refusal, accompanied by murmuring and unmistakable +expressions of hostility. We were well armed certainly, but were only +ten men against over a hundred. + +Our camping-place was wild and picturesque, and, had it not been for +the uncomfortable sensation of not quite knowing what would happen +next, our stay at Gwarjak would have been pleasant enough. Even Germe +was depressed and anxious, and the Bela men and escort ill at ease. I +was sorely tempted more than once to accede to Kamoo's request, strike +tents and move on to Gajjar, the next village, but was restrained by +the thought that such a proceeding would not only be undignified, but +a source of satisfaction to my _bte noire_, Malak. + +[Illustration: MALAK] + +After a prolonged absence of four or five hours, the latter returned, +together with his Wazir and about a dozen followers. A more cut-throat +looking set of ruffians I have seldom seen. All wore long black-cloth +robes trimmed with scarlet, and white turbans, and carried a Snider +rifle and belt stuffed with cartridges slung over the left shoulder. I +now noticed with some anxiety that Malak's quiet and undemonstrative +manner had completely altered to one of swaggering insolence and +bravado. "The chief wishes you to know he has twenty more like this," +said Kamoo, pointing to Malak's villainous-looking suite. "Tell him +I am very glad to hear it," was my reply, politely meant, but which +seemed to unduly exasperate the King of Gwarjak. Brushing past me, he +burst into the tent, followed by his men, and seated himself on my +only camp-stool. Then, producing a large American revolver, he cocked +it with a loud click, placed it on the ground beside him, and called +for his kalyan. + +Patience has limits. With the reflection that few white men would have +put up with the insults I had; that "Tommy Atkins" was, after all, +only three hundred miles away; and that, in the event of my death, +Malak would probably be shot, if not blown from a gun,--I ordered him +(through the trembling Kamoo) to instantly leave the tent with all his +followers. The fire-eating chieftain was (unlike most Baluchis) a poor +creature, for to my intense relief he slunk out at once, with his +tail between his legs. Having then re-appropriated the camp-stool, +I ordered in the escort, fixed bayonets, loaded _my_ revolver with +ostentation, and commanded my friend to re-enter alone, which he did, +and, as Americans say, "quickly." + +Then ensued an uncomfortable silence, interrupted by the arrival of +one of my men to say that the villagers had refused to sell provisions +of any kind, although eggs, milk, and rice were to be had in plenty. +"I am not the king of these people," said Malak, passionately, on +being remonstrated with. "Every man here is free to do as he pleases +with his own." As our stores were now running uncomfortably short, +this "Boycotting" system was anything but pleasant. "Will _you_ sell +us some eggs and milk?" I asked, as my unwilling guest rose to go. It +was eating humble-pie with a vengeance, but hunger, like many other +things, has no laws. "I am not a stall-keeper," was the answer. A +request to be permitted to ascend the hill and visit the fort was met +by an emphatic refusal. I then, as a last resource, inquired, through +Kamoo, if my hospitable host had any objection to my walking through +the village. "If you like," was the reply; "but I will not be +responsible for your safety. This is not Kelt. The English are not +our masters. We care nothing for them." + +Notwithstanding these mysterious warnings, however, I visited the +village towards sunset, alone with Germe, fearing lest the sight of +my escort should arouse the ire and suspicions of the natives. There +was little to see and nothing to interest. Gwarjak is built without +any attempt at order or symmetry. Many of the houses had toppled over +till their roofs touched the ground, and the whole place presented an +appearance of poverty and decay strangely at variance with the smiling +plains of grain, rice, and tobacco around it. Not a human being was +visible, for our appearance was the signal for a general stampede +indoors, but the dirty, narrow streets swarmed with huge, fierce dogs, +who would have attacked us but for the heavy "nagaikas" [A] with which +we were armed. We were evidently cordially hated by both men and +beasts! On return to camp I gave orders for a start at four the next +morning. There was no object to be gained by remaining, and the +natives would have been only too glad of an excuse for open attack. + +The remains of an ancient city, covering a very large area, are said +to exist near Gwarjak, about a mile due south of it. I could, however, +discover no trace of them, although we came from that direction, and +must have traversed the supposed site. + +After the fatigue and anxiety of the day, I was enjoying a cigar in +the bright moonlight, when a messenger from the village arrived in +camp. He had a narrow escape. Not answering the challenge of the +sentry for the second time, the latter was about to fire, when I ran +forward and threw up his rifle, which discharged in the air. A second +later, and the man would have been shot, in which case I do not +suppose we should ever have seen Quetta. The message was from Malak, +inviting me to a "Zigri," a kind of religious dance, taking place just +outside the village. After some reflection, I decided to go. It might, +of course, mean treachery, but the probability was that the chief, +afraid of being reported to the Indian Government for his insolence +and insubordination, wished to atone for his conduct before I left. + +Under the messenger's guidance, and attended by Germe and a guard of +five men with loaded rifles, I set out. Both the Russian and myself +carried and prominently displayed a brace of revolvers. A walk of ten +minutes brought us to a cleared space by the river. In the centre +blazed a huge bonfire, round which, in a semicircle, were squatted +some two or three hundred natives, watching the twistings and +contortions of half a dozen grotesque creatures with painted faces, +and long, streaming hair, who, as they turned slowly round and round, +varied the performance with leaps and bounds, alternately groaning, +wailing, and screaming at the top of their voices. + +[Illustration: A "ZIGRI" IN GWARJAK] + +A horn, a lute, and half a dozen tom-toms accompanied the dance. Some +distance away, and surrounded by his grim-looking guard, sat Malak, +who, though he did not rise to receive me, beckoned me to his side +with more politeness than usual. It was a weird, strange sight. The +repulsive, half-naked figures leaping round the fire, the silent, +awestruck crowd of Baluchis, the wild barbaric music, and pillar of +flame flashing on the dark, sullen face of Malak and his followers, +was not a little impressive, especially as I was in a state of +pleasing uncertainty as to the object of my host's sudden change of +manner, and whether this might not be a little dramatic introduction +to an attack upon our party. This was, however, evidently not my sulky +friend's intention, for, as I rose to go, he actually stood up and +took my hand. "At Gajjar," he said, "you will be able to get all you +want, but take my advice, and get away from here early to-morrow +morning. They do not like you." + +Four hours after we were _en route_. The Zigri was still going on +as we rode out of the village. Malak and his guard still sat +motionless, the weird dancers and crowd of onlookers were still +there, the huge bonfire blazing as brightly as ever, though the +Eastern sky was lightening. As we passed within a hundred yards, I +waved my hand, but the compliment was not returned. Some of the crowd +looked up at the caravan; all must have seen it, but averted their +faces till we had passed. I was not, on the whole, sorry to leave +Gwarjak. + +But one European, Colonel M---- of the Indian service, had visited +Gwarjak for fifteen years prior to my visit. My road thither from +Noundra has never been traversed save by natives, and it was, +perhaps, more by good luck than good management that we came through +successfully. The inhabitants of Gwarjak are a tribe known as the +Nushirvanis, who claim to be of Persian descent. It was only at +Quetta that I learnt that my friend Malak was only Viceroy of this +inhospitable district. The head-quarters and residence of the Chief, +one Nimrood Khan, is at Kharn (a hundred and fifty miles north-west of +Gwarjak). Nimrood, who was fortunately absent, detests Europeans, and +would probably have made matters even worse for us. Intermixed freely +with the wild and lawless tribes of the Baluch-Afghan frontier (from +which Kharn is but a few miles distant), it is scarcely to be +wondered at that the Nushirvanis are inimical to Europeans, whom they +are taught by their chiefs and Afghan neighbours to look upon as +natural enemies. + +Although we had not as yet formed a very favourable idea of Baluch +hospitality, our reception at every village from here to the capital +amply atoned for the rough and uncivil behaviour of the wild +Nushirvanis. We were now once more on the beaten track, for though the +country south of Gwarjak was, previous to our crossing it, unexplored, +the journey from Kelt to Gajjar has frequently been made by Europeans +during the past few years. Our reception by the natives of Gajjar +(only twenty miles from Gwarjak) was a pleasant contrast to that given +us at the latter place. Camp was no sooner pitched than presents of +eggs, milk, rice, and tobacco were brought in, and I was cordially +welcomed by the chief of the village. + +Gajjar is a ramshackle, tumble-down place of about three hundred +inhabitants. On a small hillock to the right of the village stands +the fort, a square building of solid masonry, which, however, is now +roofless, and has only three walls standing. The garrison (of six men) +were lodged in a flimsy tent pitched in the centre of the ruins. +Half the houses were constructed of dried mud; the remainder, as at +Gwarjak, of palm leaves. The village stands in a grove of date palms, +and the swarms of flies were consequently almost unendurable. We +encamped close to the village well, to which, during the afternoon, +many of the female population came to draw water. Two of them, bright, +pleasant-featured girls of eighteen or twenty, were the best-looking +specimens of the Baluch woman that I met with throughout the journey. + +Towards sunset the corpse of a young man was borne past my tent +and interred in a little cemetery hard by. The burial rites of the +Baluchis are very similar to those of Persia. When a death occurs, +mourners are sent for, and food is prepared at the deceased's house +for such friends as desire to be present at the reading of prayers for +the dead, while "kairats," or charitable distributions of food, are +made for the benefit of the soul of the deceased. A wife, on the +decease of her husband, neglects washing, and is supposed to sit +lamenting by herself for not less than fifteen days. Long before this, +however, her female friends come to her house and beg her to +desist from weeping, bringing with them the powder of a plant +called "larra." With this the widow washes her head, and then +resumes her former life and occupations. If, however, by +thoughtlessness or malice, her friends defer their visit, she must +mourn for a much longer period alone. A curious Baluch custom is that +of digging a grave much deeper for a woman than a man. They argue that +woman is by nature so restless she would not remain quiet, even in +death, without a larger proportion of earth over her. + +[Illustration: NOMAD BALUCH TENT] + +In the matter of births and marriages the Baluchis, being of the +Mohammedan religion, regulate their ceremonies mainly according to the +Korn. Marriage is attended with great festivities. The first step +is the "zang," or betrothal, which is regarded as of a very sacred +nature, the final rite being known as "nikkar." On the wedding-day +the bridegroom, gorgeously arrayed, and mounted on his best horse or +camel, proceeds with his friends to a "ziarat," or shrine, there to +implore a blessing, after which the "winnis," or marriage, is gone +through by a moullah. On the birth of a child there is also much +feasting. The fourth day after birth a name is given to the infant, +and on the sixth an entertainment to friends. The following day the +rite of circumcision ("kattam") is performed, though not always, this +being sometimes postponed for a year or more. On this occasion (as at +a death) large distributions of food are made to the poor. + +The country between Gajjar and Jebri, which was reached next day, is +bare and sterile, notwithstanding that, at the latter place, water is +seldom scarce, even in the dryest seasons. The plain, which consists +of loose, drifting sand, with intervals of hard, stony ground, is +called Kandari. The cold here in the months of January and February +is intense. We passed some curious cave-dwellings in the side of the +caravan-track, in which the natives take refuge from the icy blasts +that sweep across here in winter. They are formed by digging holes +eight to ten feet deep. These are rudely thatched over with palm +leaves, bits of stick, and plaited straw, thus forming a warm and +comfortable shelter. + +The Chief of Jebri, one Chabas Khan, rode out to meet me, clad in +a long gown of golden thread, which, flashing in the sun, was +discernible a couple of miles off. Jebri contains about four hundred +inhabitants, and is a neatly built village, protected by a large mud +fort, and a garrison of twenty Baluchis armed with Snider rifles. +Chabas, who was very proud of his village, informed me that his +rule extended over a considerable extent of country, containing a +population of over 20,000. Many of his subjects were natives of +Seistan, Kharn, and Shotrawk, all Afghan border districts, and gave +him at times no little trouble. The Jebri fort had been attacked only +a year previous to my visit, but Chabas (who I afterwards heard at +Kelt is a renowned fire-eater) gave the rebels such a warm reception +that there has been no outbreak since. My genial old host had himself +given a good deal of trouble to the Kelt Government in his younger +days, and told me with evident pride that he had led many a chupao in +the good old days. The savage and predatory character of the Baluchi +was formerly well exemplified in these lawless incursions, when large +tracts of country were pillaged and devastated and the most unheard-of +cruelties practised. Chupaos are now a thing of the past. Pottinger, +who traversed this country in the last century, and had more than one +unpleasant _rencontre_ with these armed bands, thus describes one of +these plundering expeditions-- + +"The depredators are usually mounted on camels, and furnished, +according to the distance they have to go, with food, consisting of +dates, goat's milk, and cheese. They also carry water in a small +skin-bag, if requisite, which is often the case if the expedition +is prolonged. When all is prepared the band sets off and marches +incessantly till within a few miles of where the chupao is to +commence, and then halts in some unfrequented spot to rest their +camels. On the approach of night they mount again, and, as soon as the +inhabitants of a village have retired to rest, begin their attack by +burning, destroying, and carrying off whatever comes in their way. +They never think of resting for one moment during the chupao, but ride +on over the territory on which it is made at the rate of eighty or +ninety miles a day, until they have loaded their camels with as much +pillage as they can possibly remove; and as they are very expert in +the management of their animals, each man on an average will have +charge of ten or twelve. If practicable, they make a circuit which +enables them to return by a different route. This affords a double +prospect of plunder and also misleads those who pursue the robbers--a +step generally taken, though with little effect, when a sufficient +body of men can be collected for that purpose." + +"In these desperate undertakings the predatory robbers are not always +successful, and when any of them chance to fall into the hands of +exasperated villagers, they are mutilated and put mercilessly +to death. The fact," concludes Pottinger, "of these plundering +expeditions being an institution in Baluchistn must serve to show how +slight is the power wielded by the paramount rulers, and what risks to +the safety of both person and property must be run by those engaged in +the business of trade in such a country." + +Chabas visited me towards evening, accompanied by his son, a +clever-looking, bright-eyed lad about fifteen years old. Noticing that +he wore a belt and buckle of the 66th Regiment, I inquired where +he had procured it, and was told that it had been purchased from a +Gwarjak man, who brought it down from Kharn shortly after the fatal +disaster to the regiment at Maiwand. The kindly old chief now pressed +my acceptance of a fine fat goat--a very acceptable gift, considering +the impoverished condition of the camp larder. We then visited the +fort and village, under his guidance. + +Jebri and its neighbourhood are well cultivated. The system of +agriculture practised in this part of Baluchistn is simple, but +effective, the fields being divided off by ridges of earth and raised +embankments to an accurate level. They are then further subdivided +longitudinally by ridges thrown up about seven or eight paces apart. +This is done for purposes of irrigation. The soil is then ploughed and +manured, the former operation being generally carried on by means +of bullocks. Tracts of land not irrigated by streams, but which are +dependent on rain and the rivulets which come down from the hillsides +after it, are called "kash-kawa," and are found scattered about the +valleys here and there near the tent-encampments of the nomad tribes, +who plough a piece of land, sow it, and return to gather in the crop +when it is matured. The implements of husbandry in general use are +a light wooden plough of primitive construction, consisting of a +vertical piece bent forward at the bottom and tipped with an iron +point, and a long horizontal beam, which passes forward between the +pair of bullocks that draw it, and is fastened to the yoke. A harrow, +consisting of a wooden board about six feet long by two wide, is also +used, being dragged over the ploughed land attached to the yoke by +iron chains. If found not sufficiently heavy, the driver stands upon +it. A spade or shovel, exactly like its English counterpart, and a +reaping-hook, or sickle, having its cutting edge furnished with minute +teeth, complete the list of a Baluchi's agricultural tools. + +Jebri Fort stands on a steep hillock about fifty feet in height. +From here a good view was obtainable of the surrounding country. +Immediately below were pretty gardens or enclosed spaces, sown in the +centre with maize, wheat, and tobacco, and surrounded by plum and +pomegranate trees and date palms. There is a considerable trade in the +latter between here and Bela, which perhaps accounted for the myriads +of flies which here, as at Gajjar, proved a source of great annoyance. +In Chabas's garden were roses and other flowers, some remarkably fine +vines, and a number of mulberry trees. The grounds were well and +neatly laid out with paths, grass plots, and artificial streams, upon +which I complimented the old man; but he would talk of nothing but his +fort, which was, indeed, the only structure worthy of the name met +with between Quetta and the sea. In the evening his son brought +me a delicious dish of preserved apricots and cream, for which +I presented him with three rupees, one of which he instantly +returned. It is considered, by Baluchis, extremely unlucky to give +or accept an odd number of coins. + +[Illustration: JEBRI] + +At Jebri, for the first time, we suffered severely from cold at night, +the thermometer dropping to 42 Fahr. just before sunrise. The climate +of Baluchistn presents extraordinary varieties, and is extremely +trying to Europeans. Although at Kelt the natives suffer considerably +more from cold in winter than summer heats, the hot season in the +low-lying valleys and on the coast, which lasts from April till +October, may be almost said to be the most severe in the world. At +Kej, in Mekram, the thermometer sometimes registers 125 Fahr. in the +shade as early as April, while the heat in the same district during +the "Khurma-Paz," or "Date-ripening," is so intense that the natives +themselves dare not venture abroad in the daytime. + +Notwithstanding this, even the south of Baluchistn has its cold +season. Near Bela, in the month of January, the temperature +frequently falls as low as 35 Fahr. in the mornings, rising no higher +than 65 at any portion of the day. At Kelt, on the other hand, which +stands 6800 feet above sea-level, the extreme maximum heat as yet +recorded during the months of July and August is only 103 Fahr., +while the extreme minimum during the same months is as low as 48 +Fahr. In winter the cold is intense. Pottinger, the traveller, relates +that on the 7th of February, 1810, when at Baghivana, five marches +from Kelt, his water-skins were frozen into masses of ice, and seven +days afterwards, at Kelt, he found the frost so intense that water +froze instantly when thrown upon the ground. Bellew, a more recent +traveller, in the month of January found the temperature even lower, +as when at Rodinjo, thirteen miles south of Kelt, the thermometer at +7 a.m. stood at 14 Fahr., while the next night, at Kelt, it fell +to 8 Fahr. The weather was at the time clear, sharp, and cold, the +ground frozen hard all day, while snow-wreaths lay in the shelter of +the walls. A detailed account of the eight days' journey from Gajjar +to Kelt would weary the reader. A description of one village will +suffice for all, while the country between these two places is nothing +but bare, stony desert, varied by occasional ranges of low rocky +hills, and considerable tracts of cultivated land surrounding the +villages of Gidar, Sohrab, and Rodingo, at each of which we were well +received by the natives. With the exception of a strike among our +camel-drivers, which fortunately lasted only a few hours, and a +dust-storm encountered a few miles from Sohrab, nothing worthy of +mention occurred to break the monotony of the voyage till, on the +morning of the _9th of_ April, we sighted the flat-roofed houses, mud +ramparts, and towering citadel of the capital of Baluchistn. + + +[Footnote A: Cossack whips.] + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +KELT--QUETTA--BOMBAY. + + +We encamped in the suburbs of the city, about a couple of miles from +the northern or Mastung Gate, and near the telegraph office, a small +brick bungalow in charge of an English-speaking native. There is a +single wire laid to Quetta, a distance, roughly speaking, of ninety +miles. A terrific hurricane, accompanied by thunder, vivid lightning, +and dense clouds of black dust, sprang up about sunset the day of our +arrival. Both tents were instantly blown down, and in a few moments +reduced to shapeless rags of torn canvas. So great was the force of +the wind that it snapped the tent-poles short off, and, tearing them +from the ropes, sent the tents flying over the plain as if they had +been shreds of tissue paper. We managed, however, to find quarters in +the telegraph office, and remained there till our departure, two days +later, for Quetta. During the storm the thermometer sank to 50 Fahr., +although a few moments before it had marked 78. + +Kelt contains--with its suburbs, which are of considerable +extent--about 15,000 inhabitants, and is picturesquely situated on the +edge of a fertile plain thickly cultivated with wheat, barley, and +tobacco. The city is built in terraces, on the sides and summit of a +limestone cliff, about a hundred and fifty feet high. This is called +the "Shah Mirdan," and is surrounded at the base of the hill by high +mud ramparts, with bastions at intervals, loopholed for musketry. +The "Mir," [A] or palace of the Khan, overhangs the town, and is made +up of a confused mass of buildings, which, though imposing at a +distance, I found on closer inspection to consist chiefly of mud, which +in many places had crumbled away, leaving great gaping holes in the +walls. The Mir mounts a few primitive, muzzle-loading cannon, and the +citadel is garrisoned by a thousand men, chiefly Afghans, deserters from +Cbul, Kandahr, and other parts of the Ameer's dominions. They are a +ragged, undisciplined lot. The Khan himself has a wholesome dread of +his soldiery, who break out at times, and commit great depredations +among the villages surrounding the capital, robbing and murdering the +peasants with impunity, for few dare resist them. The remainder of the +troops, three thousand in number, are quartered in barracks, or rather +mud hovels, at some distance from the palace. Each man is supposed to +receive three rupees a month and a lump sum of forty-eight rupees at +the end of each year, but pay is uncertain and mutiny frequent. When +not engaged on military duties the Khan's Baluch soldiers are put to +agricultural work on his estates, while the Afghans pass their time +in pillaging and plundering their neighbours. As we entered Kelt we +passed a regiment at drill on a sandy plain outside the walls. With +the exception of a conical fur cap, there is no attempt at uniform. +The men, fine strapping fellows, are armed with rusty flint-locks. +Though there appeared to be no officers, European or otherwise, I +was rather surprised to hear the word of command given in +English, and to see this band of ragamuffins march off parade to +the strains of "Home, sweet Home," played by a very fair fife-and-drum +band. + +The morning following my arrival, I was startled by the apparition at +my bedside of a swarthy, wild-looking Afghan sowar--a messenger +from the Wazir, to say that his Highness the Khan wished to make my +acquaintance, and would receive me, if convenient, at three o'clock +that afternoon. It had not been my intention to solicit an interview, +for, from all accounts, the Khan is anything but friendly towards +Europeans, Englishmen in particular. To refuse, however, was out of +the question. The morning was therefore devoted to cleaning up, and +getting out a decent suit of wearing-apparel; while my Bela escort, +who evidently had uncomfortable forebodings as to the appearance +of the Bela uniform in the streets of Kelt, polished up arms and +accoutrements till they shone like silver, and paid, I noticed, +particular attention to the loading of their rifles and revolvers. + +About midday the Wazir made his appearance to conduct me to the +palace. He was a fat, paunchy old man, with beady black eyes and a +shy, shifty expression, very unlike my cheery little friend at Bela. +After the usual preliminary questions as to who I was, my age, +business, etc., he anxiously inquired after the health of Mr. +Gladstone, and somewhat astonished me by asking whether I was a +Liberal or Conservative. "You have some Bela men with you, I see," +said the Khan's adviser, who spoke English perfectly. "Don't let +his Highness see them." I could not, after such a speech, allow my +faithful escort to enter the city without warning. But it had little +effect. "Let the dogs do what they like," was the reply. "We shall not +let the sahib go alone." + +Tea and cigarettes discussed, a start was made for the palace. The +Wazir, on a wiry, good looking bay horse, and attended by half a dozen +mounted Afghans, led the way, and I followed on a pony borrowed of +the telegraph clerk. My costume was, if not becoming, at any rate +original: high boots, flannel trousers, and shirt, an evening +dress-coat, and astrakhan cap. Germe's wardrobe being even less +presentable, I deemed it prudent to leave him behind. The Bela men +brought up the rear of the procession some distance from the Afghans, +who, to my anxiety, never ceased scoffing and jeering at them the +whole way. Every moment I expected to hear the crack of a pistol-shot, +followed by a general _mle_. Arrived at the Mastung Gate, we +dismounted, and, leaving our horses in charge of the guard, slowly +proceeded up the steep narrow streets to the citadel. + +The entrance to Kelt is not imposing. There had been a good deal +of rain, and the streets of the lower part of the town were perfect +quagmires of mud nearly knee-deep. It was more like crawling into +a dark passage than entering a city. Many of the thoroughfares are +entirely covered over with wooden beams plastered with mud, which +entirely exclude light, and give them more the appearance of +subterranean passages than streets. The upper part of the town is the +cleanest, for the simple reason that all filth and sewage runs down +open gutters cut in the centre of the steep alleys, until it reaches +the level of the plain. There is no provision made for its escape. +It is allowed to collect in great pools, which in long-continued wet +weather often flood the houses and drive their wretched inhabitants +into the open, to live as best they may, further up the hill. + +Kelt is, for this reason only, very unhealthy. Small-pox, typhoid, and +typhus are never absent, though, curiously enough, cholera visitations +are rare. The filthy habits of the inhabitants have, apparently, a +good deal to do with the high death rate. I saw, while walking up +the hill, a native fill a cup from an open drain and drink it off, +although the smell was unbearable, the liquid of a dark-brown colour. +A very common and--in the absence of medical treatment--fatal disease +among the inhabitants of the suburbs (chiefly Afghans) is stone in +the bladder, the water here, though pure and clear in the suburbs, +containing a large quantity of lime. + +The bazaar, through which we passed on our way to the Mir, does not +seem a very busy one. Although not a public or religious holiday, +many of the stalls were closed. Kelt was once the great channel for +merchandise from Kandahr and Cbul to India, but the caravan trade is +now insignificant. There is in the season a considerable traffic in +dates, but that is all, for the roads to Persia and Afghanistn are +very unsafe. Only a few weeks previous to my visit, a Kelt merchant, +proceeding with a large caravan to Kermn, in Persia, was robbed and +murdered in the frontier district west of Kharn. Few now attempt the +journey, most of the goods being sent to Quetta, and thence by rail to +various parts of India, by sea to Persia. + +Art and industry are, as well as trade, practically at a standstill in +the Khan's city, though a handsome embroidery, peculiar to Kelt, is +made by the women, and fetches high prices in India, while some of the +natives are clever at brass work and ironmongery. Noticing a Russian +samovar in one of the shops, I entered and inquired of the owner +(through the Wazir) how it had reached Kelt. "From Russia," was +the reply, "_vi_ Meshd, Herat, and Kandahr. There is a good +caravan-road the whole way," added the Baluchi, taking down a small +brass shield from a peg in the wall. "This came from Bokhra, _vi_ +Cbul, only ten days, ago; but trade is not what it was." "Would there +be any difficulty in making that journey?" I asked. "For you--an +Englishman--yes," said the man, with a queer smile, and was +continuing, when "The Khan will be growing impatient," broke in the +Wazir, taking my hand and leading me hurriedly into the street. + +An Afghan guard of honour was drawn up at the entrance of the palace, +wearing the nearest approach to a uniform I had yet seen--dark-green +tunics, light-blue trousers, and white turbans, clean, well fitting, +and evidently kept for state occasions. Each man carried a Berdn +rifle and cavalry sabre. It struck me as a curious coincidence that +the former rifle is in general use throughout the Russian army. +Leaving my escort with strict injunctions to keep their tempers, and +under no circumstances to allow themselves to be drawn into a quarrel, +I followed the Wazir and his attendants into the Mir. The entrance is +through an underground passage about forty yards long by seven wide, +ill-smelling and in total darkness. Arrived at the end, we again +emerged into daylight, and, ascending a flight of rickety wooden +steps, found ourselves in the durbar-room--a spacious apartment, its +walls decorated with green, gold, and crimson panels, alternating with +large looking-glasses. Costly rugs and carpets from Persia and Bokhra +strewed the grimy floor of the chamber, which is about sixty feet +long, and commands a splendid view of the city and fertile plains +beyond. Awaiting me upon the balcony was the Khan, surrounded by +his suite and another guard of Afghans. A couple of dilapidated +cane-bottomed chairs were then brought and set one on each side of the +crimson velvet divan occupied by his Highness. Having made my bow, +which was acknowledged by a curt nod, I was conducted to the seat on +the right hand of the Khan by Azim Khan, his son, who seated himself +upon his father's left hand The Wazir, suite, soldiers, and attendants +then squatted round us in a semicircle, and the interview commenced. + +A long silence followed, broken only by the whish of the fly-brush +as a white-clad Baluchi whisked it lazily to and fro over the Khan's +head. The balcony on which we were received is poised at a dizzy +height over the beehive-looking dwellings and narrow, tortuous streets +of the brown city, which to-day were bathed in sunshine. The Khan's +residence is well chosen. The pestilent stenches of his capital cannot +ascend to this height, only the sweet scent of hay and clover-fields, +and the distant murmur of a large population, while a glorious +panorama of emerald-green plain stretches away to a rocky, picturesque +range of hills on the horizon. + +His Highness Mir Khudadad, Khan of Kelt, is about sixty years old. He +would be tall were it not for a decided stoop, which, together with a +toothless lower jaw, gives him the appearance of being considerably +more than his age. His complexion is very dark, even for a Baluch, and +he wears a rusty black beard and moustaches, presumably dyed, from +the streaks of red and white that run through them, and long, coarse +pepper-and-salt locks streaming far below his shoulders. His personal +appearance gave me anything but a favourable impression. The Khan has +a scowling expression, keen, piercing black eyes, and a sharp hooked +nose that reminded one forcibly of Cruikshank's picture of Fagin the +Jew in "Oliver Twist." + +The Khan was dressed in a long, loose, white garment, with red silk +embroidery of beautiful workmanship. A thin white Cashmere shawl was +thrown carelessly over his shoulders, and he wore a conical violet +silk cap, trimmed with gold lace, and a pair of pointed green morocco +slippers, turned up at the toes, and ornamented with the same +material. A massive gold necklace, or collar, thickly studded with +diamonds, rubies, and sapphires, hung round his neck. The stones, some +of them of great size, were set indiscriminately without any regard +to pattern or design. Mir Khudadad wore no other jewels, with the +exception of three small torquoise rings, all worn on the little +finger of the left hand. He carried no arms, but held in his right +hand a large and very dirty pocket-handkerchief of a bright yellow +hue with large red spots, which somewhat detracted from his regal +appearance. The Khan is a great snuff-taker, and during the audience +continually refreshed himself from the contents of a small gold box +carried by his son. Prince Azim, who was dressed in a green silk +jacket and loose magenta-coloured trousers, is a pleasant-mannered lad +of about twenty. He is of much lighter complexion than his father and +has a strong Jewish cast of feature. A huge cabochon emerald of great +value, suspended from the neck, was Azim's sole ornament. + +[Illustration: PALACE OF THE KHAN. KELT.] + +A conversation now commenced, carried on through the medium +of the Wazir and my interpreter. The Khan has a fidgety, uneasy +manner that must be intensely exasperating to his court. More +than once during the audience, having asked a question with +much apparent earnestness, he would suddenly break in, in the +middle of a reply, and hum a tune, or start off on a totally different +subject from the one under discussion. At other times he would repeat +a question twice or thrice, and, his eyes fixed on vacancy, utterly +ignore the answers of the Wazir, who evidently stood in great awe of +his eccentric sovereign. Though the following colloquy may appear +brief to the reader, it took nearly an hour to get through. + +"Where do you come from, and what are you?" was the Khan's first +question. + +"From Russia, your Highness." + +"From Russia!" returned the Khan, quickly. "But you are English, are +you not?" + +"Certainly I am." + +"How strong is Russia's army?" continued the Khan, after an +application to the gold snuff box, and a trumpet-blast on the yellow +bandanna. + +"Nominally about three millions." + +"And England?" + +"About two hundred thousand, not counting the reserves." + +"Humph!" grunted the Khan. "Tell me, do the English imagine that Abdur +Raman [B] is their friend?" + +"I believe so." + +"Then tell them from me," cried the Khan, excitedly, half rising from +his seat, "tell Queen Victoria from me that it is not so. Tell her to +beware of Abdur Raman. He is her enemy." + +"Is England afraid of Russia?" continued the Khan after a long pause. + +"No; the English fear no one." + +"Will England reach Kandahr before Russia takes Herat?" + +"I really cannot say," was my answer to this somewhat puzzling +question. + +Mir Khudadad then turned away to converse with the Wazir in a low +tone. About ten minutes elapsed, during which a long confabulation +was held, in which many of the suite, including the Afghan soldiers, +joined. Prince Azim meanwhile invited me to inspect his sword and +pistols. The former, a splendid Damascus blade, and hilt encrusted +with jewels, I especially admired. Had I known the use to which it +had been put that morning, I should not, perhaps, have been so +enthusiastic. + +Again the Khan addressed me. + +"Do you know Russia well?" + +"Pretty well." + +"Is it true that the Russians do not allow Mohammedans to worship in +Central Asia?" + +"I believe that is untrue." + +"It is a lie?" + +"Most certainly it is." + +"Your own countrymen told me so." At this there was a roar of +laughter, in which the Khan joined. + +The durbar-room of Kelt reminded me of an English court of justice. +When the Khan laughed his courtiers did, and _vice vers_. After an +interval of more snuff-taking and whispering, the Khan drew forth and +examined my watch. Taking this for a polite hint that the interview +had lasted long enough, I rose to go, but was at once thrust back into +my chair by Azim. "You are not to go," said the Wazir. "The Khan is +much interested by you." + +"Dhuleep Singh is in Russia, is he not?" then asked the Khan. + +"Yes." + +"What does Russia pay him a year?" + +"I do not know." + +"More than England did?" + +"I do not know." + +"You English never do know anything," muttered the Khan, impatiently; +adding, "Do you know the Czar of Russia?" + +"I have seen him." + +"Is he a good man?" + +"I believe him to be so." + +"Then why do his people try to kill him?" + +"Some of them are Socialists." + +"Socialists!" repeated the Khan, slowly. "What is that?" + +I then explained with some difficulty the meaning of the word. + +"Humph!" was the rejoinder. Then, with a whisk of the yellow bandanna: +"I am glad I have none in Kelt!" + +A mark of great favour was then shown me, the Khan presenting me with +his photograph, with the request that I would show it to "Parliament" +when I got home. I think he was under the impression that the latter +is a human being. An incident that occurred but two years since is +typical of the intelligence of the ruler of Kelt and his court. It +was at Quetta, on the occasion of the presentation of Mir Khudadad +to the Viceroy of India. Previous to a grand _djener_ given in his +honour, the Khan and his suite were shown into a dressing-room for the +purpose of washing their hands. On entering to announce that luncheon +was ready, the aide-de-camp found that the distinguished guests had +already commenced operations, and were greedily devouring the cakes +of Pears' soap that had been placed there for a somewhat different +purpose. That none of the party felt any after ill effects speaks well +for the purity of the wares of the mammoth advertiser--or the Baluch +digestion! + +The Khan shook my hand cordially at parting, and again begged me not +to forget his warnings anent the Ameer of Afghanistn, with whom he is +apparently not on the best of terms. I found, with some relief, that +my Bela men had made friends with the Afghans, and, surrounded by an +admiring crowd, were hobnobbing over a hissing samovar. One of the +Afghans handed me a glass of tea, which, not to offend him, I drank +and found delicious. It had come from China _vi_ Siberia, Samarcand, +and Cbul. "Russki!" said the man with a grin, as I handed back the +cup. + +The Khan of Kelt very rarely leaves his palace, and is seldom seen +abroad in the streets of Kelt except on Fridays, when he goes to the +mosque on foot, attended by an escort armed to the teeth. He is said +to live in constant dread of assassination, for his cruel, rapacious +character has made him universally detested in and around the capital. +His one thought in life is money and the increase of his income, +which, with the yearly sum allowed him by the British Government, may +be put down at considerably over 30,000 per annum. A thorough miser, +the Khan does not, like most Eastern potentates, pass the hours of +night surrounded by the beauties of the harem, but securely locked in +with his money-bags in a small, comfortless room on the roof of his +palace. + +[Illustration: THE KHAN OF KELT] + +There is not the smallest doubt in my mind that Russian influence +is, indirectly, being brought to bear on the Court of Kelt. But Mir +Khudadad may be said to have no policy. As the French say, "Il change +sa nationalit comme je change de chemise," and is to be bought by the +highest bidder. + +Although the Khan's subjects are heavily taxed, there is no protection +whatsoever of life or property in or around Kelt. Theft is, according +to the penal code, punished by fine and imprisonment, murder and +adultery by death; but the law is subject to great modifications. In a +word, the Khan is the law, and so long as a man can afford to pay or +bribe him handsomely, he may commit the most heinous offences with +impunity. + +Two instances of the way in which justice is carried out happened just +before I arrived at Kelt. In the one, a young Baluch woman was found +by her husband, a soldier, under circumstances which admitted no doubt +of her infidelity. Upon discovery, which took place at night, the +infuriated husband rushed off to the guard-house for his weapon. +During his absence the woman urged her lover, who was well armed, to +meet and slay him in the darkness. Under pretence of so doing the gay +Lothario left his paramour, but, fearful of consequences, made off to +Quetta. + +On his return home the husband used no violence, simply handing his +wife over to the guard to be dealt with according to law. Brought +before the Khan the next day, she was lucky enough to find that +monarch in a good temper. Her beauty probably obtained the free pardon +accorded her, and an order that her husband was also to condone her +offence. The latter said not a word, took her quietly home in the +evening, and cut her throat from ear to ear. The Khan, on hearing +of the murder next day, made no remonstrance, nor was the offender +punished. He was an Afghan. + +The second case is even more disgraceful. One of the Khan's own suite, +a well-known libertine and drunkard, contracted an alliance with +a young girl of eighteen. He had endeavoured in vain to marry her +younger sister, almost a child, and so beautiful that she was known +for many miles round the city as the "Pearl of Kelt." + +Six weeks after marriage this ruffian, in a fit of drunken frenzy +caused by jealousy, almost decapitated his wife with a tulwar, and +afterwards mutilated her body past recognition. The shrieks of the +poor woman having summoned the neighbours, he was seized, bound, and +led before the Khan, who at once sentenced him to death. The execution +was fixed for sunrise the following day. At midnight, however, +a messenger appeared at the gates of the Mir with a canvas bag +containing two thousand rupees. "Tell him he is free," said the ruler +of Kelt. "And if he sends in another thousand, I will _order_ the +younger sister to marry him." The money was paid, and the poor child +handed over to the tender mercies of the human devil who had so +ruthlessly butchered her sister. + +I have mentioned that Azim Khan showed me a sword of beautiful +workmanship. It had, the very morning of my visit to the palace, cut +down and hacked to pieces a waiting-maid, not sixteen years old, in +the Khan's harem. I myself saw the corpse of the poor girl the same +evening, as it was being carried outside the walls for interment. [C] + +This, then, is the state of things existing at Kelt, not a hundred +miles from the British outposts; this the enlightened sovereign who +has been made "Companion of the Star of India," an order which, among +his own people, he affects to look upon with the greatest contempt. + +The few women I saw at Kelt were distinctly good looking, far more so +than those further south. Most of them have an Italian type of face, +olive complexion, and large dark eyes, with sweeping lashes. But very +few wore the hideous nose-rings so common at Bela and Sonmiani. +Morality is at a discount in the capital, and prostitution common. + + +The Wazir sent me a bag of dates the morning of my departure, with +a short note, written in English, begging that I would send him in +return the best gold watch and rifle "that could be bought for gold" +in London. The note ended jocosely, "Exchange is no robbery!" The old +man seemed well _au fait_ with Central Asian affairs. On my mentioning +the day before that I had intended entering India _vi_ Cbul, he at +once said, "Ah! I supposed Alikhanoff stopped you. He is very shy of +strangers." + +We left Kelt at 6 a.m. on the 12th of April. The camels and heavy +baggage had been sent on four or five hours previously to Mangachar, +the first station. Our caravan now consisted of only eight camels, +which we found reduced to seven on arrival. Just before daylight a +couple of panthers had appeared close to the caravan and caused a +regular stampede, the beasts flying right and left. On order being +restored, two were found to be missing, one laden with the only small +remaining tent and some native luggage, the other with a couple of +cases of whisky (nearly empty) and my camp-stool. The former was +traced and brought in after a search of over two hours, but the latter +is still, for aught I know, careering over the boundless desert, an +unconscious advertiser of "Jameson and Co." I afterwards heard that +this plain is noted for panther and wolf, also an animal called the +"peshkori," somewhat larger than a cat, with a reddish-coloured hide. +It moves about the country in packs, carrying off deer and sheep. Its +method of descending precipices and steep hillsides is curious, each +animal fixing its teeth in the tail of another, thus forming a kind of +chain. + +The plain of Mangachar is situated nearly 6000 feet above sea-level, +and is well cultivated with wheat, lucerne, and tobacco. The +village itself is neatly laid out, and contains about three hundred +inhabitants. The different aspects of the country north and south of +Kelt are striking. We had now done with deserts for good, for at +night lights were seen twinkling all over the plain, while in the +daytime large tracts of well-cultivated land continually met the eye. + +Between Mangachar and Mastung a hot wind arose, which made the eyes +smart, and dried up the skin like a blast from a furnace. One's hair +felt as it does in the hottest room of a Turkish bath, with the +unpleasant addition of being filled with fine gritty sand. "I hope +this may not end in a juloh," said Kamoo, anxiously. This, my +interpreter proceeded to explain, is a hot poisonous wind peculiar to +these districts, and perhaps the greatest danger run by travellers in +Baluchistn. The warm breeze, as Kamoo called it, that we experienced +was, though almost unbearable, not dangerous, while the dreaded juloh +has slain its hundreds of victims. Cook, the traveller, who has given +this subject much attention, has come to the conclusion that it is +caused by the generation in the atmosphere of a highly concentrated +form of ozone, by some intensely marked electrical condition. As +evidence of its effect in destroying every green thing on its course, +and in being frequently fatal to human life, he cites the following +well-authenticated cases, which, not having encountered the +death-dealing blast myself, I place before the reader:-- + +(1) In the year 1851, during one of the hot months, certain officers +of the Sind Horse were sleeping at night on the roof of General +Jacob's house at Jacobabad. They were awakened by a sensation of +suffocation and an exceedingly hot and oppressive feeling in the air, +while at the same time a very powerful smell of sulphur was noticed. +On the following morning a number of trees in the garden were found to +be withered in a very remarkable manner. It looked as if a current of +fire, about two yards in breadth, had passed through the garden in a +perfectly straight line, singeing and destroying every green thing in +its course. Entering on one side, and passing out at the other, its +tract was as clearly defined as the course of a river. + +(2) At the close of 1856 a party of five men were crossing the desert +of Shikarpur, being on their way from Kandahr to that city, when +the blast crossed their path, killing three of them instantly and +seriously disabling the other two. + +(3) A "moonshi" with two companions was travelling about seven miles +south-east of Bagh, in Kachi (not far distant from Mangachar). About +two o'clock the blast struck them. They were sensible of a scorching +sensation in the air, accompanied by a peculiar sulphurous smell, but +remembered nothing further, as all three were immediately struck to +the ground. They were afterwards found and carried to Bagh, where, +every attention being afforded them, they ultimately, after many days +of sickness, recovered. + +As regards the strength of the juloh, Pottinger writes that, so +searching is its nature, it has been known to kill camels and other +hardy animals, and its effects on the human frame are said by +eye-witnesses to be the most agonizing and repulsive imaginable. +Shortly after contact with the wind the muscles of the sufferer become +rigid and contracted, the skin shrivels, a terrible sensation as if +the skin were on fire pervades the whole frame, while, in the last +stage, the skin cracks into deep gashes, producing haemorrhage, +quickly followed by death. It is curious to note that the juloh is +peculiar to the northern districts of Sarawn and Kach-Gandva, +and does not exist in the southern provinces of Baluchistn. + +The road from Mangachar to Mastung is good, though slightly +undulating, and intersected by deep "nullahs." The estimated area of +the Mastung district is two hundred and eighty miles. It is aptly +named "The Garden of Baluchistn," for considerably more than +two-thirds of its area are under cultivation. Water at Mastung is +never-failing, and the pretty town, nestling in a valley of vineyards +and fruit-gardens, fig and olive trees, reminded one more of some +secluded town in the Pyrenees or south of France than a Baluch +settlement. The soil hereabouts is light and sandy and particularly +favourable to the cultivation of grapes, of which there are no less +than five kinds. Apricots, peaches, plums, and pomegranates are also +grown, and supply the markets of Quetta and Kelt. Madder and tobacco +are also exported in large quantities from Mastung, which possesses a +neatly built and busy bazaar. + +The plain of Dasht-bi-Dowlat, or "The Unpropitious Plain," lies +between Mastung and Quetta. The name, however, only applies after the +harvest has been gathered, for next to Mastung this is one of the most +fertile spots in Baluchistn. Dasht-bi-Dowlat is mainly cultivated +by wandering tribes. The inhabitants of Mastung were enthusiastic in +their description of the plain in summer. Then, they told us, the +surface is covered with verdure and flowers of all kinds, especially +the "lala," or tulip, which they averred cover it for miles with a +carpet of crimson and gold, and load the air with sweet intoxicating +perfume. The cultivation of this plain is mostly dependent on rain and +heavy dews. + +To the west of Dasht-bi-Dowlat is Chehel-Tan, a steep, rocky mountain, +13,000 feet high, in the ravines and valleys of which snow still lay +deeply. Only two Europeans, Masson the traveller, and Sir Henry Green, +have ever succeeded in reaching the summit, on which is a "Zariat," or +shrine. The ascent is difficult and dangerous, as, the mountain +being said to be haunted, no native guides are procurable. The word +"Chehel-Tan" signifies in Baluch "Forty Bodies," and is derived from +the following legend. + +A frugal pair, many years married, were unblest with offspring. They +therefore sought the advice of a holy man, who rebuked the wife, +saying that he had not the power to grant her what Heaven had denied. +The priest's son, however (also a moullah), felt convinced he could +satisfy her wishes, and cast forty pebbles into her lap, at the same +time praying that she might bear children. In process of time she was +delivered of forty babes--rather more than she wished or knew how +to provide for. The poor husband, at his wits' end, ascended to the +summit of Chehel-Tan with thirty-nine, and left them there, trusting +to the mercy of the Deity to provide for them, while the fortieth babe +was brought up under the paternal roof. + +One day, however, touched by remorse, the wife, unknown to her +husband, explored the mountain with the object of collecting the bones +of her children and burying them. To her surprise, they were all +living and gambolling among the trees and rocks. Wild with joy, she +ran back to her dwelling, brought out the fortieth babe, and, placing +it on the summit of the mountain, left it there for a night to allure +back its brothers, but, on returning in the morning, she found that +the latter had carried it off, and it was never seen again. It is +by the spirits of these forty babes that Chehel-Tan is said to be +haunted. + +At 8 a.m. on the 14th of April we sighted, afar off, an oasis on +the dead green plain, of long barrack-like buildings, garden-girt +bungalows, and white tents. We had reached our journey's end. The +church-bells were ringing as I rode into Quetta, for it was Sunday, +and, unfortunately, a bright, fine morning. Had it been otherwise, +I might have been spared the ordeal of riding, on a very dirty and +attenuated camel, past a crowd of well-dressed women and frock-coated +men on their way to church. As we passed a neat victoria, glistening +with varnish, and drawn by a pair of good-looking, high-stepping +ponies, containing a general in full uniform and a pretty, smartly +dressed lady, I cast a glance behind me. Germe, who brought up the +rear of the caravan, had (for coolness) divested himself of boots and +socks, and, sublimely unconscious, was refreshing himself from the +contents of a large wicker flask. One cannot, unfortunately, urge on +a camel or quicken his pace at these awkward moments, and I passed +a very uncomfortable quarter of an hour before reaching the Dk +bungalow. But a glance at a looking-glass reassured me. No one would +ever have taken the brick-coloured, ragged-looking ruffians we had +become for Europeans. + +I accepted a kind and courteous invitation from Mr. L----, of the +Indo-European Telegraph, with pleasure, for the Dk bungalow was dirty +and comfortless. Although my host and charming hostess would have made +any place agreeable, Quetta is, from everything but a strategical +point of view, dull and uninteresting. It is an English garrison town, +and all is said. The usual nucleus of scandal, surrounded by dances, +theatricals, polo, flirtation, drink, and--divorce. Are they not all +alike from Gibraltar to Hong Kong? + +Under the guidance of my host, however, a pleasant trip was made to +the Khojak tunnel. When one considers the comparatively short time +it has been in hand, it is almost incredible that, with so many +difficulties (water, hard rock, etc.), this work should have +progressed as it has. The tunnel, which runs due east and west, is, +or will be, two miles and a half in length and three hundred and +sixty-five feet in depth at the deepest part from the earth's surface. +From the eastern end only sixty-five miles over a firm and level plain +separates it from Kandahr. Even when I was there, [D] a light line +could have been laid to that city in six weeks without difficulty. The +plant, rails, and sleepers were on the spot, having been carried over +the hill, and a railway-carriage could then run from Calcutta to the +eastern extremity of the tunnel without break of gauge. The tunnel, +when completed, will be thirty-four feet broad, and twenty-five feet +in height. + +A curious incident happened at one of the railway-stations between +Quetta and Karachi. At the buffet of the one in question, I found +Germe conversing volubly in Russian with a total stranger, a native. +On inquiry I found he was a very old friend, a Russian subject and +native of Samarcand. "He has just come through from Cbul," said my +companion. "He often does this journey"--ostensibly for purposes of +trade. + +The 20th of April saw us in Bombay. An Italian steamer, the _Venezia_, +was leaving for the Black Sea direct, and in her I secured a passage +for Germe, who was not impressed with our Eastern possessions. The +crowd of curious natives who persistently followed him everywhere +may have had something to do with it, for a fur-clad Esquimaux +in Piccadilly would not have created a greater sensation than my +companion in high boots, black velvet breeches, and red caftan in +the busy streets of the great Indian city. Only a Russian could have +existed in that blazing sun with no other protection to the head than +the astrachan bonnet, which he obstinately refused to discard. I saw +him safely on board, and something very like a tear came into my +trusty little friend's eyes, as we shook hands and parted, to meet, +perhaps, never again. For a better companion no man could wish. +Plucky, honest as the day, and tender-hearted as a woman was Germe +Realini; and it was with a feeling of loneliness and sincere regret +that I watched the grey smoke of the _Venezia_ sink below the blue +waters, which were soon to bear me, also, back to England and European +civilization. + +Has the journey been worth it? Has the result repaid one for the cold, +dirt, and privation of Persia, the torrid heat and long desert marches +through Baluchistn? Perhaps not. There are some pleasant hours, +however, to look back upon. Kashn, a vision of golden domes and dim, +picturesque caravanserais; Ispahn, with its stately Madrassa and blue +Zandarood, winding lazily through miles on miles of white and scarlet +poppyland; Shirz, a dream of fair women, poetry, and roses, in its +setting of emerald plain, sweet-scented gardens, and cypress trees. +These, at any rate, are bright oases in that somewhat dreary ride from +Tehern to the sea. And then--nearing India--the quiet midday siesta +after the hot dusty march; the _al fresco_ repast by the light of a +glorious sunset, and the welcome rest and fragrant pipe in the cool +night air of the silent, starlit desert. + + +[Footnote A: Parts of this palace are of great antiquity, as it +owes its foundation to the Hindu kings who preceded the Mohammedan +dynasty.] + +[Footnote B: The Ameer of Afghanistn.] + +[Footnote C: I am not at liberty to give the name of my authority for +these facts. The reader may rely on their authenticity.] + +[Footnote D: April, 1889. The boring of the tunnel is now +accomplished.] + + + + +APPENDIX A. + + +LIST OF STATIONS AND DISTANCES FROM RSHT TO + BUSHIRE, PERSIA. + + + + English + Miles. + + Rsht --- + Koudoum----------- 20 + Rustemabad------- 20 + Menjil--------------- 12 + Patchinar----------- 8 + Kharzn------------- 16 + Kazvin--------------- 24 + Kavarek------------- 16 + Kishlak------------- 16 + Yengi-Imm------- 16 + Hessarek---------- 16 + Shahabad---------- 16 + _Tehern_---------- 16 + Rabat Kerim------- 28 + Pitch----------- 24 + Kushku Bara------ 16 + Mahometabad------ 28 + _Koom_--------------- 16 + Pasingn------------- 16 + Sin-sin--------------- 28 + _Kashn_------------ 24 + Khurood------------ 28 + Bideshk-------------- 24 + Murchakhar-------- 24 + _Gz_----------------- 24 + _Ispahn_------------ 12 + Djulfa----------------- 3 + + Carried forward------------------ 491 + Brought forward----------------- 491 + + Marg------------------ 12 + Mayar----------------- 24 + Koomishh---------- 20 + Magsogh-Beg------- 16 + Yezdi-Ghazt--------- 24 + Shoulgistn--------- 24 + Abadh--------------- 20 + Sourmah------------- 16 + Khina-Khoreh------ 28 + Deybid--------------- 20 + Mourghab------------ 28 + Kawamabad---------- 24 + Sivnd-------------- 8 + Poozeh-------------- 16 + Zergoon------------ 20 + Shirz-------------- 20 + Chinar-Rda----- 8 + Khaneh Zinin--- 24 + Dashti Arjin------- 12 + Meyun Kotal------ 12 + Kazeroon---------- 20 + Kamarij------------ 24 + Konar Takta------ 12 + Dalaki-------------- 12 + Borazjun------- 16 + Sheif-------------- 28 + ----------- + 979 + + From Sheif to Bushire by sea 7 + + Total English miles 986 + + + + +APPENDIX B. + + ROUTE--SONMIANI TO QUETTA. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------- +Halting-place. English Remarks. + Miles. +------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +Sonmiani.... | | Small sea-port town. + Water abundant, + but brackish. + Fodder and + supplies + procurable. + +Shekh-Raj.... | 18 | Road fairly good. + Water sweet and + plentiful. + +Outhal...... | 14 | Road stony and undulating; + crossed dry bed + of river Purali. + Well of brackish + water. + +Shekron-ka-Got | 22 | Road sandy. Passed several + salt marshes. + No water. + +Bela....... | 24 | Road good through rich + alluvial land + irrigated by + river Purali. + Road near to + Bela intersected + by deep nullahs + distressing to + camels. Water + plentiful; supplies + procurable. + +Lakh........ | 18 | Road good and level + till Pass of Lakh, + which is steep + and extremely + difficult. Water + usually procurable, + though very + brackish. + Forage for horse + and camel a + mile distant. + +Natchi...... | 19 | Road stony and + difficult, through + country irrigated + (in wet season) + by river Lakh. A + small grazing + ground midway, + frequented by + nomads. Water + uncertain. Forage + (for camel only) + plentiful. + +Lar-Anderi ... | 20 | Road along dry river + bed about three + hundred yards wide + (name unknown), for + about five miles. Then + over Plain of Arrah, + sparsely cultivated. + At end of stage + crossed river + Lar-Anderi, a + broad but shallow + stream about sixty + yards wide, seldom + dry. Good water + from river, but + brackish from + wells, of which + there are three. + Forage for horse + and camel. + + Jhow........ | 14 | Crossed Jhow and + Seridab rivers, + both dry. No + cultivation to + be seen. Water + plentiful and + sweet. Forage + for horse and + camel. + +Noundra..... | 20 | U { No road. Travelling + { fairly easy. + n { Water brackish. + +Kanro...... |about| e {Road rough and + | 20 | { in parts with scrub. + x { stony, overgrown + { A very narrow track + p { extends from + { Noundra to Kanro, + l { which we followed. + { No water or forage. + +Dhara...... |about| o { No road, but struck + | 20 | { several narrow + r { paths leading in + { all directions. + e { Water plentiful and + { good. Forage for + d { horse and camel. + +Gwarjak..... |about| {Road level and + | 20 | { good. Water + { abundant, also + { forage for horse + { and camel, but + { natives unfriendly. + +Gajjar...... | 13 | Road good, through + cultivated country. + Water good and + plentiful. Forage + for horse and camel + procurable, also + supplies. + +Jebri....... | 20 | Road good, though + deep and marshy + in places. Water + good and + plentiful, + also horse and + camel forage. + +Greshak..... | 26 | Road leads over + the Barida Pass. + Gradual and + easy ascent + and descent. + Water good + and plentiful. + Forage for + camel only. + +Loch........ | 18 | Road very narrow + and much + overgrown (lost + in places) with + scrub. Water + scarce. Forage + scarce for camel, + none for horse. + +Gidar........ | 32 | Good and level road. + Water procurable + from river only. + Forage for camel + only. + +Sohrab | 26 | Road difficult. + Passed several + steep, but not + lofty, ranges of + hills. Water + plentiful, but + brackish. No + forage for horse + or camel. + +Rodingo | 36 | Road level and + easy. Much + camelthorn, + wild thyme, + and (English) + furze on either + side of track. + Water good, but + scarce. No forage + for horse or camel. + +Kelt.... | 14 | Road well defined, + and level. Water + good and abundant. + Forage for horse + and camel. Supplies + of all kinds + procurable. + +Mangachar | 26 | Road well defined + and level. Leads + through a fertile + country. Water + good. Forage for + horse and camel, + and supplies + procurable. + +Mastung | 32 | Road level and good, + but intersected + by deep nullahs, + rendering it + difficult for heavily + laden camels. + Water good and + plentiful. Forage + for horse and camel, + and supplies + procurable. + +Quetta..... | 32 | Road excellent, and + in parts macadamized. + A garrison town, + and railway to all + parts of India. +Total English + miles | 504 | + + + + +APPENDIX C. + +TABLE OF LANGUAGES OF NORTH AND SOUTH BALUCHISTN. +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + Makrn (South). Kalati (North). +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + Ant Mor Khar + Ashes P[=u]r Hiss + Barley O S[=a]r + Boy Bachak M[=a]r + Cold Sara Yakt + Copper Rod Miss + Day Roch D[=e]h + Dog Kuchak Kuchik + Earth Duniah Daghar + Fire Ach Kh[=a]ka + Flower P[=u]l P[=u]l + Gold Tila Kisun + Heavy Giran Kolui + To eat Warga Kuning + To kill Kushja Kasfing + To bring Arga Atning + To see Guidga Khanning + + + + +APPENDIX D + +TEMPERATURE (FAHRENHEIT) BETWEEN +SONMIANI AND QUETTA, BALUCHISTN. + +---------------------------------------------------------------------- + Remarks Mid day +---------------------------------------------------------------------- + Shade | Sun +---------------------------------------------------------------------- + March + + 16 Sonmiani. Fine, north + west breeze 79 83 + + 17 Sonmiani. Fine, no + breeze 73 88 + 18 Sonmiani. Fine, no + breeze 72 105 + 19 Sonmiani. Fine, + strong + north-east + breeze 80 98 + 20 Shekh-Raj. Fine, light + north-east + breeze 91 118 + 21 Outhal. Fine, light + north-west + breeze 92 114 + 22 Shekron-ka-Got + Fine, + south west + breeze 93 109 + 23 Bela Rain and + thunder, + light south + breeze 88 92 + 24 Bela Rain, no wind 83 87 + 25 Lakh Fine, + west wind 84 103 + 26 Natchi Fine, light + south-east + breeze 91 115 + 27 Lar-Anden Dull, no + breeze 93 108 + 28 Jhow. Fine, hot wind + (north east) 94 110 + 29 Noundra Fine, hot + south-west + wind 96 123 + 30 Kanro Fine, south + west breeze 90 120 + 31 Dhara Fine, light + north + breeze 95 123 + April + + 1 Gwarjak. Fine, light + south-east + breeze 91 111 + 2 Gajjar. Fine, south + wind 93 110 + 3 Jebri. Fine, strong + north west + wind 91 110 + 4 Greshak Fine, strong + north-west + wind 85 88 + 5 Loch. Fine, strong + north wind 76 89 + 6 Gidar. Fine, light + south-east + breeze 81 86 + April + + 7 Sohrab. Fine; light + west breeze. 77 86 + 8 Dm. Rain; + south-west + wind 77 78 + 9 Kelt. Rain and + dust storm 73 75 + 10 Kelt. Fine; west + wind 59 87 + 11 Kelt. Fine; no + breeze. 58 74 + 12 Mangachar. Fine; no + breeze 80 95 + 13 Mastung. Fine; + hot wind. 89 116 + 14 Quetta. Dull; + no breeze 64 80 + 15 Quetta. Fine; + no breeze 61 83 + 16 Quetta. Fine; + south-west + breeze 63 68 + 17 Quetta. Fine; no + breeze 65 67 + 18 Sukkur, Sind. A hot wind + blowing 99 117 + -------------------------------------------------------------------- + + + + +APPENDIX E. + +GENEALOGY OF THE KHANS OF KELT. + + + Kambar Khan. + | + Sambar. + | + Mahammad Khan. + | + Abdulla Khan. + | + ------------------------------------------------ + | | | + Mobat Khan, Eltarz Khan, Nazir Khan, originally + reigned some slain a hostage at Kandahr; + time at Kelt; accidentally superseded his brother, + superseded by by his brother, Mobat Khan, and + his brother, Nazir Khan. reigned forty years. + Nazir Khan, | + and died a | + hostage at | + Kandahr. | + | | + | ------------------------------------ + | | | | + Haji Khan, Mahmud Mohamed Mustapha Khan, + died a Khan, Rehim Khan, slain by his + hostage at reigned slain by sister brother, Mohamed + Kandahr. at Kelt. of Mustapha Rehim Khan + | Khan. | + Baram Khan, | + died at Kelt | | + | |------------------- + Ahmad Yar | | | + Khan, Mehrab Khan, Azem Khan. + slain by slain by the | + Mehrab British troops. Sarafrez Khan, + Khan. slain by + | Mehrab Khan. + ------------------------------------ + | | + Hassan Khan Khudadad Khan, + (poisoned). present Ruler. + + +[Illustration] + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Ride to India across Persia and +Baluchistn, by Harry De Windt + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RIDE TO INDIA *** + +***** This file should be named 10974-8.txt or 10974-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/0/9/7/10974/ + +Produced by Jayam Subramanian and PG Distributed Proofreaders + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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For +example an eBook of filename 10234 would be found at: + + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/0/2/3/10234 + +or filename 24689 would be found at: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/6/8/24689 + +An alternative method of locating eBooks: + https://www.gutenberg.org/GUTINDEX.ALL + + diff --git a/old/10974-8.zip b/old/10974-8.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..55f8d7c --- /dev/null +++ b/old/10974-8.zip diff --git a/old/10974.txt b/old/10974.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..beaee27 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/10974.txt @@ -0,0 +1,6827 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Ride to India across Persia and +Baluchistan, by Harry De Windt + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: A Ride to India across Persia and Baluchistan + +Author: Harry De Windt + +Release Date: February 7, 2004 [EBook #10974] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RIDE TO INDIA *** + + + + +Produced by Jayam Subramanian and PG Distributed Proofreaders + + + + +[Illustration: IN THE DESERT SUNRISE] + + + +A RIDE TO INDIA + +ACROSS PERSIA AND BALUCHISTAN. + + + +BY + + + +HARRY DE WINDT, F.R.G.S., + +AUTHOR OF "FROM PEKIN TO CALAIS BY LAND," ETC. + + + +WITH ILLUSTRATIONS + +BY + +HERBERT WALKER _FROM SKETCHES BY THE AUTHOR_. + + + + +1891. + + + + +TO + +AUDLEY LOVELL, ESQUIRE, + +COLDSTREAM GUARDS, + +THIS VOLUME + +IS + +DEDICATED. + + + + +CONTENTS + +CHAPTER + +I. TIFLIS--BAKU + +II. THE CASPIAN--ASTARA--RESHT + +III. RESHT--PATCHINAR + +IV. PATCHINAR--TEHERAN + +V. TEHERAN + +VI. TEHERAN--ISPAHAN + +VII. ISPAHAN--SHIRAZ + +VIII. SHIRAZ--BUSHIRE + +IX. BALUCHISTAN--BEILA + +X. BALUCHISTAN--GWARJAK + +XI. KELAT--QUETTA--BOMBAY + +APPENDIX + +MAP + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. + + * * * * * + +IN THE DESERT SUNRISE + +TIFLIS + +A DIRTY NIGHT IN THE CASPIAN + +ASTARA, RUSSO-PERSIAN FRONTIER + +CROSSING THE KHARZAN + +TEHERAN + +PERSIAN DANCING-GIRL + +POST-HOUSE AT KUSHKU BAIRA + +A CORPSE CARAVAN + +A DAY IN THE SNOW + +A FAMILY PARTY + +YEZDI-GHAZT + +THE CARAVANSERAI, MEYUN KOTAL + +SONMIANI + +OUR CAMP AT OUTHAL + +MALAK + +A "ZIGRI" AT GWARJAK + +NOMAD BALUCH TENT + +JEBRI + +KELAT + +PALACE OF H.H. THE KHAN KELAT + +THE KHAN OF KELAT + + + + +A RIDE TO INDIA. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +TIFLIS--BAKU. + + +"Ceci non!" + +A spacious apartment, its polished _parquet_ strewn with white +bearskins and the thickest and softest of Persian rugs; its panelled +walls hung with Oriental tapestries, costly daggers, pistols, and +shields of barbaric, but beautiful, workmanship, glistening with gold +and silver. Every detail of the room denotes the artistic taste of the +owner. Inlaid tables and Japanese cabinets are littered with priceless +porcelain and _cloisonne_, old silver, and diamond-set miniatures; the +low divans are heaped with cushions of deep-tinted satin and gold; +heavy violet plush curtains drape the windows; while huge palms, +hothouse plants, and bunches of sweet-smelling Russian violets occupy +every available nook and corner. The pinewood fire flashes fitfully +on a masterpiece of Vereschagin's, which stands on an easel by the +hearth, and the massive gold "ikon," [A] encrusted with diamonds and +precious stones, in the corner. A large oil painting of his Majesty +the Czar of Russia hangs over the marble chimneypiece. + +It is growing dark. Already a wintry wilderness of garden without, +upon which snow and sleet are pitilessly beating, is barely +discernible. By the window looms, through the dusk, the shadowy shape +of an enormous stuffed tiger, crouched as if about to spring upon a +spare white-haired man in neat dark green uniform, who, seated at a +writing-table covered with papers and official documents, has just +settled himself more comfortably in a roomy armchair. With a pleasant +smile, and a long pull at a freshly lit "papirosh," he gives vent to +his feelings with the remark that heads this chapter. + +There is silence for a while, unbroken save by the crackle of blazing +logs and occasional rattle of driving sleet against the window-panes. +It is the 5th of January (O.S.). I am at Tiflis, in the palace of +Prince Dondoukoff Korsakoff, Governor of the Caucasus, and at the +present moment in that august personage's presence. + +"Ceci non!" repeats the prince a second time, in answer to my request; +adding impatiently, "They should know better in London than to send +you to me. The War Minister in St. Petersburg alone has power to grant +foreigners permission to visit Central Asia. You must apply to him, +but let me first warn you that it is a long business. No"--after a +pause--"no; were I in your place I would go to Persia. It is a country +replete with interest." + +I know, from bitter experience of Russian officials, that further +parley is useless. Making my bow with as good a grace as possible +under the circumstances, I take leave of the governor and am escorted +by an aide-de-camp, resplendent in white and gold, through innumerable +vestibules, and down the great marble staircase, to where my sleigh +awaits me in the cutting north-easter and whirling snow. Gliding +swiftly homewards along the now brilliantly lit boulevards, I realize +for the first time that mine has been but a wild-goose chase after +all; that, if India is to be reached by land, it is not _via_ Merv and +Cabul, but by way of Persia and Baluchistan. + +The original scheme was a bold one, and I derive some consolation in +the thought that the journey would most probably have ended in defeat. +This was the idea. From Tiflis to Baku, and across the Caspian to +Ouzoun Ada, the western terminus of the Trans-Caspian Railway. Thence +by rail to Merv and Bokhara, and from the latter city direct to India, +_via_ Balkh and Cabul, Afghanistan. A more interesting journey can +scarcely be conceived, but Fate and the Russian Government decreed +that it was not to be. Not only was I forbidden to use the railway, +but (notwithstanding the highest recommendation from the Russian +Ambassador in London) even to set foot in Trans-Caspia. + +The old adage, "delay is dangerous," is never so true as when applied +to travel. The evening of my interview with the governor, I had +resolved, ere retiring to rest, to make for India _via_ Teheran. +My route beyond that city was, perforce, left to chance, and the +information I hoped to gain in the Shah's capital. + +Tiflis, capital of the Caucasus, is about midway between the Black +and Caspian seas, and lies in a valley between two ranges of low but +precipitous hills. The river Kur, a narrow but swift and picturesque +stream spanned by three bridges, bisects the city, which is divided in +three parts: the Russian town, European colony, and Asiatic quarter. +The population of over a hundred thousand is indeed a mixed one. +Although Georgians form its bulk, Persia contributes nearly a quarter, +the rest being composed of Russians, Germans, French, Armenians, +Greeks, Tartars, Circassians, Jews, Turks, and Heaven knows what +besides. [B] + +Tiflis is a city of contrasts. The principal boulevard, with its +handsome stone buildings and shops, tramways, gay cafes, and electric +light, would compare favourably with the Nevski Prospect in St. +Petersburg, or almost any first-class European thoroughfare; and yet, +almost within a stone's throw, is the Asiatic quarter, where the +traveller is apparently as far removed from Western civilization as in +the most remote part of Persia or Turkestan. The Armenian and Persian +bazaars are perhaps the most interesting, I doubt whether the streets +of Yezd or Bokhara present so strange and picturesque a sight, such +vivid effects of movement and colour. Every race, every nationality, +is represented, from the stalwart, ruddy-faced Russian soldier in flat +white cap and olive-green tunic, to the grave, stately Arab merchant +with huge turban and white draperies, fresh from Bagdad or +Bussorah. Georgians and Circassians in scarlet tunics and silver +cartridge-belts, Turks in fez and frock-coat, Greeks and Albanians in +snowy petticoats and black gaiters, Khivans in furs and quaint conical +lamb's-wool hats, Tartars from the Steppes, Turkomans from Merv, +Parsees from Bombay, African negroes,--all may be seen in the Tiflis +Bazaar during the busy part of the day. + +But woe to the luckless European who, tempted by the beauty of their +wares, has dealings with the wily Persian merchant. There is a proverb +in Tiflis that "It takes two Jews to rob an Armenian, two Armenians +to rob a Persian," and the "accursed Faringi" is mercilessly swindled +whenever he ventures upon a bargain. + +With the exception of the aforesaid boulevard, the European quarter of +Tiflis presents the same mixture of squalor and grandeur found in most +Russian towns, St. Petersburg not excepted. There is the same dead, +drab look about the streets and houses, the same absence of colour, +the same indescribable smell of mud, leather, and drainage, familiar +to all who have visited Asiatic Russia. I had intended remaining a +couple of days, at most, in Tiflis, but my stay was now indefinitely +prolonged. Such a severe winter had not been known for years. The +mountain passes into Persia were reported impassable, and the line to +Baku had for some days been blocked with snow. + +My Russian Christmas (which falls, O.S., on our 6th of January) was +not a cheerful one. A prisoner in a stuffy bedroom of the Hotel de +Londres, I sat at the window most of the day, consuming innumerable +glasses of tea and cigarettes, watching the steadily falling snow, and +wondering whether the weather would ever clear and allow me to escape +from a place so full of unpleasant associations, and which had brought +me so much disappointment and vexation. The loud laughter and +bursts of song that ascended every now and then from the crowded +_salle-a-manger_ (for the Hotel de Londres is the "Maison Doree" of +Tiflis) only served to increase my depression and melancholy. Had +there been a train available, I verily believe I should have taken a +ticket then and there, and returned to England! + +But morning brings consolation in the shape of blue sky and dazzling +sunshine. The snow has ceased, apparently for good. Descending +to breakfast full of plans for the future, I find awaiting me an +individual destined to play an important part in these pages--one +Gerome Realini, a Levantine Russian subject, well acquainted with the +Persian language--who offers to accompany me to India as interpreter. +His terms are moderate, and credentials first-rate. The latter include +one from Baker Pasha, with whom he served on the Turkoman frontier +expedition. More for the sake of a companion than anything else, I +close with Gerome, who, though he does not understand one word of +English, speaks French fluently. + +There is a very natural prejudice against the Levantine race, but my +new acquaintance formed an exception to the rule. I never had reason +to regret my bargain; a better servant, pluckier traveller, or +cheerier companion no man could wish for. Gerome had just returned +from a visit to Bokhara, and his accounts of Central Asia were +certainly not inviting. The Trans-Caspian railway was so badly laid +that trains frequently ran off the line. There was no arrangement for +water, travellers being frequently delayed three or four hours, +while blocks of ice were melted for the boiler; while the so-called +first-class carriages were filthy, and crowded with vermin. The +advance of Holy Russia had apparently not improved Merv, which had +become, since its annexation, a kind of inferior Port Said, a refuge +for the scum, male and female, of St. Petersburg, Moscow, and Odessa. +Drunkenness and debauchery reigned paramount. Low gambling-houses, +_cafe chantants_, and less reputable establishments flourished under +the liberal patronage of the Russian officers, who, out of sheer +_ennui_, ruined their pockets and constitutions with drunken +orgies, night and day. There was no order of any kind, no organized +police-force, and robberies and assassinations took place almost +nightly. Small-pox was raging in the place when Gerome left it; also a +loathsome disease called the "Bouton d'alep "--a painful boil which, +oddly enough, always makes its appearance upon the body in odd +numbers, never in even. It is caused by drinking or washing in +unboiled water. Though seldom fatal, there is no cure for the +complaint but complete change of climate. + +We now set about making preparations for the journey. Provisions, +saddlery, both had to be thought of; and, having laid in a small stock +of Liebig, tea, biscuits, chocolate, and cigarettes (for space was +limited), I proceeded, under Gerome's guidance, to purchase a saddle. +Seventy-five roubles bought a capital one, including bridle. Here let +me advise those visiting Persia to follow my example, and buy their +saddlery in Tiflis. There is a heavy duty payable on foreign saddles +in Russia, and they are not one whit better, or indeed so well suited +to the purpose, as those made in the Caucasus. + +One hears a deal, in Europe, of the beauty of the Circassian and +Georgian women. Although I remained in Tiflis over a week, I did not +see a single pretty woman among the natives. As in every Russian town, +however, the "Moushtaid," or "Bois de Boulogne" of Tiflis, was daily, +the theatre nightly, crowded with pretty faces of the dark-eyed, +oval-faced Russian type. The new opera-house, a handsome building near +the governor's palace, is not yet completed. + +The Hotel de Londres was the favourite _rendezvous_ after the play. +Here till the small hours assembled nightly the _elite_ of European +Tiflis. Russian and Georgian officers in gorgeous uniforms of dark +green, gold lace, and astrachan; French and German merchants with +their wives and daughters; with a sprinkling _demi-mondaines_ from +Odessa or Kharkoff, sipping tea or drinking kummel and "kaketi" at the +little marble tables, and discussing the latest scandals. Kaketi, a +wine not unlike Carlowitz, is grown in considerable quantities in +the Caucasus. There are two kinds, red and white, but the former is +considered the best. Though sound and good, it is cheap enough--one +rouble the quart. Tobacco is also grown in small quantities in parts +of Georgia and made into cigarettes, which are sold in Tiflis at three +kopeks per hundred. But it is poor, rank stuff, and only smoked by the +peasantry and droshki-drivers. + +[Illustration: TIFLIS] + +Tiflis has a large and important garrison, but is not fortified. Its +topographical depot is one of the best in Russia, and I managed, not +without some difficulty, to obtain from it maps of Afghanistan and +Baluchistan. The latter I subsequently found better and far more +accurate than any obtainable in England. The most insignificant +hamlets and unimportant camel-tracks and wells were set down with +extraordinary precision, especially those in the districts around +Kelat. + +There is plenty of sport to be had round Tiflis. The shooting is +free excepting over certain tracts of country leased by the Tiflis +shooting-club. Partridge, snipe, and woodcock abound, and there are +plenty of deer and wild boar within easy distance of the capital. Ibex +is also found in the higher mountain ranges. For this (if for no other +reason) Tiflis seems to be increasing in popularity every year for +European tourists. It is now an easy journey of little over a week +from England, with the advantage that one may travel by land the whole +way from Calais. This route is _via_ Berlin, Cracow, Kharkoff, and +Vladikavkas, and from the latter place by coach (through the Dariel +Gorge) to Tiflis. + +The purchase of a warm astrachan bonnet, a bourka, [C] and bashlik, [D] +completed my outfit. It now consisted of two small portmanteaus (to be +changed at Teheran for saddle-bags), a common canvas sack for sleeping +purposes, and a brace of revolvers. Gerome was similarly accoutred, +with the exception of the portmanteaus. My interpreter was evidently +not luxuriously inclined, for his _impedimenta_ were all contained in +a small black leather hand-bag! All being ready, eleven o'clock on the +night of the 12th of January found us standing on the platform of the +Tiflis railway station, awaiting the arrival of the Baku train, which +had been delayed by a violent storm down the line. + +I received a letter from the governor a few hours before my departure, +wishing me _bon voyage_, and enclosing a document to ensure help and +civility from the officials throughout his dominions. It may seem +ungrateful, but I felt that I could well have dispensed with this, +especially as I was leaving his Excellency's government at Baku, a +distance of only ten hours by rail. + +It was again snowing hard, and the east wind cut through my bourka as +if it had been a thin linen jacket. Seeking shelter in the crowded, +stuffy waiting-room, we solaced ourselves with cigarettes and vodka +till past 2 a.m., when the train arrived. Another delay of two hours +now occurred, the engine having broken down; but the carriages, like +those of most Russian railways, were beautifully warmed, and we slept +soundly, undisturbed by the howling of the wind and shouting of +railway officials. When I awoke, we were swiftly rattling through +the dreary monotonous steppe country that separates Tiflis from the +Caspian Sea. + +The Russians may, according to English ideas, be uncivilized in many +ways, but they are undoubtedly far ahead of other European nations, +with the exception perhaps of France, as regards railway travelling. +Although the speed is slow, nothing is left undone, on the most +isolated lines, to ensure comfort, not to say luxury. Even in this +remote district the refreshment-rooms were far above the average in +England. At Akstafa, for instance, a station surrounded by a howling +wilderness of steppe and marsh; well-cooked viands, game, pastry, and +other delicacies, gladdened the eye, instead of the fly-blown buns +and petrified sandwiches only too familiar to the English railway +traveller. The best railway buffet I have ever seen is at Tiumen, the +terminus of the Oural railway, and actually in Siberia. + +Railway travelling has, however, one drawback in this part of +Russia, which, though it does not upset the arrangements of a casual +traveller, must seriously inconvenience the natives--the distance of +stations from towns. We drank tea, a couple of hours or so before +arriving at Baku, at a station situated more than one hundred +versts [E] from the town of its name. The inhabitants of the latter +seldom availed themselves of the railway, but found it easier, except +in very bad weather, to drive or ride to the Caspian port. + +The dull wintry day wears slowly away, as we crawl along past +league upon league of wild steppe land. The _coup d'oeil_ from our +carriage-window is not inspiriting. It rests upon a bare, bleak +landscape, rolling away to the horizon, of waves of drab and +dirty-green land, unbroken save for here and there a pool of stagnant +water, rotting in a fringe of sedge and rush, or an occasional flock +of wild-fowl. At rare intervals we pass, close to the line, a Tartar +encampment. Half a dozen dirty brown tents surrounded by horses, +camels, and thin shivering cattle, the latter covered with coarse +sack-clothing tied round their bellies to protect them from the +cutting blast that sweeps from the coast across this land of +desolation. None of the human population are visible, and no wonder. +It must be cold enough outside. Even in this well-warmed compartment +one can barely keep feet and fingers from getting numbed. + +It is almost dark when, towards six o'clock, there appears, far ahead, +a thin streak of silver, separating the dreary brown landscape from +the cold grey sky. + +"We have nearly arrived, monsieur," says Gerome. "There is the Caspian +Sea." + + +[Footnote A: The sacred image of the Saviour or Holy Virgin.] + +[Footnote B: The name Tiflis is derived from _Tbilis Kalaki_, or "Hot +Town," so called from the hot mineral springs near which it stands.] + +[Footnote C: _Bourka_, a long sleeveless coat made of goatskin.] + +[Footnote D: _Bashlik_, the soft camel-hair hood and neckerchief in +one, worn by Russian soldiers.] + +[Footnote E: A _verst_ is about three-quarters of a mile.] + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +THE CASPIAN--ASTARA--RESHT. + + +I arrived in Baku on (the Russian) New Year's Eve, and found railway +officials, porters, and droshki-drivers all more or less fuddled with +drink in consequence. With some difficulty we persuaded one of the +latter to drive us to the hotel, a clean and well-appointed house, a +stone's throw from the quay. Our Isvostchik [A] was very drunk. His +horses, luckily for us, were quiet; for he fell off his box on the +way, and smilingly, but firmly, declined to remount. Gerome then +piloted the troika safely to our destination, leaving Jehu prone in +the mud. + +Baku, a clean, well laid-out city of sixty thousand inhabitants, is +the most important town on the shores of the Caspian. Its name is said +to be derived from the Persian words _bad_, "the wind," and _kubeda_, +"beaten," signifying "Wind-beaten;" and this seems credible, for +violent storms are prevalent along the coast. The town is essentially +European in character. One can scarcely realize that only fifty years +ago a tumble-down Persian settlement stood on the spot now occupied +by broad, well-paved, gas-lit streets, handsome stone buildings, +warehouses, and shops. Baku has, like Tiflis, a mixed population. +Although Russians and Tartars form its bulk, France, Germany, Italy, +Greece, Turkey, and Persia are all represented, most of the Europeans +being employed in the manufacture of petroleum. The naphtha springs +are said to yield over 170,000 tons of oil yearly. + +A French engineer, Mr. B----, whose acquaintance I made at the hotel, +described Baku as terribly monotonous and depressing to live in after +a time. There is not a tree or sign of vegetation for miles round the +town--nothing but bleak, desolate steppe and marsh, unproductive of +sport and cultivation, or, indeed, of anything save miasma and fever. +In summer the heat, dust, and flies are intolerable; in winter the sun +is seldom seen. There is no amusement of any kind--no _cafe_, no band, +no theatre, to go to after the day's work. This seemed to distress the +poor Parisian exile more than anything, more even than the smell of +oil, which, from the moment you enter until you leave Baku, there is +no getting away from. Although the wells are fully three miles away, +the table-cloths and napkins were saturated with it, and the very +food one ate had a faint sickly flavour of naphtha. "I bathed in the +Caspian once last summer," said Mr. B------, despairingly, "and did +not get the smell out of my skin for a week, during which time my +friends forbade me their houses! Mon Dieu! Quel pays!" + +The steamer for Enzelli was to leave at eleven. Having wished my +French friend farewell, and a speedy return to his native country, we +set out for the quay. The night was fine, but away to our left dense +clouds of thick black smoke obscured the lights of the town and +starlit sky, while the furnaces of the "Tchornigorod" [B] blazed out +of the darkness, their flames reflected in the dark waters of the +Caspian, turning the little harbour into a lake of fire. + +The landing stage is crowded with passengers--a motley crowd of +Russian officials, soldiers, peasants, and Tartars. With difficulty we +struggle through the noisy, drunken rabble, for the most part engaged +in singing, cursing, fighting, and embracing by turns, and succeed at +last in finding our ship, the _Kaspia_, a small steamer of about a +hundred and fifty tons burthen. The captain is, fortunately for us, +sober, which is more than can be said of the crew. Alongside us lies +the _Bariatinsky_, a large paddle-steamer bound for Ouzounada, the +terminus of the Trans-Caspian Railway. She also is on the point of +departure, and I notice, with relief, that most of the crowd are +making their way on board her. + +The passenger-steamers on the Caspian are the property of the +Caucase-Mercure Company, a Russian firm. They are, with few +exceptions, as unseaworthy as they are comfortless, which says a great +deal. All are of iron, and were built in England and Sweden, sent to +St. Petersburg by sea, there taken to pieces and despatched overland +to Nijni-Novgorod, on the Volga. At Nijni they were repieced and taken +down the Volga to the Caspian. + +The _Bariatinsky_ was first away, her decks crammed with soldiers +bound for Central Asia. They treated us to a vocal concert as the ship +left port, and I paced the moonlit deck for some time, listening to +the sweet sad airs sung with the pathos and harmony that seems born +in every Russian, high or low. I retired to rest with the "Matoushka +Volga," a boat-song popular the length and breadth of Russia, ringing +in my ears. + +There are no private cabins on board the _Kaspia_. I share the stuffy +saloon with a greasy German Jew (who insists on shutting all the +portholes), an Armenian gentleman, his wife, and two squalling +children, a Persian merchant, and Gerome. + +The captain's cabin, a box-like retreat about eight feet square, +leads out of our sleeping-place, which is also used as a drawing and +dining-room. As the latter it is hardly desirable, for the German and +Persian are both suffering violently from _mal-de-mer_ before we +have been two hours out, and no wonder. Though there is hardly a +perceptible swell on, the tiny cock-boat rolls like a log. To make +matters worse, the _Kaspia's_ engines are worked by petroleum, and the +smell pursues one everywhere. + +The passage from Baku to Enzelli (the port of Resht) is usually made +in a little over two days in _fine weather_. All depends upon the +latter, for no vessel can enter if it is blowing hard. There is a +dangerous bar with a depth of barely five feet of water across the +mouth of the harbour, and several Europeans, impatient of waiting, +have been drowned when attempting to land in small boats. "I +frequently have to take my passengers back to Baku," said Captain +Z---- at the meal he was pleased to call breakfast; "but I think we +shall have fine weather to-morrow." I devoutly hoped so. + +Little did I know what was in store for us; for the glass at midday +was falling-fast, and at 2 p.m., when we anchored off Lenkoran, it +was snowing hard and blowing half a gale. + +The western coasts of the Caspian are flat and monotonous. There are +two ports of call between Baku and Enzelli--Lenkoran, a dismal-looking +fishing-village of mud huts, backed by stunted poplars and a range of +low hills; and Astara, the Russo-Persian frontier. Trade did not seem +very brisk at either port. We neither landed nor took in cargo at +either. A few small boats came out to the ship with fish to sell. The +latter is bad and tasteless in the Caspian, with the exception of +the sturgeon, which abounds during certain seasons of the year. The +fisheries are nearly all leased by Russians, who extract and export +the caviar. There is good shooting in the forests around Lenkoran, and +tigers are occasionally met with. The large one in the possession of +Prince Dondoukoff Korsakoff, mentioned in the first chapter, was shot +within a few miles of the place. + +We arrived off Astara about 6.30 that evening. It was too dark to see +anything of the place, but I had, unfortunately for myself, plenty +of opportunities of examining it minutely a couple of days later. We +weighed anchor again at nine o'clock, hoping, all being well, to reach +Enzelli at daybreak. The sea had now gone down, and things looked more +promising. + +My spirits rose at the thought of being able to land on the morrow. I +was even able to do justice to the abominable food set before us at +dinner--greasy sausages and a leathery beefsteak, served on dirty +plates and a ragged table-cloth that looked as if it had been used to +clean the boiler. But the German Jew had recovered from his temporary +indisposition, the cadaverous Persian had disappeared on deck, and +the Armenian children had squalled themselves to sleep, so there +was something, at least, to be thankful for. Captain Z----, a tall, +fair-haired Swede, who spoke English fluently, had been on this line +for many years, and told us that for dangerous navigation, violent +squalls, and thick fogs the Caspian has no equal. Many vessels are +lost yearly and never heard of again. He also told us of a submarine +city some miles out of Baku, called by the natives "Tchortorgorod," or +"City of the Devil." "In calm, sunny weather," said Z----, "one can +distinctly make out the streets and houses." The German Jew, of a +facetious disposition, asked him whether he had not also seen people +walking about; but Z---- treated the question with contemptuous +silence. + +Man is doomed to disappointment. I woke at daylight next morning; to +find the _Kaspia_ at anchor, pitching, rolling, and tugging at her +moorings as if at any moment the cable might part. Every now and again +a sea would crash upon the deck, and the wind, howling through the +rigging, sounded like the yelling of a thousand fiends. Hurrying on +deck, I learn the worst. A terrific sea is running, and the glass +falling every hour. One could scarcely discern, through the driving +mist, the long low shore and white line of breakers that marked the +entrance to Enzelli. To land was out of the question. No boat would +live in such a sea. "I will lay-to till this evening," said Captain +Z---- "If it does not then abate, I fear you must make up your mind +to return to Baku, and try again another day." A pleasant prospect +indeed! + +[Illustration: A DIRTY NIGHT IN THE CASPIAN] + +I have seldom passed a more miserable twenty-four hours. The weather +got worse as the day wore on. Towards midday it commenced snowing; but +this, instead of diminishing the violence of the gale, seemed only to +increase it. Even the captain's cheery, ruddy face clouded over, as he +owned that he did not like the look of things. "Had I another anchor, +I should not mind," he said; calmly adding, "If this one parts, we +are lost!" I thought, at the time, he might have kept this piece +of information to himself. Meanwhile nothing was visible from the +cabin-windows but great rollers topped with crests of foam, which +looked as if, every moment, they would engulf the little vessel. But +she behaved splendidly. Although green seas were coming in over the +bows, flooding her decks from stem to stern, and pouring down the +gangway into the saloon, the _Kaspia_ rode through the gale like a +duck. To venture on deck was impossible. One could barely sit, much +less stand, and the atmosphere of the saloon may be better imagined +than described. Every aperture tightly closed; every one, with the +exception of the captain, Gerome, and myself, sea-sick; no food, no +fire, though we certainly did not miss the former much. + +About ten o'clock Z---- weighed anchor and stood out to sea. It would +not be safe, he said, to trust to our slender cable another night. +About midnight I struggled on deck, to get a breath of fresh air +before turning in. The night was fine and clear, but the sea around +black as ink, with great foaming white rollers. The decks, a foot +deep in snow, were deserted save by Z---- and the steersman, whose +silhouettes stood out black and distinct against the starlit sky as +they paced the rickety-looking little bridge flanked by red and green +lights. The Enzelli lighthouse was no longer visible. The latter is +under the care of Persians, who light it, or not, as the humour takes +them. This is, on dark nights, a source of considerable danger to +shipping; but, though frequently remonstrated with by the Russian +Government, the Shah does not trouble his head about the matter. + +Three routes to Teheran were now open to us: back to Baku, thence to +Tiflis, and over the mountains to Talriz,--very dubious on account of +the snow; the second, from Baku to Astrabad, and thence _via_ Mount +Demavend,--still more dubious on account of bad landing as well as +blocked passes; there remained to us Astara, and along the sea-beach +(no road) to Enzelli, with swollen rivers and no post-horses. All +things considered, we resolved to land at Astara, even at the risk of +a ducking. Daylight found us there, anchored a mile from the shore, +and a heavy swell running. But there is no bar here; only a shelving +sandy beach, on which, even in rough weather, there is little +danger. Some good-sized boats came out to the _Kaspia_ with fish and +vegetables, and we at once resolved to land. Anything sooner than +return to Baku! + +"There is no road from Astara," said Z----, "and deep rivers to cross. +You will be robbed and murdered like the Italian who travelled this +way three years ago! He was the last European to do so." + +Gerome remembers the incident. In fact, he says, the murdered man was +a friend of his, travelling to Teheran with a large sum of money. +Unable to land at Resht, and impatient to reach his destination, he +took the unfrequented route, was waylaid, robbed, tied to a tree, and +left to starve. "He was alone and unarmed, though," says my companion; +adding with a wink, "Let them try it on with us!" + +Seeing remonstrance is useless, Z---- wishes us God-speed. The +good-natured Swede presses a box of Russian cigarettes into my hand +as I descend the ladder--a gift he can ill afford--and twenty minutes +later our boat glides safely and smoothly on Persian soil. + +It was a lovely day, and the blue sky and sunshine, singing of birds, +and green of plain and forest, a pleasant relief to the eye and senses +after the cold and misery of the past two days. Astara (though the +port of Tabriz) is an insignificant place, its sole importance lying +in the fact that it is a frontier town. On one side of the narrow +river a collection of ramshackle mud huts, neglected gardens, foul +smells, beggars, and dogs--Persia; on the other, a score of neat stone +houses, well-kept roads and paths, flower-gardens, orchards, a pretty +church, and white fort surrounded by the inevitable black-and-white +sentry-boxes, guarded by a company of white-capped Cossacks--Russia. I +could not help realizing, on landing at Astara, the huge area of this +vast empire. How many thousand miles now separated me from the last +border town of the Great White Czar that I visited--Kiakhta, on the +Russo-Chinese frontier? + +Surrounded by a ragged mob, we walked to the village to see about +horses and a lodging for the night. The latter was soon found--a +flat-roofed mud hut about thirty feet square, devoid of chimney or +furniture of any kind. The floor, cracked in several places, was +crawling with vermin, and the walls undermined with rat-holes; but in +Persia one must not be particular. Leaving our baggage in the care of +one "Hassan," a bright-eyed, intelligent-looking lad, and instructing +him to prepare a meal, we made for the bazaar, a hundred yards away, +through a morass, knee deep in mud and abomination of all kinds, to +procure food. + +A row of thirty or forty mud huts composed the "bazaar," where, having +succeeded in purchasing tea, bread, eggs, and caviar, we turned our +attention to horseflesh. + +An old Jew having previously agreed to convert, at exorbitant +interest, our rouble notes into "sheis" and kerans, negotiations for +horses were then opened by Gerome, and, as the _patois_ spoken in +Astara is a mixture of Turkish and Persian, with a little Tartar +thrown in, his task was no easy one, especially as every one spoke at +once and at the top of their voices. We discovered at last that but +few of the villagers owned a horse, and those who did were very +unwilling to let the animal for such an uncertain journey. "Who is +going to guarantee that the 'Farangis' will not steal it?" asked one +ragged, wild-looking fellow in sheepskins and a huge lamb's-wool cap. +"Or get it stolen from them?" added another, with a grin. "They can +have my old grey mare for two hundred kerans, but you won't catch me +letting her for hire," added a third. + +With the aid of our friend, the Jew, however, we finally persuaded +the sheepskin gentleman (a native of Khiva) to change his mind. After +considerable haggling as to price, he disappeared, to return with two of +the sorriest steeds I ever set eyes on. "We ought to reach Enzelli in +about three days, if we do not get our throats cut," said the Khivan, who +was to accompany us, encouragingly. + +Hassan had been busy in our absence; he had prepared an excellent +pilaff, and sent to Russian Astara for some kaketi wine, which was +brought over in a goatskin. This, with our own provisions bought in +the morning, furnished a substantial and much-needed meal. Persian +native bread is somewhat trying at first to a weak digestion. It is +unleavened, baked in long thin strips, and is of suet-like consistency. +The hut, like most native houses in Persia, had no chimney, the only +outlet for the smoke being through the narrow doorway. This necessitates +lying flat on one's back in the clear narrow space between smoke and +flooring, or being suffocated--a minor inconvenience as compared with +others in Persian travel. + +The Khivan arrived with the horses at six next morning. By seven +o'clock we were well on the road, which for the first ten miles or so +led by the sea-shore, through dense thickets of brushwood, alternating +with patches of loose drifting sand. I was agreeably disappointed in +the ponies; for though it was deep, heavy going, they stepped out well +and freely. The clear sunshine, keen air, and lovely scenery seemed to +have the same inspiriting effect on them as on ourselves. + +The _coup d'oeil_ was indeed a lovely one. To our right a glorious +panorama of palm, forest, and river stretched away for miles, bounded +on the horizon by a chain of lofty precipitous mountains, their snowy +peaks white and dazzling against the deep cloudless blue, their +grassy slopes and rocky ravines hidden, here and there, by grey mists +floating lazily over depths of dark green forest at their feet. To our +left broad yellow sands, streaked with seaweed and dark driftwood, and +cold grey waters of the Caspian Sea--colourless and dead even under +this Mediterranean sky, and bringing one back, so to speak, from a +beautiful dream to stern reality. + +About midday we came to a broad but fordable river, which the Khivan +called the Chulamak. We all crossed in safety, notwithstanding the +deep holes our guide warned us against, and which, as the water was +thick and muddy, gave Gerome and myself some anxiety. The stream was +about fifty yards across and much swollen by the snow. Landing on the +other side ahead of my companions, I rode on alone, and presently +found myself floundering about girth-deep in a quicksand. It was only +with great difficulty that we extricated the pony. These quicksands +are common on the shores of the Caspian, and natives, when travelling +alone, have perished from this cause. + +Nothing occurred worthy of notice till about 3 p.m., when we reached +the river Djemnil. An arm of the sea more accurately describes this +stream, which is (or was at the time of which I write) over three +hundred yards across. Here we had some difficulty with the Khivan, +who was for encamping till morning. I, however, strongly objected to +sleeping _a la belle etoile_, especially as the sky had now clouded +over, and it was beginning to snow. Partly by conciliation, partly +by threats, we at last persuaded him to make the attempt, following +closely in his wake. It was nasty work. Twice our horses were carried +off their feet by the strong current running out to sea (we were +only a quarter of a mile from the mouth); and once we, or rather the +horses, had to swim for it; but we reached the opposite shore in under +half an hour, wet and numbed to the waist, but safe. At seven we were +snugly housed for the night at Katvesera, a so-called village of three +or four mud hovels, selecting the best (outwardly) for our night's +lodging. We were badly received by the natives. Neither money nor +threats would induce them to produce provisions of any kind, so we +fell back on sticks of chocolate and Valentine's meat-juice. The +latter I never travel without--it is invaluable in uncivilized and +desert countries. + +The inhabitants of Katvesera are under a score in number, and live +chiefly on fish, though I noticed in the morning that a considerable +quantity of land was under cultivation--apparently rice and barley. +They were a sullen, sulky lot, and we had almost to take the hut +by force. The Khivan, Gerome, and myself took it in turns to watch +through the night. It was near here that the Italian was assassinated. + +A start was made at daybreak. The weather had now changed. A cutting +north-easter was blowing, accompanied with snow and sleet. We forded, +about 11 a.m., the Kokajeri river, a mountain stream about thirty +yards wide, unfordable except upon the sea-beach. At midday we halted +at Tchergari, a fishing-village on the shores of the Caspian. + +Tchergari contains about two hundred inhabitants, mostly fishermen +employed by a Russian firm. The houses, built of tree-trunks plastered +with mud, had roofs of thatched reed, and were far more substantial +and better built than any I had yet seen in Persia. Fearing a +reception like that of the previous evening, we had intended riding +straight through the place to our destination for the night, when a +European advanced to meet us through the snow. Mr. V----, a Russian, +and overseer of the fishery, had made his hut as comfortable as +circumstances would admit, and we were soon seated before a blazing +fire (with a chimney!), discussing a plate of steaming shtchi, [C] +washed down by a bottle of kaketi. Roast mutton and pastry followed, +succeeded by coffee and vodka (for we had the good luck to arrive at +our host's dinner-hour). By the time cigarettes were under way we felt +fully equal to the long cold ride of fifteen miles that separated us +from our night's halting-place, Alala Resht itself seemed at least +thirty miles nearer than it had before dinner. + +"You are bold," said Mr. V----, in French, "to attempt this journey +at this time of year. I do not mean as regards footpads and +robbers reports concerning them are always greatly exaggerated; but +the rivers are in a terrible state. There is one just beyond Alala, +that I know you cannot cross on horseback. I will send a man on at +once to try and get a boat for you, and you can pull the horses after +you. There is an Armenian at Alala, who will give you a lodging +to-night" Mr. V---- 's good fare and several glasses of vodka +considerably shortened our ride, and we arrived at Alala before dark, +where a hearty welcome awaited us. Turning in after a pipe and two +or three glasses of tea, we slept soundly till time to start in the +morning. The outlook from our snug resting-place was not inviting--the +sky of a dirty grey, blowing hard, and snowing harder than ever. + +Alala contains about eight hundred inhabitants. The land surrounding +it is thickly cultivated with rice and tobacco. Neither are, however, +exported in any quantity, the difficulties of transport to Astara or +Enzelli being so great. + +It is somewhat puzzling to a stranger to get at the names of places on +the southern shores of the Caspian. Most of the villages are known +by more than one, but Alala rejoices in as many _aliases_ as an old +gaol-bird, viz. Alala, Asalim, and Navarim. + +Thanks to our Russian friend, a boat and a couple of men were awaiting +us at the big river (I could not ascertain its name). Entering it +ourselves, we swam the horses over one by one. It took us the best +part of two hours. Though only two hundred yards wide, they were off +their legs nearly the whole way. What we should have done without Mr. +V---- 's aid I know not. + +Towards sundown the high tower of the Shah's palace at Enzelli came +in sight. At last the neck of this weary journey was broken, and +to-morrow, all being well, we should be at Resht. The road is winding, +and it was not till past ten o'clock that we rode through the silent, +deserted streets to the caravanserai, a filthier lodging than any we +had yet occupied. But, though devoured by vermin, I slept soundly, +tired out with cold and fatigue. We dismissed the Khivan with a +substantial _pour-boire_. He had certainly behaved extremely well for +one of his race. + +Enzelli is an uninteresting place. It has but two objects of interest +(in Persian eyes)--the lighthouse (occasionally lit) and a palace of +the Shah, built a few years since as a _pied-a-terre_ for his Majesty +on the occasion of his visits to Europe. It is a tawdry gimcrack +edifice, painted bright blue, red, and green, in the worst possible +taste. The Shah, on returning from Europe last time, is said to have +remarked to his ministers on landing at Enzelli, "I have not seen +a single building in all Europe to compare with this!" Probably +not--from one point of view. + +The Caspian may indeed be called a Russian lake, for although the +whole of its southern coast is Persian, the only Persian vessel +tolerated upon it by Russia is the yacht of the Shah, a small steamer, +the gift of the Caucase-Mercure Company, which lies off Enzelli. Even +this vessel is only permitted to navigate in and about the waters of +the Mourdab ("dead water"), a large lake, a kind of encroachment of +the sea, eighteen to twenty miles broad, which separates Enzelli from +Peri-Bazar, the landing-place for Resht, four miles distant. The +imperial yacht did once get as far as Astara (presumably by mistake), +but was immediately escorted back to Enzelli by a Russian cruiser. +There is, however, a so-called Persian fleet--the steamship +_Persepolis_, anchored off Bushire, in the Persian Gulf, and the +_Susa_, which lies off Mohammerah. The former is about six hundred +tons, and carries four Krupp guns; but the latter is little better +than a steam-launch. Both have been at anchor for about four years, +and are practically unseaworthy and useless. + +We embarked at nine o'clock, in a boat pulled by eight men. The +crossing of the Mourdab is at times impossible, owing to the heavy +sea; but this time luck was with us, and midday saw us at Peri-Bazar, +where there is no difficulty in procuring riding-horses to take one +into Resht. The country between the two places was formerly morass and +jungle, but on the occasion of the Shah's visit to Europe about twenty +years ago, a carriage-road was made--not a good one, for such a +thing does not exist in Persia--but a very fair riding-track (in dry +weather). We reached Resht wet to the skin, the snow having ceased and +given way to a steady downpour of rain. + +Resht bears the unpleasant reputation of being the most unhealthy city +in Persia. Its very name, say the natives, is derived from the word +_rishta_, "death." "If you wish to die," says a proverb of Irak, "go +to Resht!" The city, which had, at the beginning of the century, a +population of over sixty thousand inhabitants, now has barely thirty +thousand. This certainly looks as if there were some truth in the +foregoing remarks; and there is no doubt that, on the visitation of +the plague about ten years ago, the mortality was something frightful. +A great percentage of deaths are ascribed to Resht fever--a terrible +disease, due to the water and the exhalations from the marshes +surrounding the city. It is certainly the dampest place in the world. +The sun is seldom seen, and one's clothes, even on a dry, rainless +day, become saturated with moisture. + +The town is, nevertheless, prettily situated in a well-wooded country. +It would almost be imposing were it not for the heavy rains and dews, +which cause a rapid decay of the buildings. The latter are mostly of +red brick and glazed tiles. + +Resht is the depot for goods to and from Persia--chiefly silks. +Tobacco is also grown in yearly increasing quantities. Several Russian +firms have opened here for the manufacture of cigarettes, which, +though they may find favour among the natives, are too hot and coarse +for European tastes. They are well made and cheap enough--sevenpence a +hundred. + +In addition to the native population, Resht contains about five +hundred Armenians, and a score or so of Europeans. Among the latter +are a Russian and a British vice-consul. To the residence of the +latter we repaired. Colonel Stewart's kindness and hospitality are a +byword in Persia, and the Sunday of our arrival at Resht was truly a +day of rest after the discomfort and privations we had undergone since +leaving Baku. + + +[Footnote A: _Isvostchik_, a cab-driver.] + +[Footnote B: "Tchornigorod," or "Black Town," so called from the smoke +that hangs night and day over the oil-factories.] + +[Footnote C: Russian cabbage-soup.] + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +RESHT--PATCHINAR. + + +Day broke gloomily enough the morning following the day of our arrival +at Resht. The snow, still falling fast, lay over two feet deep in +the garden beneath my window, while great white drifts barred the +entrance-gates of the Consulate. About eight o'clock our host made his +appearance, and, waking me from pleasant dreams of sunnier climes, +tried to dissuade me from making a start under such unfavourable +circumstances. An imperial courier had just arrived from Teheran, and +his report was anything but reassuring. The roads were in a terrible +state; the Kharzan, a long and difficult pass, was blocked with snow, +and the villages on either side of it crowded with weather-bound +caravans. + +The prospect, viewed from a warm and comfortable bed, was not +inviting. Anxiety, however, to reach Teheran and definitely map out +my route to India overcame everything, even the temptation to defer a +journey fraught with cold, hunger, and privation, and take it easy for +a few days, with plenty of food and drink, to say nothing of cigars, +books, and newspapers, in the snug cosy rooms of the Consulate. "You +will be sorry for it to-morrow," said the colonel, as he left the room +to give the necessary orders for our departure; adding with a smile, +"I suppose a wilful man must have his way." + +There are two modes of travelling in Persia: marching with a caravan, +a slow and tedious process; and riding post, or "chapar." The latter, +being the quickest, is usually adopted by Europeans, but can only +be done on the Government post-roads, of which there are five: from +Teheran to Resht, Tabriz, Meshed, Kerman, and the Persian Gulf +port, Bushire. These so-called roads are, however, often mere +caravan-tracks, sometimes totally hidden by drifting sand or snow. +In the interior of the country the hard sun-baked soil is usually +trackless, so that the aid of a "Shagird Chapar," or post-boy, becomes +essential. + +The distance between the "Chapar khanehs," as the tumble-down sheds +doing duty for post-houses are called, is generally five farsakhs, or +about twenty English miles; but the Persian farsakh is elastic, and +we often rode more, at other times less, than we paid for. Travel is +cheap: one keran per farsakh (2-1/2_d_. a mile) per horse, with a +_pour-boire_ of a couple of kerans to the "Shagird" at the end of the +stage. + +Given a good horse and fine weather, Persian travel would be +delightful; but the former is, unfortunately, very rarely met with. +Most of the post-horses have been sold for some vice which nothing but +constant hard work will keep under. Kickers, rearers, jibbers, shyers, +and stumblers are but too common, and falls of almost daily occurrence +on a long journey. Goodness knows how many Gerome and I had between +Resht and the Persian Gulf. + +Notwithstanding these drawbacks, the speed attained by the wretched +half-starved animals is little short of marvellous. Nothing seems +to tire them. We averaged fifty miles a day after leaving Teheran, +covering, on one occasion, over a hundred miles in a little over +eleven hours. This is good work, considering the ponies seldom exceed +fourteen hands two inches, and have to carry a couple of heavy +saddle-bags in addition to their rider. Gerome must have ridden quite +fourteen stone. + +About ten o'clock the horses arrived, in charge of a miserable-looking +Shagird, in rags and a huge lamb's-wool cap, the only warm thing about +him. It was pitiful to see the poor wretch, with bare legs and feet, +shivering and shaking in the cutting wind and snow. The ponies, too, +looked tucked up and leg-weary, as if they had just come off a long +stage (which, indeed, they probably had) instead of going on one. + +"Don't be alarmed; they are the proverbial rum 'uns to look at," said +our host, who would not hear of our setting out without saddle-bags +crammed with good things: cold meat, sardines, cigarettes, a couple of +bottles of brandy, and a flask of Russian vodka. But for these we must +literally have starved _en route_. + +"Good-bye. Good luck to you!" from the colonel. + +"En avant!" cries Gerome, with a deafening crack of his heavy chapar +whip. We are both provided with this instrument of torture--a thick +plaited thong about five feet long, attached to a short thick wooden +handle, and terminating in a flat leathern cracker of eight or ten +inches. A cut from this would make an English horse jump out of his +skin, but had little or no effect on the tough hides of our "chapar" +ponies. The snow is almost up to the knees of the latter as we labour +through the gateway and into the narrow street. Where will it be on +the Kharzan Pass? + +Resht is picturesquely situated. It must be a lovely place in +summer-time, when fertile plains of maize, barley, and tobacco stretch +away on every side, bounded by belts of dark green forest and chains +of low well-wooded hills, while the post-road leads for miles through +groves of mulberry trees, apple orchards, and garden-girt villas, half +hidden by roses and jasmine. But this was hardly a day for admiring +the beauties of nature. Once out of the suburbs and in the open +country, nothing met the eye but a dreary wilderness of white earth +and sullen grey sky, that boded ill for the future. The cold was +intense. Although dressed in the thickest of tweeds and sheepskin +jacket, sable pelisse, enormous "bourka," and high felt boots, it was +all I could do to keep warm even when going at a hand gallop, varied +every hundred yards or so by a desperate "peck" on the part of my +pony. + +The first stage, Koudoum, five farsakhs from Resht, was reached about +three o'clock in the afternoon. This was my first experience of a Chapar +khaneh. The Shagird informed us that it was considered a very good one, +and was much frequented by Europeans in summer-time--presumably, +judging from the holes in the roof, for the sake of coolness. Let me +here give the reader a brief description of the accommodation provided +for travellers by his Imperial Majesty the Shah. The Koudoum Chapar +khaneh is a very fair example of the average Persian post-house. + +Imagine a small one-storied building, whitewashed, save where wind +and rain have disclosed the brown mud beneath. A wooden ladder (with +half the rungs missing) leads to the guest-chamber, a large bare +room, devoid of furniture of any kind, with smoke-blackened walls +and rotten, insecure flooring. A number of rats scamper away at our +approach. I wonder what on earth they can find to eat, until Gerome +points out a large hole in the centre of the apartment. This affords +an excellent view of the stables, ten or twelve feet below, admitting, +at the same time, a pungent and overpowering odour of manure and +ammonia. A smaller room, a kind of ante-chamber, leads out of this. As +it is partly roofless, I seek, but in vain, for a door to shut out the +icy cold blast. Further search in the guest-room reveals six large +windows, or rather holes, for there are no shutters, much less +window-panes. It is colder here, if anything, than outside, for the +draughts are always at once; but we must in Persia be thankful +for small mercies. There is a chimney, in which a good log fire, +kindled by Gerome, is soon blazing. + +Lunch and a nip of the colonel's vodka work wonders, and we are +beginning to think, over a "papirosh," that Persia is not such a bad +place after all, when the Shagird's head appears at the window. There +are only two horses available for the next stage, but a third has been +sent for from a neighbouring village, and will shortly arrive. As +night is falling fast, I set out with the Shagird for the next +station, Rustemabad, leaving Gerome, who has already travelled the +road and knows it well, to follow alone. + +It is still snowing fast, but my mount is a great improvement on that +of the morning, luckily, for the stage is a long one, and we have a +stiff mountain to climb before reaching our destination for the night. + +We ride for three hours, slowly and silently, over a plain knee-deep +in snow. About half-way across a tinkle of bells is heard, clear and +musical, in the distance. Presently a large caravan looms out of the +dusk--fifty or sixty camels and half a dozen men. The latter exchange +a cheery "Good night" with my guide. Slowly the ungainly, heavily +laden beasts file past us, gaunt and spectral in the twilight, the +bells die away on the still wintry air, and we are again alone on the +desolate plain--not a sign of life, not a sound to be heard, but +the crunching of snow under our horses' feet, and the occasional +pistol-like crack of my guide's heavy whip. + +It is almost dark when we commence the ascent of the mountain on the +far side of which lies Rustemabad. The path is rough and narrow, and +in places hewn out of the solid rock. Towards the summit, where a +slip or false step would be fatal, a dark shapeless mass appears, +completely barring the pathway, on the white snow. Closer inspection +reveals a dead camel, abandoned, doubtless, by the caravan we +have just passed, for the carcase is yet warm. With considerable +difficulty, but aided by the hard slippery ground, we drag it to the +brink of the precipice, and send it crashing down through bush and +briar, to fall with a loud splash into a foaming torrent far below. +During this performance one of the ponies gets loose, and half an hour +is lost in catching him again. + +So the journey wore on. Half-way down on the other side of the +mountain, my pony stumbled and shot me head first into a pool of +liquid mud, from which I was, with some difficulty, extricated wet +through and chilled to the bone. The discomfort was bad enough, but, +worse still, my sable pelisse, the valuable gift of a Russian friend, +was, I feared, utterly ruined. + +It was nearly nine o'clock when we reached Rustemabad, to find rather +worse quarters than we had left at Koudoum. To make matters worse, +I had no change of clothes, and the black, ill-smelling mud had +penetrated to the innermost recesses of my saddle-bags, which did +not tend to improve the flavour of the biscuits and chocolate that +constituted my evening meal. No food of any kind was procurable at +the post-house, and all our own provisions were behind with Gerome. +Luckily, I had stuck to the flask of vodka! + +With the help of the postmaster, a decrepit, half-witted old man, and +the sole inmate of the place, I managed to kindle a good fire, and set +to work to dry my clothes, a somewhat uncomfortable process, as it +entailed my remaining three-parts naked for half the night in an +atmosphere very little above zero. The sables were in a terrible +state. It was midnight before the mud on them was sufficiently dry to +brush off, as I fondly hoped, in the morning. + +Gerome did not turn up till one o'clock a.m., his horse not having +arrived at Koudoum till past seven. He had lost his way twice, and had +almost given up all hopes of reaching Rustemabad till daylight, when +my fire, the only light in the place, shone out of the darkness. The +poor fellow was so stiff and numbed with fatigue and cold that I had +to lift him off his horse and carry him into the post-house. He was +a sorry object, but I could not refrain from smiling. My companion's +usually comical, ruddy face wore a woebegone look, while long +icicles hung from his hair, eyebrows, and moustaches, giving him the +appearance of a very melancholy old Father Christmas. + +Morning brought a cloudless blue sky and brilliant sunshine. My first +thought on awaking was for the pelisse. Summoning the old postmaster, +I confided the precious garment to him, with strict injunctions to +take it outside, beat it well with a stick, and bring it back to me to +brush. In the mean time, we busied ourselves with breakfast and a +cup of steaming cocoa, for a long ride was before us. It was still +bitterly cold, with a strong north-easter blowing. The thermometer +marked (in the sun) only one degree above zero. + +Rustemabad, a collection of straggling, tumble-down hovels, contains +about four or five hundred inhabitants. The post-house, perched on +the summit of a steep hill, is situated some little distance from +the village, which stands in the centre of a plateau, bounded on the +south-west by a chain of precipitous mountains. The country around is +fertile and productive, being well watered by the Sefid Roud (White +River). Rice is largely grown, but to-day not a trace of vegetation is +visible; nothing but the vast white plain, smooth and unbroken, save +where, here and there, a brown village blurrs its smooth surface, an +oasis of mud huts in this desert of dazzling snow. + +An exclamation from Gerome suddenly drew my attention to the +postmaster, who stood at the open doorway, my pelisse in hand. I was +then unused to the ways and customs of the Persian peasantry, or +should have known that it was but labour lost to make one spring at +the old idiot, and, twining my fingers in his throat, shake him till +he yelled for mercy. Nothing but a thick stick has the slightest +effect upon the Shah's subjects; and I was, for a moment, sorely +tempted to use mine. The reader must own that I should have been +justified. It was surely enough to try the patience of a saint, for +the old imbecile had deliberately walked down to the river, made +a hole in the ice, and soaked the garment in water to the waist, +reducing it to its former condition of liquid slime. This was _his_ +method of getting the mud off. I may add that this intelligent +official had _assisted me in the drying process up till midnight_. + +There was no help for it; nothing to be done but cut off the damaged +portion from the waist to the heels--no easy matter, for it was frozen +as stiff as a board. "It will make a better riding-jacket now," said +Gerome, consolingly; "but this son of a pig shall not gain by it," he +added, stamping the ruined remains into the now expiring fire. + +The village of Patchinar, at the foot of the dreaded Kharzan Pass, was +to be our halting-place for the night. The post-road, after leaving +Rustemabad, leads through the valley of the Sefid Roud river, in +which, by the way, there is excellent salmon-fishing. About six miles +from Rustemabad is a spot called by the natives the "Castle of the +Winds," on account of the high winds that, even in the calmest +weather, prevail there. Although, out on the plain, there was a +scarcely perceptible breeze, we had to literally fight our way against +the terrific gusts that swept through this narrow gorge. Fortunately, +it was a fine day, but the fine powdery snow whirled up and cut into +our eyes and faces, and made travelling very unpleasant. + +These violent wind-storms have never been satisfactorily accounted +for. They continue for a certain number of hours every day, summer +and winter, increasing in force till sunset, when they abate, to rise +again the following dawn. On some occasions horses, and even camels, +have been blown over, and caravans are sometimes compelled to halt +until the fury of the storm has diminished. + +Crossing a ridge of low hills, we descended into the valley of +Roudbar, a quiet and peaceful contrast to the one we had just left. +The wind now ceased as if by magic. Much of the snow had here +disappeared under the warm sunshine, while before us, nestling in +a grove of olive trees, lay the pretty village, with its white +picturesque houses and narrow streets shaded by gaily striped awnings. +It was like a transformation-scene, this sudden change from winter, +with its grey sky and cold icy blast, to the sunny stillness and +repose of an English summer's day. We rode through the bazaar, a busy +and crowded one for so small a place. A large trade is done here in +olives. Most of it is in the hands of two enterprising Frenchmen, who +started business some years ago, and are doing well. + +We managed to get a mouthful of food at Menjil while the horses were +being changed. + +Colonel S---- had especially warned us against sleeping here, the +Chapar khaneh being infested with the Meana bug, a species of camel +tick, which inflicts a poisonous and sometimes dangerous wound. It is +only found in certain districts, and rarely met with south of Teheran. +The virus has been known, in some cases, to bring on typhoid fever, +and one European is said to have died from its effects. For the truth +of this I cannot vouch; but there is no doubt that the bite is always +followed by three or four days' more or less serious indisposition. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +PATCHINAR--TEHERAN. + + +Our troubles commenced in real earnest at Patchinar, a +desolate-looking place and filthy post-house, which was reached at +sunset. The post from Teheran had just arrived, in charge of a +tall strapping fellow armed to the teeth, in dark blue uniform and +astrachan cap, bearing the Imperial badge, the lion and sun, in brass. +The mail was ten days late, and had met with terrible weather on the +Kharzan. They had passed, only that morning, two men lying by the +roadway, frozen to death. The poor fellows were on their way to +Teheran from Menjil, and had lain where they fell for two or three +days. "You had far better have remained at Resht," added our +informant, unpleasantly recalling to my mind the colonel's prophecy, +"You will be sorry for this to-morrow!" + +Notwithstanding hunger and vermin, we managed to enjoy a tolerable +night's rest. The post-house was warm at any rate, being windowless. +Patchinar was evidently a favourite halting-place, for the dingy walls +of the guest-room were covered with writing and pencil sketches, the +work of travellers trying to kill time, from the Frenchman who +warned one (in rhyme) to beware of the thieving propensities of the +postmaster, to the more practical Englishman, who, in a bold hand, +had scrawled across the wall, "_Big bugs here!_" I may add that my +countryman was not exaggerating. + +There was no difficulty in getting horses the next morning. The post, +which left for Resht before we were stirring, had left us seven +sorry-looking steeds, worn out with their previous day's journey +through the deep snow-drifts of the Kharzan. By nine o'clock we were +ready to start, notwithstanding the entreaties of the postmaster, +whose anxiety, however, was not on our account, but on that of the +horses. + +"I don't believe I shall ever see them again!" he mumbled mournfully, +as we rode out of the yard. "And who is to repay me for their loss? +You will be dead, too, before sundown, if the snow catches you in the +mountains!" + +But there seemed no probability of such a contingency. The sky was +blue and cloudless, the sun so bright that the glare off the snow soon +became unbearable without smoked goggles. The promise of an extra +keran or two if we reached the end of the stage by daylight had a +wonderful effect on the Shagird. Though it was terribly heavy going, +and the snow in places up to our girths, we covered the five miles +lying between Patchinar and the foot of the Kharzan in a little over +three hours--good going considering the state of the road. We were as +often off the former as on it, for there was nothing to guide one; +nothing but telegraph poles and wires were visible, and these are +occasionally laid straight across country away from the track. + +Our destination for the night was the village of Kharzan, which is +situated near the summit of the mountain, about six thousand feet +high. The ascent is continuous and precipitous. An idea may be gained +of the steepness by the fact that we now left the valley of the Shah +Roud, barely one thousand feet above sea-level, to ascend, in a +distance of about twelve miles, over six thousand feet. + +The Kharzan Pass is at all times dreaded by travellers, native and +European, even in summer, when there are no avalanches to fear, +snow-drifts to bar the way, or ice to render the narrow, tortuous +pathway even more insecure. A serious inconvenience, not to say +danger, is the meeting of two camel caravans travelling in opposite +directions on the narrow track, which, in many places, is barely ten +feet broad, and barely sufficient to allow two horses to pass each +other, to say nothing of heavily laden camels. But to-day we were safe +so far as this was concerned. Not a soul was to be seen in the clefts +and ravines around, or on the great white expanse stretched out +beneath our feet, as we crept cautiously up the side of the mountain, +our guide halting every ten or fifteen yards to probe the snow with a +long pole and make sure that we had not got off the path. + +A stiff and tedious climb of nearly seven hours brought us to within a +mile of the summit. Halting for a short time, we refreshed ourselves +with a couple of biscuits and a nip of brandy, and proceeded on our +journey. We had now arrived at the most dangerous part of the pass. +The pathway, hewn out of the solid rock, and about ten feet wide, was +covered with a solid layer of ice eight or ten inches thick, over +which our horses skated about in a most uncomfortable manner. There +was no guard-rail or protection of any sort on the precipice side. All +went well for a time, and I was beginning to congratulate myself on +having reached the summit without-accident, when Gerdme's horse, just +in front of me, blundered and nearly lit on his head. "Ah, son of a +pig's mother!" yelled the little Russian in true Cossack vernacular, +as the poor old screw, thoroughly done up, made a desperate peck, +ending in a slither that brought him to within a foot of the brink. +"That was a close shave, monsieur!" he continued, as his pony +struggled back into safety, "I shall get off and walk. Wet feet are +better than a broken neck any day!" + +The words were scarcely out of his mouth, when a loud cry from +the Shagird, and a snort and struggle from the pack-horse behind, +attracted my attention. This time the beast had slipped with a +vengeance, and was half-way over the edge, making, with his fore +feet, frantic efforts to regain _terra firma_ while his hind legs and +quarters dangled in mid-air. There was no time to dismount and render +assistance. The whole thing was over in less than ten seconds. The +Shagird might, indeed, have saved the fall had he kept his head +instead of losing it. All he could do was, with a loud voice and +outstretched arms, to invoke the assistance of "Allah!" We were not +long in suspense. Slowly, inch by inch, the poor brute lost his hold +of the slippery ground, and disappeared, with a shrill neigh of +terror, from sight. For two or three seconds we heard him striking +here and there against a jutting rock or shrub, till, with a final +thud, he landed on a small plateau of deep snow-drifts at least +three hundred feet below. Here he lay motionless and apparently +dead, while we could see through our glasses a thin stream of +crimson flow from under him, gradually staining the white snow +around. + +[Illustration: CROSSING THE KHADZAN] + +A cat is popularly supposed to have nine lives. After my experience +of the Persian post-horse, I shall never believe that that rough and +ill-shaped but useful animal has less than a dozen. The fall I +have described would assuredly have killed a horse of any other +nationality, if I may use the word. It seemed, on the contrary, to +have a tonic and exhilarating effect on this Patchinar pony. Before we +could reach him (a work of considerable difficulty and some risk) he +had risen to his feet, given himself a good shake, and was nibbling +away at a bit of gorse that peeped through the snow on which he had +fallen. A deep cut on the shoulder was his only injury, and, curiously +enough, our portmanteaus, with the exception of a broken strap, were +unharmed. There was, luckily, nothing breakable in either. + +Kharzan, a miserable village under snow for six months of the year, +was reached without further mishap. There is no post-house, and the +caravanserai was crowded with caravans. Before sundown, however, we +were comfortably installed in the house of the head-man of the place, +who spread carpets of soft texture and quaint design in our honour, +regaled us with an excellent "pilaff," and produced a flask of Persian +wine. The latter would hardly have passed muster in Europe. The cork +consisted of a plug of cotton-wool plastered with clay; the contents +were of a muddy-brown colour. "It is pure Hamadan," said our host with +pride, as he placed the bottle before us. "Perhaps the sahib did not +know that our country is famous for its wines." It was not altogether +unpalatable, something like light but rather sweet hock; very +different, however, in its effects to that innocent beverage, and one +could not drink much with impunity. Its cheapness surprised me: +one shilling a quart bottle. That, at least, is the price our host +charged--probably more than half again its real value. + +The winegrowers of Hamadan have many difficulties to contend with; +among others, the severe cold. In winter the wine is kept in huge +jars, containing six or seven hundred bottles. These are buried in +the ground, their necks being surrounded by hot beds of fermenting +horse-dung, to keep the wine from freezing. But even this plan +sometimes fails, and it has to be chopped out in solid blocks and +melted for drinking. + +Kharzan has a population of about a thousand inhabitants. It was here +that Baker Pasha was brought some years ago in a dying condition, +after being caught in a wind-storm on the Kharzan Pass, and lay for +three days in the house we were lodging at. Our old friend showed us a +clasp-knife presented him by the colonel, who on that occasion nearly +lost both his feet from frost-bite. Captains Gill and Clayton, [A] of +the Royal Engineers and Ninth Lancers, were with him, but escaped +unharmed. + +Stiff and worn out with the events of the day, we soon stretched +ourselves in front of the blazing fire in anticipation of a good +night's rest; but sleep was not for us. In the next room were a party +of Persian merchants from Astrakhan on their way to Bagdad _via_ +Teheran, who had been prisoners here for five days, and were now +carousing on the strength of getting away on the morrow. A woman was +with them--a brazen-faced, shrill-voiced Armenian, who made more noise +than all the rest put together. Singing, dancing, quarrelling, and +drinking went on without intermission till long past midnight, our +neighbours raising such a din that the good people of Kharzan, a +quarter of a mile away, must have turned uneasily in their slumbers, +and wondered whether an army of fiends had not broken loose. Towards 1 +a.m. the noise ceased, and we were just dropping to sleep, when, at +about half-past two in the morning, our drunken friends, headed by the +lady, burst into our apartment, with the information, in bad Russian, +that a gang of fifty men sent that morning to clear a path through +the deep snow had just returned, and the road to Mazreh was now +practicable. The caravans would be starting in an hour, they +added. "And you'd better travel with them," joined in the lady, +contemptuously, "or you will be sure to get into trouble by +yourselves." A reply more forcible than polite from Gerome then +cleared the apartment; and, rekindling the now expiring embers, we +prepared for the road. + +We set out at dawn for the gate of the village, where the caravans +were to assemble. It was still freezing hard, and the narrow streets +like sheets of solid ice, so that our horses kept their legs with +difficulty. We must have numbered fifty or sixty camels, and as many +mules and horses, all heavily laden. + +Daybreak disclosed a weird, beautiful scene: a sea of snow, over which +the rising sun threw countless effects of light and colour, from the +cold slate grey immediately around us, gradually lightening to the +faintest tints of rose and gold on the eastern horizon, where stars +were paling in a cloudless sky. Portrayed on canvas, the picture would +have looked unnatural, so brilliant were the hues thrown by the rising +sun over the land-, or rather snow-scape. The cold, though intense, +was not unbearable, for there was fortunately no wind, and the spirits +rose with the crisp, bracing air, brilliant sunshine, and jangle of +caravan bells, as one realized that Teheran was now well within reach, +and the dreaded Kharzan a thing of the past. Gerome gave vent to his +feelings with a succession of roulades and operatic airs; for my +little friend had a very good opinion of his vocal powers, which I, +unfortunately, did not share. But he was a cheery, indefatigable +creature, and of indomitable pluck, and one gladly forgave him this, +his only failing. + +It was terribly hard work all that morning, and Gerome had four, I +three, falls, on one occasion wrenching my right ankle badly. Some +of the drifts through which we rode must have been at least ten or +fifteen feet deep. Some tough faggots thrown over these afforded a +footing, or we should never have got over. Towards midday Mazreh +was sighted; and we pushed on ahead, leaving the caravan to its own +devices. The going was now better, and it was soon far behind us, the +only object visible from the low hills which we now ascended, the +camels and mules looking, from this distance, like flies crawling over +a huge white sheet. + +Lunch at Mazreh consisted of damp, mouldy bread, and some sweet, +sickly liquid the postmaster called tea. Procuring fresh horses +without difficulty, we set out about 3 p.m. for Kazvin. It was not +till 10 p.m. that we were riding through the great gate of that city, +which the soldier on guard consented, with some demur, to open. + +Kazvin boasts a hotel and a boulevard! The latter is lit by a dozen +oil-lamps; the former, though a palatial building of brick, with +verandahs and good rooms, is left to darkness and the rats in the +absence of travellers. Having groped our way for half an hour or so +about a labyrinth of dark, narrow streets, we presently emerged on the +dimly lit boulevard (three of the oil-lamps had gone out), and rode +up to the melancholy looking hostelry at the end. Failing to obtain +admission, we burst open the door, and made ourselves as comfortable +as circumstances would allow. Food was out of the question; drink, +saving some villainous raki of Gerome's, also; but there was plenty +of firewood, and we soon had a good fire in the grate. This hotel +was originally built by the Shah for the convenience of himself +and ministers when on his way to Europe. It is only on these rare +occasions that the barn-like building is put in order. Visions of +former luxury were still visible in our bedroom in the shape of a +bedstead, toilet-table, and looking-glass. "But we can't eat _them_!" +said Gerome, mournfully. + +Kazvin, which now has a population of 30,000, has seen better days. It +was once capital of Persia, with 120,000 inhabitants. Strolling out in +the morning before breakfast, I found it well and regularly built, and +surrounded by a mud wall, with several gates of beautiful mosaic, now +much chipped and defaced. + +Being the junction of the roads from Tabriz on the west, and Resht on +the north to the capital, is now Kazvin's sole importance. The road to +Teheran was made some years ago at enormous expense by the Shah; but +it has now, in true Persian style, been left to fall into decay. It is +only in the finest and driest weather that the journey can be made on +wheels, and this was naturally out of the question for us. A +railway was mooted some time since along this, the only respectable +carriage-road in Persia--but the project was soon abandoned. + +The post-houses, however, are a great improvement on any in other +parts of the country. At Kishlak, for instance, we found a substantial +brick building with a large guest-room, down the centre of which ran +a long table with spotless table-cloth, spread out with plates +of biscuits, apples, nuts, pears, dried fruits, and sweetmeats, +beautifully decorated with gold and silver paper, and at intervals +decanters of water--rather cold fare with the thermometer at a few +degrees above zero. The fruits and biscuits were shrivelled and +tasteless, having evidently been there some months. It reminded me of +a children's doll dinner-party. With the exception of these Barmecide +feasts and some straw-flavoured eggs, there was nothing substantial to +be got in any of the post-houses till we reached our destination. + +About four o'clock on the 27th we first sighted the white peak of +Mount Demavend, and by three o'clock next day were within sight of the +dingy brown walls, mud houses, and white minarets of the city of the +Shah--Teheran. + + +[Footnote A: Both have since met violent deaths. Captain Gill was +murdered by natives with Professor Palmer near Suez, and Captain +Clayton killed while playing polo in India.] + + + +CHAPTER V. + +TEHERAN. + + +A brilliant ball-room, pretty faces, smart gowns, good music, and +an excellent supper;--thus surrounded, I pass my first evening in +Teheran, a pleasant contrast indeed to the preceding night of dirt, +cold, and hunger. + +But it was not without serious misgivings that I accepted the +courteous invitation of the German Embassy. The crossing of the +Kharzan had not improved the appearance of dress-clothes and shirts, +to say nothing of my eyes being in the condition described by +pugilists as "bunged up," my face of the hue of a boiled lobster, the +effects of sun and snow. + +One is struck, on entering Teheran, with the apparent cleanliness of +the place as compared with other Oriental towns. The absence of heaps +of refuse, cess-pools, open drains, and bad smells is remarkable to +one accustomed to Eastern cities; but this was perhaps, at the time of +my visit, due to the pure rarified atmosphere, the keen frosty air, of +winter. Teheran in January, with its cold bracing climate, and Teheran +in June, with the thermometer above ninety in the shade, are two very +different things; and the town is so unhealthy in summer, that all +Europeans who can afford to do so live on the hills around the +capital. + +The environs are not picturesque. They have been likened to those of +Madrid, having the same brown calcined soil, the same absence of trees +and vegetation. The city, viewed from outside the walls, is ugly and +insignificant, and, on a dull day, indistinguishable at no great +distance. In clear weather, however, the beehive-like dwellings and +rumbling ramparts stand out in bold relief against a background of +blue sky and dazzling snow-mountains, over which towers, in solitary +grandeur, the peak of Mount Demavend, [A] an extinct volcano, over +20,000 feet high, the summit of which is reported by natives to be +haunted. The ascent is gradual and easy, and has frequently been made +by Europeans. + +Teheran is divided into two parts--the old city and the new. In the +former, inhabited only by natives, the streets are narrow, dark, and +tortuous, leading at intervals into large squares with deep tanks of +running water in the centre. The latter are characteristic of Persia, +and have in summer a deliciously cool appearance, the coping of the +fountain being only an inch or so in height, and the water almost +flush with the ground. The new, or European quarter, is bisected by +a broad tree-lined thoroughfare, aptly named the "Boulevard des +Ambassadeurs," for here are the legations of England, France, and +Germany. The Russian Embassy, a poor building in comparison with +the others, stands in another part of the town. Hard by the English +Embassy is the Hotel Prevot, kept by a Frenchman of that name, once +confectioner-in-chief to his Majesty the Shah. Here we took up our +quarters during our stay in the capital. + +At the extremity of the Boulevard des Ambassadeurs is the "Place des +Canons," so called from the old and useless cannon of various ages +that surround it. The square is formed by low barn-like barracks, +their whitewashed walls decorated with gaudy and rudely drawn pictures +of Persian soldiers and horses. Beyond this again, and approached by +an avenue of poplar trees, lit by electric light, is the palace of the +Shah, with nothing to indicate the presence in town of the sovereign +but a guard of ragged-looking, unkempt Persians in Russian uniform +lounging about the principal gateway. + +The Persian soldier is not a credit to his country. Although drilled +and commanded by European officers, he is a slouching, awkward fellow, +badly paid, ill fed, and not renowned for bravery. The ordinary +infantry uniform consists of a dark-blue tunic and trousers with red +facings, and a high astrachan busby with the brass badge of the lion +and sun. To a stranger, however, the varied and grotesque costumes +in which these clowns are put by their imperial master is somewhat +confusing. One may see, for instance, Russian cossacks, French +chasseurs, German uhlans, and Austrian cuirassiers incongruously mixed +up together in the ranks on parade. His army is the Shah's favourite +toy, and nothing affords the eccentric monarch so much amusement as +constant change of uniform. As the latter are manufactured in and sent +out from the countries they represent, the expense to the state is +considerable. + +The first Europeans to instruct this rabble were Frenchmen, but +England, Russia, Germany, and Austria have all supplied officers and +instructors within the past fifty years, without, however, any +good result. Although the arsenal at Teheran is full of the latest +improvements in guns and magazine rifles, these are kept locked up, +and only for show, the old Brown Bess alone being used. The Cossack +regiment always stationed at Teheran, ostensibly for the protection of +the Shah, and officered by Russians, is the only one with any attempt +at discipline or order, and is armed with the Berdan rifle. + +The Teheran bazaar is, at first sight, commonplace and uninteresting. +Though of enormous extent (it contains in the daytime over thirty +thousand souls), it lacks the picturesque Oriental appearance of those +of Cairo or Constantinople, where costly and beautiful wares are set +out in tempting array before the eyes of the unwary stranger. Here +they are kept in the background, and a European must remain in +the place for a couple of months or so, and make friends with the +merchants, before he be even permitted to see them. The position is +reversed. At Stamboul the stranger is pestered and worried to buy; +at Teheran one must sometimes entreat before being allowed even to +inspect the contents of a silk or jewel stall. Even then, the owner +will probably remain supremely indifferent as to whether the "Farangi" +purchase or not. This fact is curious. It will probably disappear with +the advance of civilization and Mr. Cook. + +[Illustration: TEHERAN] + +Debouching from the principal streets or alleys of the bazaar, which +is of brick, are large covered caravanserais, or open spaces for the +storage of goods, where the wholesale merchants have their +warehouses. The architecture of some of these caravanserais is very +fine. The cool, quiet halls, their domed roofs, embellished with +delicate stone carving, and blue, white, and yellow tiles, dimly +reflected in the inevitable marble tank of clear water below, are +a pleasant retreat from the stifling alleys and sun-baked streets. +Talking of tanks, there seems to be no lack of water in Teheran. I was +surprised at this, for there are few countries so deficient in this +essential commodity as Persia. It is, I found, artificially supplied +by "connaughts," or subterranean aqueducts flowing from mountain +streams, which are practically inexhaustible. In order to keep a +straight line, shafts are dug every fifty yards or so, and the earth +thrown out of the shaft forms a mound, which is not removed. Thus +a Persian landscape, dotted with hundreds of these hillocks, often +resembles a field full of huge ant-hills. The mouths of these shafts, +left open and unprotected, are a source of great danger to travellers +by night. Teheran is provided with thirty or forty of these aqueducts, +which were constructed by the Government some years ago at enormous +expense and labour. + +As in most Eastern cities, each trade has its separate alley or +thoroughfare in the Teheran bazaar. Thus of jewellers, silk mercers, +tailors, gunsmiths, saddlers, coppersmiths, and the rest, each +have their separate arcade. The shops or stalls are much alike in +appearance, though they vary considerably in size. Behind a brick +platform, about three feet wide and two feet in height, is the shop, +a vaulted archway, in the middle of which, surrounded by his wares, +kalyan [B] or cigarette in mouth, squats the shopkeeper. There are no +windows. At night a few rough boards and a rough Russian padlock are +the sole protection, saving a smaller apartment at the back of each +stall, a kind of strong-room, guarded by massive iron-bound doors, +in which the most valuable goods are kept. There is no attempt at +decoration; a few only of the jewellers' shops are whitewashed inside, +the best being hung with the cheapest and gaudiest of French or German +coloured prints. The stalls are usually opened about 6.30 a.m., and +closed at sunset. An hour later the bazaar is untenanted, save for +the watchmen and pariah dogs. The latter are seen throughout the day, +sleeping in holes and corners, many of them almost torn to pieces from +nightly encounters, and kicked about, even by children, with impunity. +It is only at night that the brutes become really dangerous, and when, +in packs of from twenty to thirty, they have been known to attack and +kill men. Occasionally the dogs of one quarter of the bazaar attack +those of another, and desperate fights ensue, the killed and wounded +being afterwards eaten by the victors. It is, therefore, unsafe to +venture out in the streets of Teheran after dark without a lantern and +good stout cudgel. + +From 11 to 12 a.m. is perhaps the busiest part of the day in the +bazaar. Then is one most struck with the varied and picturesque types +of Oriental humanity, the continuously changing kaleidoscope of +native races from Archangel to the Persian Gulf, the Baltic Sea to +Afghanistan. + +Nor are contrasts wanting. Here is Ivanoff from Odessa or Tiflis, in +the white peaked cap and high boots dear to every Russian, haggling +over the price of a carpet with Ali Mahomet of Bokhara; there +Chung-Yang, who has drifted here from Pekin through Siberia, with a +cargo of worthless tea, vainly endeavouring to palm it off on that +grave-looking Parsee, who, unfortunately for the Celestial, is not +quite such a fool as he looks. Such a hubbub never was heard. +Every one is talking or shouting at the top of their voices, women +screaming, beggars whining, fruit and water sellers jingling their +cymbals, while from the coppersmiths' quarter hard by comes a +deafening accompaniment in the shape of beaten metal. Occasionally a +caravan of laden camels stalk gravely through the alleys, scattering +the yelling crowd right and left, only to reassemble the moment it has +passed, like water in the wake of a ship. Again it separates, and a +sedan, preceded by a couple of gholams with long wands, is carried +by, and one gets a momentary glimpse of a pair of dark eyes and +henna-stained finger-tips, as a fair one from the "anderoon" [C] +of some great man is carried to her jeweller's or perfumer's. The +"yashmak" is getting very thin in these countries, and one can form a +very fair estimate of the lady's features (singularly plain ones) as +the sedan swings by. Towards midday business is suspended for a while, +and the alleys of the bazaar empty as if by magic. For nearly a whole +hour silence, unbroken save by the snarling of some pariah dog, the +hiss of the samovar, and gurgle of the kalyan, falls over the place, +till 2 p.m., when the noise recommences as suddenly as it ceased, and +continues unbroken till sunset. + +On the whole, the bazaar is disappointing. The stalls for the sale of +Persian and Central Asian carpets, old brocades and tapestries, and +other wares dear to the lover of Eastern art, are in the minority, +and must be hunted out. Manchester goods, cheap calicoes and prints, +German cutlery, and Birmingham ware are found readily enough, and form +the stock of two-thirds of the shops in the carpet and silk-mercers' +arcade. + +It is by no means easy to find one's way about. No one understands +a word of English, French, or German, and had it not been for my +knowledge of Russian--which, by the way, is the one known European +language among the lower orders--I should more than once have been +hopelessly lost. + +Europeans in Teheran lead a pleasant though somewhat monotonous life. +Summer is, as I have said, intolerable, and all who can seek refuge in +the hills, where there are two settlements, or villages, presented by +the Shah to England and Russia. Winter is undoubtedly the pleasantest +season. Scarcely an evening passes without a dance, private +theatricals, or other festivity given by one or other of the +Embassies, entertainments which his Imperial Majesty himself +frequently graces with his presence. + +There is probably no living sovereign of whom so little is really +known in Europe as Nasr-oo-din, "Shah of Persia," "Asylum of the +Universe," and "King of Kings," to quote three of his more modest +titles. Although he has visited Europe twice, and been made much of in +our own country, most English people know absolutely nothing of the +Persian monarch's character or private life. That he ate _entrees_ +with his fingers at Buckingham Palace, expressed a desire to have the +Lord Chamberlain bowstrung, and conceived a violent and unholy passion +for an amiable society lady somewhat inclined to _embonpoint_, we are +most of us aware; but beyond this, the Shah's _vie intime_ remains, to +the majority of us at least, a sealed book. This is perhaps a pity, +for, like many others, Nasr-oo-din is not so black as he is painted, +and, notwithstanding all reports to the contrary, is said, by those +who should know, to be one of the kindest-hearted creatures breathing. + +The government of Persia is that of an absolute monarchy. The Shah +alone has power of life and death, and, even in the most remote +districts, the assent of the sovereign is necessary before an +execution can take place. The Shah appoints his own ministers. +These are the "Sadr-Azam," or Prime Minister; the "Sapar-Sala," +Commander-in-chief; "Mustof-al-Mamalak," Secretary of State, and +Minister of Foreign Affairs. These are supposed to represent the Privy +Council, but they very seldom meet, the Shah preferring to manage +affairs independently. The total revenue of the latter has been +estimated at seven million pounds sterling. + +Nasr-oo-din, who is now sixty-five years of age, ascended the throne +in 1848. His reign commenced inauspiciously with a determined attempt +to assassinate him, made by a gang of fanatics of the Babi sect. The +plot, though nearly successful, was frustrated, and the conspirators +executed; but it is said that the Shah has lived in constant dread of +assassination ever since. He is hypochondriacal, and, though in very +fair health, is constantly on the _qui vive_ for some imaginary +ailment. The post of Court physician, filled for many years past by +Dr. Tholozan, a Frenchman, is no sinecure. + +The habits of the Shah are simple. He is, unlike most Persians of high +class, abstemious as regards both food and drink. Two meals a day, +served at midday and 9 p.m., and those of the plainest diet, washed +down by a glass or two of claret or other light wine, are all he +allows himself. When on a hunting-excursion, his favourite occupation, +the Shah is even more abstemious, going sometimes a whole day without +food of any kind. He is a crack shot, and is out nearly daily, when +the weather permits, shooting over his splendid preserves around +Teheran. There is no lack of sport. Tiger and bear abound; also +partridge, woodcock, snipe, and many kinds of water-fowl; but the +Shah is better with the rifle than the fowling-piece. The Shah is +passionately fond of music, and has two or three string and brass +bands trained and conducted by a Frenchman. When away on a long +sporting-excursion, he is invariably accompanied by one of these +bands. + +Were it not for the running attendants in scarlet and gold, and the +crimson-dyed [D] tail of his horse, no one would take the slim, swarthy +old gentleman in black frock-coat, riding slowly through the streets, +and beaming benignly through a huge pair of spectacles, for the +great Shah-in-Shah himself. Yet he is stern and pitiless enough when +necessary, as many of the Court officials can vouch for. But few have +escaped the bastinado at one time or another; but in Persia this is +not considered an indignity, even by the highest in the land. The +stick is painful, certainly, but not a disgrace in this strange +country. + +Nasr-oo-din has three legal wives, and an unlimited number of +concubines. Of the former, the head wife, Shuku-Es-Sultana, is his own +cousin and the great-granddaughter of the celebrated Fatti-Ali-Shah, +whose family was so large that, at the time of his death, one hundred +and twenty of his descendants were still living. Shuku-Es-Sultana is +the mother of the "Valliad," or Crown Prince, now Governor of Tabriz. +The second wife is a granddaughter of Fatti-Ali-Shah; and the third +(the Shah's favourite) is one Anys-u-Dowlet. The latter is the best +looking of the three, and certainly possesses the greatest influence +in state affairs. Of the concubines, the mother of the "Zil-i-Sultan" +("Shadow of the King") ranks the first in seniority. The Zil-i-Sultan +is, though illegitimate, the Shah's eldest son, and is, with the +exception of his father, the most influential man in Persia, the +heir-apparent (Valliad) being a weak, foolish individual, easily led, +and addicted to drink and the lowest forms of sensuality. + +With the exception of eunuchs, no male person over the age of ten is +permitted in the seraglio, or anderoon, which is constantly receiving +fresh importations from the provinces. Persians deny that there are +any European women, but this is doubtful. The harems of Constantinople +and Cairo are recruited from Paris and Vienna; why not those of +Teheran? The indoor costume of the Persian lady must be somewhat +trying at first to those accustomed to European toilettes. The +skirt, reaching only to the knee, is full and _bouffe_, like an +opera-dancer's, the feet and legs generally bare. The only becoming +part of the whole costume is the tightly fitting zouave jacket of +light blue or scarlet satin, thickly braided with gold, and the gauze +head-dress embroidered with the same material, and fastened under the +chin with a large turquoise, ruby, or other precious stone. + +Some of the women (even among the concubines) are highly educated; can +play on the "tar", [E] or harmonica, sing, and read and write poetry; +but their recreations are necessarily somewhat limited. Picnics, +music, story-telling, kalyan and cigarette smoking, sweetmeat-making, +and the bath, together with somewhat less innocent pastimes, form the +sum total of a Persian concubine's amusements. Outside the walls of +the anderoon they are closely watched and guarded, for Persians +are jealous of their women, and, even in the most formal social +gatherings, there is a strict separation of the sexes. Its imperial +master occasionally joins in the outdoor amusements of his harem; +indeed, he himself invented a game a few years since, which sounds +more original than amusing. A slide of smooth alabaster about twenty +feet long, on an inclined plane, was constructed in one of his +bath-houses. Down this the Shah would gravely slide into the water, +followed by his seraglio. The sight must have been a strange one, +the costumes on these occasions being, to say the least of it, scanty! + +[Illustration: PERSIAN DANCING-GIRL] + +The Shah's greatest failing is, perhaps, vacillation. He is constantly +changing his mind, on trifling matters chiefly, for his northern +neighbours take care that he is more consistent in affairs of state. +Two or three times, between his visits to Europe in 1871 and 1889, he +has started with great pomp and a large retinue for the land of the +"Farangi," but, on arrival at Resht, has returned to Teheran, without +a word of warning to his ministers, or apparent reason for his sudden +change of plans. These "false starts" became a recognized thing after +a time, and when, in 1888, his Majesty embarked on his yacht and set +sail for Baku, it came as a surprise, pleasant or otherwise, to his +subjects at Teheran. The final undertaking of the journey may +have been advised by his astrologers, for the Shah is intensely +superstitious, and never travels without them. Nor will he, on any +account, start on a journey on a Friday, or the thirteenth day of the +month. + +The palace of Teheran is, seen from the outside, a shapeless, +ramshackle structure. The outside walls are whitewashed, and covered +with gaudy red and blue pictures of men and horses, the former in +modern military tunics and shakos, the latter painted a bright red. +The figures, rudely drawn, remind one of a charity schoolboy's +artistic efforts on a slate, but are somewhat out of place on the +walls of a royal residence. The interior of the "Ark," as it is +called, is a pleasant contrast to the outside, although even here, in +the museum, which contains some of the finest gems and _objets d'art_ +in the world, the various objects are placed with singular disregard +of order, not to say good taste. One sees, for instance, a tawdrily +dressed mechanical doll from Paris standing next to a case containing +the "Darai Nor," or "Sea of Light," a magnificent diamond obtained +in India, and said to be the largest yet discovered, though somewhat +inferior in quality to the "Koh-i-noor." A cheap and somewhat +dilapidated cuckoo-clock and toy velocipede flank the famous globe of +the world in diamonds and precious stones. This, the most costly and +beautiful piece of workmanship in the place, is about eighteen inches +in diameter, and is said to have cost eight millions of francs. The +different countries are marked out with surprising accuracy and +detail,--Persia being represented by turquoises, England by diamonds, +Africa by rubies, and so on, the sea being of emeralds. + +The museum itself is about sixty feet in length by twenty-five feet +broad, its ceiling composed entirely of looking-glasses, its parquet +flooring strewn with priceless Persian rugs and carpets. Large +oil-paintings of Queen Victoria, the Czar of Russia, and other +sovereigns, surround the walls, including two portraits of her Majesty +the Ex-Empress Eugenie. It would weary the reader to wade through a +description of the Jade work and _cloisonne_, the porcelain of all +countries, the Japanese works of art in bronze and gold, and last, but +not least, the cut and uncut diamonds and precious stones, temptingly +laid out in open saucers, like _bonbons_ in a confectioner's shop. The +diamonds are perhaps the finest as regards quality, but there is +a roughly cut ruby surmounting the imperial crown, said to be the +largest in the world. + +Though it was very cold, and the snow lay deep upon the ground, my +stay at Teheran was not unpleasant. The keen bracing air, brilliant +sunshine, and cloudless blue sky somewhat made amends for the sorry +lodging and execrable fare provided by mine host at the Hotel Prevot. +I have seldom, in my travels, come across a French inn where, be the +materials ever so poor, the landlord is not able to turn out a decent +meal. I have fared well and sumptuously at New Caledonia, Saigon, and +even Pekin, under the auspices of a French innkeeper; but at Teheran +(nearest of any to civilized Europe) was compelled to swallow food +that would have disgraced a fifth-rate _gargotte_ in the slums of +Paris. Perhaps Monsieur Prevot had become "Persianized"; perhaps +the dulcet tones of Madame P., whose voice, incessantly rating her +servants, reminded one of unoiled machinery, and commenced at sunrise +only to be silenced (by exhaustion) at sunset, disturbed him at his +culinary labours. The fact remains that the _cuisine_ was, to any but +a starving man, uneatable, the bedroom which madame was kind enough to +assign to me, pitch dark and stuffy as a dog-kennel. + +A long conference with General S--, an Austrian in the Persian +service, decided my future movements. The general, one of the highest +geographical authorities on Persia, strongly dissuaded my attempting +to reach India _via_ Meshed and Afghanistan. "You will only be stopped +and sent back," said he; "what is the use of losing time?" I resolved, +therefore, after mature deliberation, to proceed direct to Ispahan, +Shiraz, and Bushire, and from thence by steamer to Sonmiani, on the +coast of Baluchistan. From the latter port I was to strike due north +to Kelat and Quetta, and "that," added the general, "will bring you +across eighty or a hundred miles of totally unexplored country. You +will have had quite enough of it when you get to Kelat--if you ever +_do_ get there," he added encouragingly. + +The route now finally decided upon, preparations were made for a start +as soon as possible. Portmanteaus were exchanged for a pair of light +leather saddle-bags, artistically embellished with squares of bright +Persian carpet let in at the side, and purchased in the bazaar for +twenty-two kerans, or about seventeen shillings English money. In +these I was able to carry, with ease, a couple of tweed suits, half a +dozen flannel shirts, three pairs of boots, and toilet necessaries, to +say nothing of a box of cigars and a small medicine-chest. Gerome +also carried a pair of bags, containing, in addition to his modest +wardrobe, our stores for the voyage--biscuits, Valentine's meat juice, +sardines, tea, and a bottle of brandy; for, with the exception of eggs +and Persian bread, one can reckon upon nothing eatable at the Chapar +khanehs. There is an excellent European store shop at Teheran, and had +it not been for limited space, we might have regaled on turtle soup, +aspic jellies, quails, and _pate de foie gras_ galore throughout +Persia. Mr. R. N----, an _attache_ to the British Legation at Teheran, +is justly celebrated for his repasts _en voyage_, and assured me that +he invariably sat down to a _recherche_ dinner of soup, three courses, +and iced champagne, even when journeying to such remote cities as +Hamadan or Meshed, thereby proving that, if you only take your time +about it, you may travel comfortably almost anywhere--even in Persia. + + +[Footnote A: The word _Demavend_ signifies literally "abundance of +mist," so called from the summit of this mountain being continually +wreathed in clouds.] + +[Footnote B: A pipe similar to the Turkish "hubble-bubble," wherein +the tobacco is inhaled through plain or rose water.] + +[Footnote C: Harem.] + +[Footnote D: A badge of royalty in Persia.] + +[Footnote E: A stringed instrument played in the same way as the +European guitar.] + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +TEHERAN--ISPAHAN. + + +We are already some farsakhs [A] from Teheran when day breaks on the +4th of February, 1889. The start is not a propitious one. Hardly have +we cleared the Ispahan gate than down comes the Shagird's horse as +if he were shot, breaking his girths and rider's thumb at the same +moment. Luckily, we are provided with rope, and Persian saddles are +not complicated. In ten minutes we are off again; but it is terribly +hard going, and all one can do to keep the horses on their legs. +Towards midday the sun slightly thaws the surface of the frozen snow, +and makes matters still worse. Up till now the pace has not been +exhilarating. Two or three miles an hour at most. It will take some +time to reach India at this rate! + +Four or five hours of this work, and there is no longer a sign of life +to be seen on the white waste, saving, about a mile ahead of us, +a thin wreath of grey smoke and half a dozen blackened tents--an +encampment of gypsies. Far behind us the tallest minarets of the +capital are dipping below the horizon, while to the left the white and +glittering cone of Demavend stands boldly out from a background of +deep cloudless blue. Though the sun is powerful--so much so, indeed, +that face and hands are already swollen and blistered--the cold in the +shade is intense. A keen, cutting north-easter sweeps across the white +waste, and, riding for a time under the shadow of a low ridge of +snow, I find my cigar frozen to my lips--nor can I remove it without +painfully tearing the skin. Gerome is in his element, and, as a +natural consequence, my spirits fall as his rise. The slowness of +our progress, and constant stumbling of my pony, do not improve the +temper, and I am forced at last to beg my faithful follower to desist, +for a time at least, from a vocal rendering of "La Mascotte" which +has been going on unceasingly since we left Teheran. He obeys, but +(unabashed) proceeds to carry on a long conversation with himself in +the Tartar language, with which I am, perhaps happily, unacquainted. +Truly he is a man of unfailing resource! + +But even his angelic temper is tried when, shortly afterwards, we ride +past the gipsy encampment As he dismounts to light a cigarette out +of the wind, one of the sirens in a tent catches sight of the little +Russian, and in less than half a minute he is surrounded by a mob of +dishevelled, half-naked females, who throw their arms about him, pull +his hair and ears, and try, but in vain, to secure his horse and drag +him into a tent. These gipsies are the terror of travellers in Persia, +the men, most of them, gaining a precarious living as tinkers and +leather-workers, with an occasional highway robbery to keep their +hand in, the women living entirely by thieving and prostitution. The +gentlemen of the tribe were, perhaps luckily for us, away from home on +this occasion. One of the women, a good-looking, black-eyed girl, was +the most persistent among this band of maenads, and, bolder than the +rest, utterly refused to let Gerome get on his pony, till, white with +passion, the Russian raised his whip. This was a signal for a general +howl of rage. "Strike me if you dare!" said the girl, her eyes ablaze. +"If you do you will never reach the next station." But in the confusion +Gerome had vaulted into his saddle, and, setting spurs to our horses, +we galloped or scrambled off as quick as the deep snow would allow us. +"Crapule va!" shouted the little man, whose cheek and hair still bore +traces of the struggle. "Il n'y a qu'en Perse qu'on fait des chameaus +comme cela!" + +Ispahan is about seventy farsakhs distant from Teheran. The journey +has, under favourable conditions, been ridden in under two days, but +this is very unusual, and has seldom been done except for a wager by +Europeans. In our case speed was, of course, out of the question, with +the road in the state it was. The ordinary pace is, on an average, six +to eight miles an hour, unless the horses are very bad. It was nearly +a week, however, before we rode through the gates of Ispahan, and even +this was accounted a fair performance considering the difficulties we +had to contend with. + +Towards sunset the wind rose--a sharp north-easter that made face and +ears feel as if they were being flogged with stinging-nettles. It was +not until dusk that we reached Rabat Kerim, a small mud village, with +a filthy windowless post-house. But a pigstye would have been welcome +after such a ride, and the vermin which a flickering oil-lamp revealed +in hundreds, on walls and flooring, did not prevent our sleeping +soundly till morning. My thermometer marked only one degree above zero +when we retired to rest, and the wood was too damp to light a fire. +But we are in Persia! + +It is only fair, however, to say that the road we were now travelling +is not the regular post-road, which lies some distance to the eastward +of Rabat Kerim, but was now impassable on account of the snow. +The smaller track joins the main road at Koom. By taking the less +frequented track, we were unable to go through the "Malak al Niote," +or "Valley of the Angel of Death," which lies about half-way between +the capital and Koom. The valley is so called from its desolate and +sterile appearance, though, if this be so, the greater part of Persia +might with reason bear the same name. Be this as it may, the Shagirds +and natives have the greatest objection to passing through it after +dark. A legend avers that it is haunted by monsters having the bodies +of men and heads of beasts and birds. Surrounded by these apparitions, +who lick his face and hands till he is unconscious, the traveller is +carried away--where, history does not state--never to return. + +If the first day's work had been hard, it was child's play compared to +the second. The track, leading over a vast plain, had recently been +traversed by a number of camel caravans, which had transformed it into +a kind of Jacob's ladder formed by holes a couple of feet deep in the +snow. As long as the horses trod into them all went well, but a few +inches to the right or left generally brought them blundering on to +their noses. The reader may imagine what a day of this work means. The +strain on mind and muscle was almost unbearable, to say nothing of the +blinding glare. Yet one could not but admire, during our brief pauses +for rest, the picture before us. The boundless expanse of sapphire +blue and dazzling white, with not a speck to mar it, save where, +occasionally, the warm sun-rays had, here and there, laid bare chains +of dark rocks, giving them the appearance of islands in this ocean of +snow. + +At Pitche, the midday station, no horses were to be had; so, +notwithstanding that deep snow-drifts lay between us and Kushku Baira, +the halt for the night, we were compelled, after a couple of hours' +rest, to set out on the ponies that had brought us from Rabat Kerim. +More perhaps by good luck than anything else, we reached the latter +towards 9 p.m. A bright starlit night favoured us, and, with the +exception of a couple of falls apiece, we were none the worse. We +found, too, to our great delight, a blazing fire burning in the +post-house, kindled by some caravan-men. But there is always a saving +clause in Persia. No water was to be had for love or money till the +morning, and, knowing the raging thirst produced by melted snow, we +had to forget our thirst till next day. + +[Illustration: POST-HOUSE AT KUSHKU BAIRA] + +A pleasant surprise also was in store for us. Two or three miles +beyond Kushku Baira we were clear of snow altogether. Not a vestige +of white was visible upon the bare stony plain. Nothing but dull drab +desert, stretching away on every side to a horizon of snow-capt hills, +recalling, by their very whiteness, the miseries of the past two days. +"Berik Allah!" [B] cried Gerome. "We have done with the snow now." +"Inshallah!" [C] I replied, though with an inward conviction that we +should see it again further on, and suffer accordingly. + +The sacred city of Koom [D] is one of the pleasantest recollections I +retain of the ride between the capital and Ispahan. It was about two +o'clock on the afternoon of the 6th of February that, breasting a +chain of low sandy hills, the huge golden dome of the Tomb of Fatima +became visible. We were then still four miles off; but, even with our +jaded steeds, the ride became what it had not yet been--a pleasure. +The green sunlit plains of wheat and barley, interspersed with bars of +white and red poppies, the picturesque, happy-looking peasantry, the +strings of mule and camel caravans, with their gaudy trappings and +clashing bells,--all this life, colour, and movement helped to give +one new hope and energy, and drown the dreary remembrance of past +troubles, bodily and mental. Even the caravans of corpses sent to Koom +for interment, which we passed every now and again, failed to depress +us, though at times the effluvia was somewhat overpowering, many of +the bodies being brought to the sacred city from the most remote +parts of Persia. Each mule bore two dead bodies, slung on either +side, like saddle-bags, and one could clearly trace the outline of +the figure wrapped in blue or grey cloth. A few of the friends and +relatives of some of the deceased accompanied this weird procession, +but the greater number of the dead had been consigned to the care +of the muleteers. The latter, in true chalvadar [E] fashion, were +stretched out flat on their stomachs fast asleep, their heads lolling +over their animals, arms and legs dangling helplessly, while the +caravan roamed about the track unchecked, banging their loads against +each other, to the silent discomfiture of the unfortunate mourners. + +[Illustration: A CORPSE CARAVAN] + +Koom is said to cover nearly twice as much ground as Shiraz, but more +than half the city is in ruins, the Afghans having destroyed it in +1722. The principal buildings are mainly composed of mosques and +sepulchres (for Koom is second only to Meshed in sanctity), but +most of them are in a state of decay and dilapidation. The mosque +containing the Tomb of Fatima is the finest, its dome being covered +with plates of silver-gilt--the natives say of pure gold. The sacred +character of this city is mainly derived from the fact that Fatima, +surnamed "El Masouna" ("Free from sin"), died here many years ago. The +tradition is that Fatima was on her way to the city of Tus, whither +she was going to visit her brother, Imam Riza. On arrival at Koom, she +heard of his death, which caused her to delay her journey and take up +her residence here for a time, but she shortly afterwards sickened, +and died of a broken heart. A mausoleum was originally built of a very +humble nature, but, by order of Shah Abbas, it was enlarged and richly +ornamented inside and out. Fatti-Ali-Shah and Abbas the Second are +both buried here; also the wife of Mahomet Shah, who died in 1873, +having had the dome of the mosque covered with gold. There is a legend +among natives that Fatima's body no longer lies in the mosque, but was +carried bodily to heaven shortly after death. + +The population of Koom, which now amounts to little more than between +ten and twelve thousand, was formerly much larger. Like many other +Persian cities--saving, perhaps, Teheran--it retains but little of +its greatness, either as regards art or commerce. The bazaar is, +notwithstanding, extensive and well supplied. Koom is noted for the +manufacture of a white porous earthenware, which is made into flasks +and bottles, some of beautiful design and workmanship. + +The city is entered from the north by a substantial stone bridge, +spanning a swift but shallow river. It presents, at first sight, much +more the appearance of a Spanish or Moorish town than a Persian one. +The dirty brown mud huts are replaced by picturesque white houses, +with coloured domes, gaily striped awnings, and carved wooden +balconies overhanging the stream. Riding through the city gate, we +plunge from dazzling sunshine into the cool semi-darkness of the +bazaar, through which we ride for at least a quarter of an hour, when +a sudden turning brings us once more into daylight in the yard of a +huge caravanserai, crowded with mule and camel caravans. + +The apartment or cell allotted to us was, however, so filthy that we +decided to push on at once to Pasingan, the next stage, four farsakhs +distant. Koom is noted for the size and venom of its scorpions; and +the dim recesses of the dark, cobwebby chamber, with its greasy +walls and smoke-blackened ceiling, looked just the place for these +undesirable bedfellows. + +So we rode on again into the open country, past crowds of beggars and +dervishes at the eastern gate, as usual, busily engaged, as soon as +they saw us coming, at their devotions. Clear of the city walls, one +sees nothing on every side but huge storks. They are held sacred by +the natives, being supposed to migrate to Mecca every year. I heard at +Ispahan that, notwithstanding the outward austerity and piety of +the people of Koom, there is no town in Persia where so much secret +depravity and licentiousness are carried on as in the "Holy City." + +The stage from Koom to Pasingan was accomplished in an incredibly +short time; and I may here mention that this was the only occasion +upon which, in Persia, I was ever given a fairly good horse. The word +_chapar_ signifies in Persian to "gallop," but it is extremely rare to +find "chapar post" pony which has any notion of going out of his own +pace--something between a walk and a canter, like the old grey horse +that carries round the lady in pink and spangles in a travelling +circus. But to-day I got hold of a wiry, game little chestnut, who was +evidently new to the job, and reached and tore away at his bridle as +if he enjoyed the fun. Seeing, about half-way, that he was bleeding at +the mouth, I called Gerome's attention to the fact, and found that his +horse was in the same plight--as, indeed, was every animal we passed +on the road between Koom and Pasingan. This is on account of the +water at and between the two places, which is full of small leeches, +invisible except through a microscope. Horses, mules, and cattle +suffer much in consequence, for nothing can be done to remedy the +evil. + +A pleasant gallop of under an hour brought us to Pasingan. It was +hardly possible to realize, riding through the warm evening air, for +all the world like a June evening in England, that but two days before +we had well-nigh been frozen to death. Had I known what was in store +for us beyond Kashan, I might have marvelled even more at this sudden +and welcome change of climate. + +The guest-chamber at Pasingan was already taken by a Persian khan, +a rude, blustering fellow, who refused us even a corner; so we had, +perforce, to make the best of it downstairs among the rats and vermin. +Devoured by the latter, and unable to sleep, we rose at the first +streak of dawn, saddled two of the khan's horses, and rode away to +Sin-Sin before any one was astir. The poor Shagird, whom we had to +threaten with a severe chastisement if he did not accompany us, was in +a terrible state. The bow-string was the least he could expect when +the khan came to know of the trick we had played him. An extra keran +at Sin-Sin, however, soon consoled our guide. He probably never +returned to Pasingan at all, but sought his fortunes elsewhere. +Persian post-boys are not particular. + +Kashan is distant about fifty-two English miles from Pasingan, and +lies south-east of the latter. The caravan track passes a level tract +of country, sparsely cultivated by means of irrigation. Persian soil +is evidently of the kind that, "tickled with a hoe, laughs with a +harvest." Even in this sterile desert, covered for the most part with +white salt deposits, the little oases of grain and garden looked as +fresh and green as though they had been on the banks of a lake or +river. But the green patches were very few and far between, and, +half-way between the post-stations, ceased altogether. Nothing was +then visible but a waste of brown mud and yellow sand, cut clear and +distinct against the blue sky-line on the horizon. It is strange, when +crossing such tracts of country, to note how near to one everything +seems. Objects six or eight miles off, looked to-day as if you could +gallop up to them in five minutes; and the peak of Demavend, on which +we were now looking our last, seemed about twenty miles off, instead +of over one hundred and fifty. + +Kashan was reached on the 7th of February. At Nasirabad, a village a +few miles out of the city, there had been an earthquake that morning. +Many of the mud houses were in ruins, and their late owners sitting +dejectedly on the remains. Earthquakes are common enough in +Persia, and this was by no means our last experience in that line. +Commiserating with the homeless ones, we divided a few kerans among +them, in return for which they brought us large water-melons (for +which Nasirabad is celebrated), deliciously flavoured, and as cold as +ice. + +Kashan, which stands on a vast plain about two thousand feet above +sea-level, is picturesque and unusually clean for an Eastern town. The +bazaar is a long one, and its numerous caravanserais finer even than +those of the capital. The manufacture of silk [F] and copperware is +extensive; but, as usual, one saw little in the shops, _en evidence +_, but shoddy cloth and Manchester goods, and looked in vain for real +Oriental stuffs and carpets. I often wondered where on earth they +_were_ to be got, for the most persistent efforts failed to produce +the real thing. I often passed, on the road, camel and mule-cloths +that made my mouth water, so old were their texture and delicate their +pattern and colouring, but the owners invariably declined, under any +circumstances, to part with them. + +Kashan will ever be associated in my mind with the fact that I there +saw the prettiest woman it was my luck to meet in Persia. The glimpse +was but a momentary one, but amply sufficed to convince me that +those who say that _all_ Persian women are ugly (as many do) know +nothing-whatever about it. + +It was towards sunset, in one of the caravanserais, to which, hot and +tired with the long dusty ride, I came for a quiet smoke and a cup of +coffee. The sensation of absolute repose was delicious after the heat +and glare, the stillness of the place unbroken save for the plash of a +marble fountain, and, outside, the far-off voices of the "muezzims," +calling the faithful to evening prayer. From the blue dome, with its +golden stars and white tracery, the setting sun, streaming in through +coloured glass, threw the softest shades of violet and ruby, emerald +and amber, upon the marble pavement. The stalls around were closed +for the night; all save one, a "manna" [G] shop. Its owner, a +white-turbaned old Turk, and myself were the sole inmates of the +caravanserai. Even my "kafedji" [H] had disappeared, though probably +not without leaving instructions to his neighbour to see that I did +not make off with the quaint little silver coffee-cup and nargileh. + +It was here that I saw the "belle" of Kashan, and of Persia, for +aught I know--a tall slim girl, dressed, not in the hideous bag-like +garments usually affected by the Persian female, but soft white +draperies, from beneath which peeped a pair of loose baggy trousers +and tiny feet encased in gold-embroidered slippers. Invisible to her, +I made every effort, from my hiding-place behind a projecting stall, +to catch a glimpse of her face, but, alas! a yashmak was in the +way--not the thin gauzy wisp affected by the smart ladies of Cairo and +Constantinople, but a thick, impenetrable barrier of white linen, such +as the peasant women of Mohammedan countries wear. Who could she be? +What was she doing-out unattended at this late hour? + +I had almost given up all hope of seeing her features, when Fortune +favoured me. As the old Turk dived into the recesses of his shop to +attend to the wants of his fair customer, the latter removed her veil, +revealing, as she did so, one of the sweetest and fairest faces it has +ever been my good fortune to look upon. A perfectly oval face, soft +delicate complexion, large dark eyes full of expression, a small +aquiline nose, but somewhat large mouth, and the whitest and smallest +of teeth. Such was the apparition before me. She could not have been +more than sixteen. + +I could scarcely restrain from giving vent to my admiration in speech, +when the old Turk returned. In an instant the yashmak was in its +place, and, with a hasty glance around, my vision of beauty was +scuttling away as fast as her legs could carry her. A low musical +laugh like a chime of silver bells came back to me from the dark +deserted alleys of the bazaar, and I saw her no more. + +The manna-seller was evidently irritated, and intimated, in dumb show, +that I must leave the caravanserai at once, as he was shutting up for +the night. I bought a pound or so of the sweetmeat to pacify him, +and, if possible, glean some information about the fair one, but my +advances were of no avail. + +The history of Kashan is closely allied to that of Ispahan. The +former city was founded by Sultana Zobeide, wife of the celebrated +Haroun-al-Raschid. Ransacked and destroyed by the Afghans in the +eighteenth century, it was again restored, or rather rebuilt, by Haji +Husein Khan. Perhaps the most interesting thing the city contains is +a leaning minaret which dates from the thirteenth century. It is +ascended by a rickety spiral staircase. From here, not so many years +ago, it was the custom to execute adulterous wives. The husband, +accompanied by his relations, forced his unfaithful spouse to the top +of the tower and pushed her over the side (there is no balustrade), +to be dashed to pieces on stone flags about a hundred and thirty feet +below. + +"Pas de chance, monsieur," was Gerome's greeting as I entered the +caravanserai. "The Koudoum Pass is blocked with snow, and almost +impassable. What is to be done?" Mature deliberation brought but one +solution to the question: Start in the morning, and risk it. "It +cannot be worse than the Kharzan, anyhow," said Gerome, cheerfully, as +we rode out of Kashan next day, past the moated mud walls, forty feet +high, that at one time made this city almost impregnable. I more than +once during the morning, however, doubted whether we had done right in +leaving our comfortable quarters at the caravanserai to embark on this +uncertain, not to say dangerous, journey. + +Twenty-nine farsakhs still lay between us and Ispahan; but, once past +the Khurood Pass (which lies about seven farsakhs from Kashan), all +would be plain sailing. The summit of the pass is about seven thousand +feet above sea-level. Its valleys are, in summer, green and fertile, +but during the winter are frequently rendered impassable by the deep +snow, as was now the case. Khurood itself is a village of some size +and importance, built on the slope of the mountain, and here, by +advice of the villagers, we rested for the night. "It will take you at +least a day to get to Bideshk," said the postmaster--"that is, if you +are going to attempt it." + +The ride from Kashan had been pleasant enough. No snow was yet +visible, save in the ravines, and the extreme summits of a chain of +low rocky hills, of which we commenced the ascent a couple of hours +or so after leaving Kashan. Half-way up, however, it became more +difficult, the path being covered in places with a thick coating of +ice--a foretaste of the pleasures before us. Towards the summit of the +mountain is an artificial lake, formed by a strong dyke, or bank of +stonework, which intercepts and collects the mountain-streams and +melted snows--a huge reservoir, whence the water is let off to +irrigate the distant low plains of Kashan, and, indeed, to supply the +city itself. The waters of this lake, about fifteen feet deep, were +clear as crystal, the bottom and sides being cemented. + +This reservoir was constructed by order of Shah Abbas, who seems to +have been one of the wisest and best rulers this unfortunate country +has ever had, for he has certainly done more for his country +than Nasr-oo-din or any of his stock are likely to. Pass a finer +caravanserai than usual, travel a better road, cross a finer bridge, +and interrogate your Shagird as to its history, and you will +invariably receive the answer, "Shah Abbas." At the village of +Khurood, a huge caravanserai (his work) lies in ruins, having been +destroyed seven or eight years ago by an earthquake. Several persons +were killed, the shock occurring at night-time, when the inmates were +asleep. + +The post-house at Khurood was cold, filthy, and swarmed with rats--an +animal for which I have always had an especial aversion. Towards +midnight a Persian gentleman arrived from Kashan--a mild, +benign-looking individual, with a grey moustache and large blue +spectacles. The new-comer, who spoke a little French, begged to be +allowed to join us on the morrow, as he was in a hurry to get to +Ispahan. Notwithstanding Gerome's protestations, I had not the heart +to refuse. He looked so miserable and helpless, and indeed was, as +I discovered too late next day. Our new acquaintance then suggested +sending for wine, to drink to the success of our journey. At this +suggestion Gerome woke up; and seeing that, in my case, the rats had +successfully murdered sleep, I gladly agreed to anything that would +make the time pass till daylight. A couple of bottles were then +produced by the postmaster; but it was mawkish stuff, as sweet as +syrup, and quite flavourless. Gerome and the Persian, however, did +not leave a drop, and before they had finished the second bottle were +sworn friends. Although wine is forbidden by the Mohammedan faith, it +is largely indulged in, in secret, by Persians of the upper class. I +never met, however, a follower of the Prophet so open about it as +our friend at Khurood. The wine here was from Ispahan, and cost, +the Persian told us, about sixpence a quart bottle, and was, in my +opinion, dear at that. Shiraz wine is perhaps the best in Persia. It +is white, and, though very sweet when new, develops, if kept for three +or four years, a dry nutty flavour like sherry. This, however, does +not last long, but gives place in a few months to a taste unpleasantly +like sweet spirits of nitre, which renders the wine undrinkable. +With proper appliances the country would no doubt produce excellent +vintages, but at present the production of wine in Persia is a +distinct failure. + +Leaving at 8 a.m., we managed to reach the summit of the Koudoum by +two o'clock next day, when we halted to give the horses a rest, and +get a mouthful of food. Our Persian friend had returned to Koudoum +after the first half-mile, during which he managed to get three falls, +for the poor man had no notion of riding or keeping a horse on its +legs. He reminded one of the cockney who sat his horse with consummate +ease, grace, and daring, until it moved, when he generally fell off. +I was sorry for him. He was so meek and unresentful, even when +mercilessly chaffed by Gerome. + +Our greatest difficulty up till now had arisen from ice, which +completely covered the steep narrow pathway up the side of the +mountain, and made the ascent slippery and insecure. The snow had as +yet been a couple of feet deep at most, and we had come across no +drifts of any consequence. Arrived at the summit, however, we saw what +we had to expect. Below us lay a narrow valley or gorge, about a mile +broad, separating us from the low range of hills on the far side of +which lay Bideshk. The depth of the snow we were about to make a way +through was easily calculated by the telegraph-posts, which in places +were covered to within two or three feet of the top. "You see, sahib," +said the Shagird, pointing with his whip to a huge drift some distance +to the left of the wires; "two men lying under that." The intelligence +did not interest me in the least. Could we or not get over this "Valley +of Death"? was the only question my mind was at that moment +capable of considering. + +[Illustration: A DAY IN THE SNOW] + +In less than a quarter of an hour we were in the thick of it, up to +our waists in the snow, and pulling, rather than leading, our horses +after us. It reminded me of a bad channel passage from Folkestone to +Boulogne, and took about the same time--two hours, although the actual +distance was under a mile and a half. Gerome led the way as long as he +was able, but, about half-way across, repeated and violent falls had +so exhausted his horse that we were obliged to halt while I took his +place, by no means an easy one. During this stage of the proceedings +we could scarcely see one another for the steam and vapour arising +from the poor brutes, whose neighs of terror, as they blundered into a +deeper drift than usual, were pitiful to hear. More than once Gerome's +pony fell utterly exhausted and helpless, and it took our united +efforts to get him on his legs again; while the Shagird and I left our +ponies prone on their sides, only too glad of a temporary respite from +their labours. If there is anything in the Mohammedan religion, the +Shagird was undoubtedly useful. He never ceased calling upon "Allah!" +for help for more than ten consecutive seconds the whole way across. +At four o'clock we rode into the post-house at Bideshk, thoroughly +done up, and wet through with snow and perspiration, but safe, +and determined, if horses were procurable, to push on at once to +Murchakhar, from whence two easy stages of six and three farsakhs +would land us next day at Ispahan. + +It was dusk, and we had just secured the only horses available, when +two Armenians, bound for Teheran, rode into the yard. When told they +were just too late for a relay, the rage of one of them--a short, +apoplectic-looking little man--was awful to behold. As I mounted, his +companion came up and politely advised us not to attempt to ride to +Murchakhar by night. "The road swarms with footpads," he said, in a +mysterious undertone; "you run a very great risk of being robbed and +murdered if you go on to-night." "You would have run a far greater +of being frozen to death, if we had not saved you by taking these +horses," cried Gerome, as we rode coolly out of the gateway. + +Bideshk is noted for a great battle fought in its vicinity between +the army of Nadir Shah and Ashraf the Afghan. Its post-house is also +noted, as I can vouch for, for the largest and most venomous bugs +between Teheran and Ispahan. We only remained there three hours, and +felt the effects for days afterwards. + +All trace of ice and snow disappeared a few farsakhs from here, and we +galloped gaily across a hard and level plain to our destination for +the night. The post-house was a blaze of light. A couple of armed +sentries stood in front of the doorway, and a motley crowd of +soldiers, Shagird-chapars, and peasants outside. + +"You cannot come in," said the postmaster, full of importance. "The +Zil-i-Sultan is here on a hunting expedition. He will start away +early in the morning, and then you can have the guest-room, but not +before." Too tired to mind much--indeed, half asleep already--we +groped our way to the stables, where, on the cleanest bundle of straw +I have ever seen--or smelt, for it was pitch dark--in a Persian +post-stable (probably the property of his Highness the Governor of +Ispahan), we were soon in the land of dreams. Had we known that we +were calmly reposing within a couple of feet of the royal charger's +heels, our slumbers might not have been so refreshing. Daylight +disclosed the fact. + +The governor and his suite had apparently made a night of it. Although +it was past eight o'clock when we made a start, the prince, his suite, +soldiers, and grooms were none of them stirring, although his _chef_ +was busily engaged, with his staff of assistants, preparing a +sumptuous breakfast of kababs, roast meat and poultry, pastry, and +confectionery of various kinds. I could not help envying the man whose +appetite and digestion would enable him to sit down to such a meal +at such an hour. Sherbet, the Shagird from Murchakhar informed us in +confidence, is the favourite drink of the Zil-i-Sultan. I only once +tasted sherbet in Persia, and was somewhat surprised--so lasting are +one's youthful associations--to find it utterly different to the +refreshing but somewhat depressing beverage of my school-days, sold, +if I remember rightly, at twopence a packet. The real sherbet I was +given (in a native house at Shiraz) consisted simply of a glass of +cold water with a lump of sugar in it--_eau sucre_, in fact. But +Persian sherbets are of endless varieties and flavours. Preserved +syrups of raspberry and pineapple, the juice of the fresh fruit of +lemon, orange, and pomegranate, are all used in the manufacture of +sherbet, which is, however, never effervescing. The water in which it +is mixed should be icy cold, and has, when served in Persia, blocks +of frozen snow floating on the surface. The "sherbet-i-bidmishk," or +"willow-flower sherbet," made from flowers of a particular kind of +willow distilled in water, is perhaps the most popular of all among +the higher classes, and is the most expensive. + +The hunting-expedition (the Shagird, who was of a communicative +disposition, informed us) consisted of three parties located at +villages each within a couple of farsakhs of Murchakhar. Numbering +altogether over six hundred men (all mounted), they had been out +from Ispahan nearly ten days. Yesterday the prince's party had been +exceptionally lucky, and had had splendid sport. We passed, on the +road to Gez, a caravan of fifteen mules laden with the spoil--ibex, +deer, wild sheep, and even a wild ass among the slain. The latter had +fallen to the governor's own rifle. There is plenty of sport to be +had in Persia, if you only take the trouble to look for it, and in +comparative comfort too, with tents, stores, cooking apparatus, etc., +if time is no object. The country swarms with wild animals--tiger, +bear, and leopard in the forests by the Caspian Sea; wild asses, +jackals, and wolves in the desert regions; deer and wild goats in the +mountainous districts; and, as we afterwards had uncomfortable proof, +lions in the southern provinces. There is no permission needed. A +European may shoot over any country he pleases, with the exception of +the Shah's private preserves around Teheran. His Imperial Majesty is +very tetchy on this point. + +We galloped nearly the whole of the short stage from Gez to Ispahan. +A couple of miles out of the city we overtook a donkey ridden by two +peasants, heavy men, who challenged us to a trial of speed. We only +just beat them by a couple of lengths at the gates, although our +horses were fresh and by no means slow. The Persian donkey is +unquestionably the best in the East, and is not only speedy, but as +strong as a horse. We frequently passed one of these useful beasts +carrying a whole family--monsieur, madame, and an unlimited number of +bebes--to say nothing of heavy baggage, in one of the queer-looking +arrangements (oblong boxes with a canvas covering stretched over a +wooden framework) depicted on the next page. An ordinary animal costs +from two to three pounds (English), but a white one, the favourite +mount of women and priests, will often fetch as much as ten or +fifteen. + +To reach Djulfa, the Armenian and European quarter of Ispahan, the +latter city must be crossed, also the great stone bridge spanning the +"Zandarood," or "Living River," so called from the supposed excellence +of its water for drinking purposes, and its powers of prolonging life. +Nearing the bridge, we met a large funeral, evidently that of a person +of high position, from the costly shawls which covered the bier. + + +[Illustration: A FAMILY PARTY] + +As in many Eastern countries, a man is never allowed to die in peace +in Persia. It is a ceremony like marriage or burial, and as soon as +the doctors have pronounced a case hopeless, the friends and relations +of the sick man crowd into his chamber and make themselves thoroughly +at home, drinking tea and sherbet, and watching, through the smoke of +many hubble-bubbles, the dying agonies of their friend. The wife of +the dying man sits at his side, occasionally holding to the nostrils +the Persian substitute for smelling-salts, i. e. a piece of mud torn +from the wall of the dwelling and moistened with cold water. As a last +resource, a fowl is often killed and placed, warm and bleeding, on the +patient's feet. This being of no avail, and death having taken place, +the wife is led from the apartment, and the preparations for interment +are commenced. Wet cotton-wool is stuffed into the mouth, nose, and +ears of the corpse, while all present witness aloud that the dead man +was a good and true Mohammedan. The body is laid out, a cup of water +is placed at its head, and a moollah, ascending to the roof of the +house, reads in a shrill nasal tone verses from the Koran. The +professional mourners then arrive, and night or day is made hideous +with their cries, while the "washers of the dead" proceed with their +work. The coffin, [I] in Persia, is made of very thin wood; in the case +of a poor man it is often dispensed with altogether, the corpse being +buried in a shroud. Interment in most cases takes place forty-eight +hours at most after death. + +We found the house of Mr. P--, the Telegraph Superintendent of the +Indo-European Company, with some difficulty, for the roads or rather +lanes of Djulfa are tortuous and confusing. Mr. P--was out, but +had left ample directions for our entertainment. A refreshing tub, +followed by a delicious curry, washed down with iced pale ale, +prepared one for the good cigar and siesta that followed, though +an unlimited supply of English newspapers, the _Times, Truth_, and +_Punch_, kept me well awake till the return of my host at sunset. + + +[Footnote A: A farsakh is about four miles.] + +[Footnote B: "Hurrah!"] + +[Footnote C: "Please God!"] + +[Footnote D: _Koom_ signifies "sand."] + +[Footnote E: Muleteer.] + +[Footnote F: Kashan silk, noted throughout Persia, is of two kinds: +the one thin and light for lining garments, the other thick and heavy +for divans, etc. The patterns are generally white, yellow, and green +on a red ground.] + +[Footnote G: A natural sweetmeat like nougat, found and manufactured +in Persia.] + +[Footnote H: Attendant.] + +[Footnote I: In the north of Persia the dead are buried in a shroud +of dark-blue cloth, which is, oddly enough, called in the Persian +language, a _kaffin_.] + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +ISPAHAN--SHIRAZ. + + +The seven telegraph-stations, in charge of Europeans, between Teheran +and Bushire, may be called the oases of Persia to the weary traveller +from Resht to the Persian Gulf. He is sure, at any of these, of a +hearty welcome, a comfortable bedroom, and a well-cooked dinner from +the good Samaritan in charge. The latter is generally the best of +company, full of anecdote and information about the country, and, +necessarily, well posted in the latest news from Europe, from the last +Parliamentary debate to the winner of the Derby. These officials are +usually _ci-devant_ non-commissioned officers of Royal Engineers. Some +are married, for the life is a lonely one, and three or four months +often elapse without personal communication with the outer world, +except on the wires. By this means, when the latter are not in +public use, the telegraphist can lighten his weary hours by animated +conversation with his colleague two or three hundred miles away on +congenial topics--the state of the weather, rate of exchange, chances +of promotion, and so on. Living, moreover, at most of the stations is +good and cheap; there is plenty of sport; and if a young unmarried man +only keeps clear of the attractions of the fair sex, he soon makes +friends among the natives. Love intrigues are dangerous in Persia. +They once led to the massacre of the whole of the Russian Legation at +Teheran. + +Ispahan is a city of ruins. A Persian will tell you, with pride, that +it is nearly fifteen miles in circumference, but a third of this +consists of heaps of stones, with merely the foundation-lines around +to show that they were once palaces or more modest habitations. +Chardin the traveller, writing in A.D. 1667, gives the population of +Ispahan at considerably over a million, but it does not now exceed +fifty thousand, including the suburb of Djulfa. The Madrassa, or +College, the governor's palace, and "Chil Situn," or "Palace of the +Forty Pillars," are the only buildings that still retain some traces +of their former glory. Pertaining to the former is a dome of the most +exquisite tile-work, which, partly broken away, discloses the mud +underneath; a pair of massive gates of solid silver, beautifully +carved and embossed; a large shady and well-kept garden in the centre +of the Madrassa, with huge marble tanks of water, surrounded by an +oblong arcade of students' rooms--sixty queer little boxes about ten +feet by six, their walls covered with arabesques of great beauty. +These are still to be seen--and remembered. With the exception of the +"Maidan Shah," or "Square of the King"--a large open space in the +centre of the city, surrounded by modern two-storied houses--the +streets of Ispahan are narrow, dirty, and ill-paved, and its bazaar, +which adjoins the Maidan Shah, very inferior in every way to those of +Teheran or Shiraz. + +The palace of "Chil Situn," or "The Forty Pillars," is like most +Persian palaces--the same walled gardens with straight walks, the +usual avenues of cypress trees, and the inevitable tank of stone or +marble in the centre of the grounds. It is owing to the reflection of +the _facade_ of the palace in one of the latter that it has gained its +name. There are in reality but twenty pillars, the forty being (with a +stretch of imagination) made up by reflection in the dull and somewhat +dirty pool of water at their feet. The palace itself is a tawdry, +gimcrack-looking edifice, all looking-glass and vermilion and green +paint in the worst possible taste. From the entrance-hall an arched +doorway leads into the principal apartment, a lofty chamber about +ninety feet long by fifty broad, its walls covered with large +paintings representing the acts of the various Persian kings. Shah +Abbas is portrayed under several conditions. In one scene he is +surrounded by a band of drunken companions and dancing-girls, in +costumes and positions that would hardly pass muster before our Lord +Chamberlain. This room once contained the most beautiful and costly +carpet in all Persia, but it has lately been sold "for the good of the +State," and a dirty green drugget laid down in its place. In one of +the side chambers are pictures representing ladies and gentlemen in +the costume of Queen Elizabeth's time. How they got to Ispahan I was +unable to discover. They are very old, and evidently by good masters. + +The way back to our comfortable quarters at Djulfa lay over the +Zandarood river. There are five bridges, the principal one being that +of Allaverdi Khan, named after one of the generals of Shah Abbas, who +superintended its construction. It is of solid stonework, and built in +thirty-three arches, over which are ninety-nine smaller arches +above the roadway on both sides, enclosing a covered-in pathway for +foot-passengers. The roadway in the centre, thirty feet wide, is well +paved with stone, and perfectly level. Every thirty yards or so are +stalls for the sale of kababs, fruit, sweetmeats, and the kalyan, for +a whiff from which passers-by pay a small sum. Ispahan is noted for +its fruit; apricots, peaches, nectarines, cherries, mulberries, and +particularly fine melons, are abundant in their season. + +There is a saying in Persia, "Shiraz for wine, Yezd for women, but +Ispahan for melons." + +Since it has ceased to be the capital of Persia, the trade of Ispahan +has sadly deteriorated. There is still, however, a brisk trade +in opium and tobacco. Silks and satins are also made, as well as +quantities of a coarser kind of cotton stuff for wearing-apparel, +much used by the natives. The sword-blades manufactured here are, +in comparison with those of Khorassan or Damascus, of little value. +Genuine old blades from the latter city fetch enormous prices +everywhere; but a large quantity of worthless imitations is in the +market, and unless a stranger is thoroughly experienced in the art of +weapon-buying, he had better leave it alone in Persia. Modern firearms +are rarely seen in the bazaars, except cheap German and French +muzzle-loaders, more dangerous to the shooter than to the object aimed +at. + +If the streets of Ispahan are narrow, those of Djulfa, the Armenian +settlement, can only be described as almost impassable, for, although +the widest are barely ten feet across, quite a third of this space is +taken up by the deep ditch, or drain, lined with trees, by which all +are divided. But the town, or settlement, is as clean and well-kept as +Ispahan itself is the reverse, which is saying a great deal. + +Djulfa is called after the Armenian town of that name in Georgia, the +population of which, for commercial reasons, was removed to this place +by Shah Abbas in A.D. 1603. Djulfa, near Ispahan, was once a large +and flourishing city, with as many as twenty district parishes, and a +population of sixty thousand souls, now dwindled down to a little over +two thousand, the greater part of whom live in great want and poverty. +The city once possessed as many as twenty churches, but most of these +are now in ruins. The cathedral, however, is still standing, and in +fair preservation. It dates from A.D. 1655. There is also a Roman +Catholic colony and church. The latter stands in a large garden, +celebrated for its quinces and apricots. Lastly, the English Church +Missionary Society have an establishment here under the direction of +the Rev. Dr. Bruce, whose good deeds during the famine are not likely +to be forgotten by the people of Ispahan and Djulfa, whatever their +creed or religion. The trade of Djulfa is insignificant, although +there is a large amount of wine and arak manufactured there, and sold +"under the rose" to the Ispahanis. The production of the juice of the +grape is somewhat primitive. During the season (September and October) +the grapes are trodden out in a large earthenware pan, and the whole +crushed mass, juice and all, is stowed away in a jar holding from +twenty to thirty gallons, a small quantity of water being added to +it. In a few days fermentation commences. The mass is then stirred up +every morning and evening with sticks for ten or twenty days. About +this period the refuse sinks to the bottom of the jar, and the wine is +drawn off and bottled. In forty days, at most, it is fit to drink. + +My time at Ispahan was limited, so much so that I was not able to pay +a visit to the "Shaking minarets," about six miles off. These mud +towers, of from twenty to thirty feet high, are so constructed that a +person, standing on the roof of the building between the two, can, by +a slight movement of his feet, cause them to vibrate. + +I spent most of my time, as usual, strolling about the +least-frequented parts of the city, or in the cool, picturesque +gardens of the Madrassa. The people of Teheran, and other Persian +cities, are generally civil to strangers; but at Ispahan the prejudice +against Europeans is very strong, and I more than once had to make a +somewhat hasty exit from some of the lower quarters of the city. + +Mrs. S----, the wife of a telegraph official, was stabbed by some +miscreants while walking in broad daylight on the outskirts of the +town, a few months before my visit. The offenders were never caught; +probably, as Ispahan is under the jurisdiction of the Zil-i-Sultan, +were never meant to be. + +The Zil-i-Sultan returned to Ispahan before I left. He is rightly +named "Shadow of the King," for, saving his somewhat more youthful +appearance, he is as like Nasr-oo-din as two peas. Like his father in +most of his tastes, his favourite occupations are riding, the chase, +and shooting at a mark; but he is, perhaps, more susceptible to the +charms of the fair sex than his august parent. + +The prince is now nearly forty years of age. His wife, daughter of a +former Prime Minister of Persia, who was strangled by order of the +present Shah, died a few years ago, having borne him a son, the +"Jelal-u-dowleh," a bright, clever boy, now about eighteen years old, +and three daughters. The Zil-i-Sultan is adored by his people, and +has, unquestionably, very great influence over the districts of +which he is governor. Within the last two years, however, at least +two-thirds of his possessions have been taken from him--a proceeding +that caused him considerable annoyance, and drew forth the remark that +the Valliad would one day regret it. There can be little doubt that, +at the death of Nasr-oo-din, the Governor of Ispahan will make a +bold bid for the throne; in fact, the latter makes no secret of his +intentions. Drink and debauch having already rendered his younger +brother half-witted, the task should not be a difficult one, +especially as half the people and the whole army side with the +illegitimate, though more popular, prince. It is, perhaps, under +the circumstances, to be regretted that the latter is an ardent +Russophile, ever since his Majesty the Czar sent a special mission to +Ispahan to confer upon him the Order of the Black Eagle. Should the +Zil-i-Sultan succeed Nasr-oo-din, British influence in Persia may +become even less powerful than it is now, if that is possible. + +The Zil-i-Sultan is far more civilized in his habits and mode of life +than the Shah. A fair French scholar, he regularly peruses his _Temps, +Gil Blas_, and the latest works of the best French authors. It is +strange that, with all his common sense and sterling qualities, this +prince should, in some matters, be a perfect child. One of his whims +is dress. Suits of clothes, shirts, socks, hats, and uniforms are +continually pouring in from all parts of Europe, many of the latter +anything but becoming to the fat, podgy figure of the "King's Shadow." +A photograph of his Royal Highness the Duke of Connaught in Rifle +Brigade uniform was shown him a couple of years since. The Court +tailor was at once sent for. "I must have this; make it at once," was +the command, the humble request to be allowed to take the measure +being met by, "Son of a hell-burnt father! What do you mean? Make it +for a well-made man--a man with a better figure than that, and it will +fit me!" + +Popular as he is with the lower orders, the Zil-i-Sultan does not, +when offenders are brought before him, err on the side of mercy. +Persian justice is short, sharp, and severe, and a man who commits a +crime in the morning, may be minus his head before sunset. Although +a Persian would indignantly deny it, some of their punishments are +nearly as cruel as the Chinese. For instance, not so very long ago a man +in Southern Persia was convicted of incest, for which crime his eyes were +first torn out with pincers, and his teeth then extracted, one by one, +sharpened to a point, and hammered, like nails, through the top of his +skull. It should be said in justice that the present Shah has done all +he can to stop the torture system, and confine the death-sentence to one +of two methods--painless and instantaneous--throat-cutting and blowing +from a gun. Notwithstanding, executions such as the one I have mentioned +are common enough in remote districts, and crucifixion, walling up, or +burying and burning alive are, although less common than formerly, by no +means out of date. Women are usually put to death by being strangled, +thrown from a precipice or well, or wrapped up in a carpet and jumped +upon; but the execution of a woman is now, fortunately, rare in Persia. + +A dreary desert surrounds Ispahan on every side save to the southward, +where dark masses of rock, a thousand feet high, break the sky-line. +The environs of the city are well populated, and, as we rode out, _en +route_ for Shiraz, we passed through a good deal of cultivated land. +This is irrigated by the Zandarood, whose blue waters are visible for +a long distance winding through the emerald-green plain, with its gay +patchwork of white and scarlet poppy-gardens. The cultivation of this +plant is yearly increasing in Persia, for there is an enormous demand +for the drug in the country itself, to say nothing of the export +market, the value of which, in 1871, was 696,000 rupees. In 1881 it +had progressed to 8,470,000 rupees, and is steadily increasing every +year. Opium is not smoked in Persia, but is taken in the form of +pills. Many among the upper classes take it daily, the dose being a +grain to a grain and a half. + +We covered, the first day out from Ispahan, nearly a hundred miles +between sunrise and 10 p.m.--not bad work for Persia. A little after +dark, and before the moon had risen, I was cantering easily along in +front of Gerome, when a violent blow on the chest, followed by another +between the eyes, sent me reeling off my horse on to the sand. My +first thought, on collecting myself, was "Robbers!"--this part of the +road bearing an unpleasant reputation. Cocking my revolver, I called +to Gerome, and was answered by a volley of oaths, while another +riderless horse galloped past me and disappeared in the darkness. +Our foe was a harmless one. The wind had blown down one of the +telegraph-posts, and the wires had done the mischief. By good luck and +the aid of lucifer matches, we managed to trace our ponies to a piece +of cultivated ground hard by, where we found them calmly feeding in a +field of standing corn. + +The moon had risen by nine o'clock. Before half-past we were in sight +of the rock on which stands the town of Yezdi-Ghazt, towering, shadowy +and indistinct, over the moonlit plain. This is unquestionably the +most curious and interesting village between Resht and Bushire. The +post-house stands at the foot. As we rode to the latter through the +semi-darkness caused by the shadow of the huge mass of boulders and +mud on which the town is situated, the effect was extraordinary. +It was like a picture by Gustave Dore; and, looking up the dark +perpendicular side of the rock at the weird city with its white +houses, queer-shaped balconies, and striped awnings, standing out +clear and distinct against the starlit sky, gave one an uncomfortable, +uncanny feeling, hard to shake off, and heightened by the fact +that, although the hour was yet early, not a light was visible, not +a sound to be heard. It was like a city of the dead. + +[Illustration: YEZDI-GHAZT] + +Daylight does not improve the appearance of Yezdi-Ghazt. The city, +which looks so weird and romantic by moonlight, loses much of its +beauty, though not its interest, when seen by the broad light of day. +The system of drainage in Yezdi-Ghazt is simple, the sewage being +thrown over, to fall, haphazard, on the ground immediately below. I +nearly had a practical illustration during my examination, which, +however, did not last long, for the side of the rock glistened with +the filth of years, and the stench and flies were unbearable. + +Early next morning I set out alone to explore the strange place, and +with much difficulty and some apprehension--for I did not know how the +natives were disposed--ascended a steep rocky path, at the summit of +which a wooden drawbridge leads over a deep abyss to the gate of the +city. This bridge is the only access to Yezdi-Ghazt, which is, so to +speak, a regular fortress-town. + +The rock, about half a mile long, is intersected by one narrow street, +which, covered from end to end with awnings and wooden beams, was +almost in obscurity. The sudden change from the glare outside almost +blinded one. The appearance of a Farangi is evidently rare in +Yezdi-Ghazt, for I was immediately surrounded by a crowd, who, +however, were evidently inclined to be friendly, and escorted me to +the house of the head-man, under whose guidance I visited the city. + +The houses are of stone, two-storied, and mortised into the rock, +which gives them the appearance, from below, as if a touch would send +them toppling over, while a curious feature is that none of their +windows looks inwards to the street--all are in the outside wall +facing the desert. I took coffee with the head-man on his balcony--a +wooden construction, projecting over a dizzy height, and supported +by a couple of rickety-looking beams. It was nervous work, for the +flooring, which was rotten and broken into great holes, creaked +ominously. I could see Gerome (who had evidently missed me) bustling +about the post-house, and reduced, from this height, to the size of a +fly. Making this my excuse, I quickly finished my coffee, and bade my +host farewell, nor was I sorry to be once more safe on _terra firma_. + +Yezdi-Ghazt, which has a population of about five hundred, is very +old, and is said to have existed long previous to the Mohammedan +conquest. The present population are a continual source of dread to +the neighbouring towns and villages, on account of their lawlessness +and thieving proclivities, and mix very little with any of their +neighbours, who have given the unsavoury city the Turkish nickname +of "Pokloo Kalla," or "Filth Castle." Yezdi-Ghazt would not be a +desirable residence during an earthquake. The latter are of frequent +occurrence round here. Many of the villages have been laid in ruins, +but, curiously enough, the rock-city has, up till now, never even felt +a shock. + +A ride of under fifty miles through level and fertile country brought +us to Abadeh, a pretty village standing in the midst of gardens and +vineyards, enclosed by high mud walls. A European telegraph official, +Mr. G----, resides here. As we passed his house--a neat white stone +building easily distinguishable among the brown mud huts--a native +servant stopped us. His master would not be back till sunset, but had +left directions that we were to be well cared for till his return. +The temptation of a bed and dinner were too much, and, as time was no +object, and snowy passes things of the past, we halted for the night. + +An hour later, comfortably settled on Mr. G---- 's sofa, and dozing +over a cigar and a volume of _Punch_, my rest was suddenly disturbed +by a loud bang at the sitting-room door, which, flying open, admitted +two enormous animals, which I at first took for dogs. Both made at +once for my sofa, and, while the larger one curled comfortably round +my feet and quietly composed itself for sleep, the smaller, evidently +of a more affectionate disposition, seated itself on the floor, and +commenced licking my face and hands--an operation which, had I dared, +I should strongly have resented. But the white gleaming teeth and +cruel-looking green eyes inspired me with respect, to use no +stronger term; for I had by now discovered that these domestic +pets were--panthers! To my great relief, Mr. G---- entered at +this juncture. "Making friends with the panthers, I see," he said +pleasantly. "They are nice companionable beasts." They may have been +at the time. The fact remains that, three months after my visit, the +"affectionate one" half devoured a native child! The neighbourhood +of Abadeh, Mr. G---- informed me, swarms with these animals. Bears, +wolves, and hyenas are also common, to say nothing of jackals, which, +judging from the row they made that night, must have been patrolling +the streets of the village in hundreds. + +A traveller starting from Teheran for Bushire is expected at every +European station on the telegraph-line. "I thought you would have got +here sooner," said Mr. G----. "P---- (at Ispahan) told me you were +coming through quick." + +The dining-room of my host at Abadeh adjoined the little +instrument-chamber. Suddenly, while we were at dinner, a bell was +heard, and the half-caste clerk entered. "So-and-so of Shiraz," naming +an official, "wants to speak to you." "All right," replied G----. +"Just tell him to wait till I've finished my cheese!" + +"It's from F----," he said, a few moments later, "to say he expects +you to make his house your head-quarters at Shiraz." So the stranger +is passed on through this desert, but hospitable land. Persian +travel would be hard indeed were it not for the ever-open doors and +hospitality of the telegraph officials. + +We continue our journey next day in summer weather--almost too hot, +in the middle of the day, to be pleasant. Sheepskin and bourka are +dispensed with, as we ride lazily along under a blazing sun through +pleasant green plains of maize and barley, irrigated by babbling +brooks of crystal-clear water. A few miles from Abadeh is a +cave-village built into the side of a hill. From this issue a number +of repulsive-looking, half-naked wretches, men and women, with dark +scowling faces, and dirty masses of coarse black hair. Most are +covered with skin-disease, so we push on ahead, but are caught up, for +the loathsome creatures get over the ground with extraordinary speed. +A handful of "sheis" [A] stops them, and we leave them swearing, +struggling, and fighting for the coins in a cloud of dust. Then on +again past villages nestling in groves of mulberry trees, past more +vineyards, maize, and barley, and peasants in picturesque blue dress +(save white, no other colour is worn in summer by the country-people) +working in the fields. Their implements are rude and primitive enough. +The plough is simply a sharpened stick covered with iron. The sickle +is used for reaping. Threshing is done by means of an axle with thin +iron wheels. If such primitive means can attain such satisfactory +results, what could not modern agricultural science be made to do for +Persia? + +Sunset brings a cool breeze, which before nightfall develops into a +cutting north-easter, and we shiver again under a bourka and heavy fur +pelisse. Crossing a ridge of rock, we descend upon a white plain, dim +and indistinct in the twilight. The ground crackles under our horses' +feet. It is frozen snow! A light shines out before us, however, and +by ten o'clock we are snug and safe for the night in the +telegraph-station of Deybid. + +These sudden changes of temperature make the Persian climate very +trying. At this time of year, however balmy the air and bright the +sunshine at midday, one must always be prepared for a sudden and +extreme change after sunset. The Plain of Deybid was covered with snow +at least two feet deep, the temperature must have stood at very few +degrees above zero, and yet, not five hours before, we were perspiring +in our shirt-sleeves. + +"Mashallah!" exclaims Gerome next morning, shading his eyes and +looking across the dazzling white expanse. "Are we, then, never to +finish with this accursed snow?" By midday, however, we are out of it, +and, as we subsequently discover, for the last time. + +We had up till now been singularly fortunate as regards accidents, or +rather evil results from them. To-day, however, luck deserted us, for +a few miles out of Deybid my right leg became so swollen that I could +scarcely sit on my horse. The pain was acute, the sensation that of +having been bitten by some poisonous insect. Gerome, ever the Job's +comforter, suggested a centipede, adding, "If so, you will probably +have to lie up for four or five days." The look-out was not cheerful, +certainly, for at Mourghab, the first stage, I had to be lifted off my +horse and carried into the post-house. + +With some difficulty my boot was cut off, and revealed the whole leg, +below the knee, discoloured and swollen to double its size, but no +sign of a wound or bite. "Blood-poisoning," says Gerome, decidedly. "I +have seen hundreds of cases in Central Asia. It generally proves fatal +there," he adds consolingly; "but the Russian soldier is so badly +fed." The little man seems rather disappointed at my diagnosis of my +case--the effect due to a new and tight boot which I had not been able +to change since leaving Ispahan. Notwithstanding, I cannot put foot to +ground without excruciating pain. Spreading the rugs out on the dirty +earthen floor, I make up my mind to twenty-four hours here at least. +It is, perhaps, the dirtiest post-house we have seen since leaving +Teheran; but moving under the present circumstances is out of the +question. + +The long summer day wears slowly away. Gerome, like a true Russian, +hunts up a samovar in the village, and consoles himself with +innumerable glasses of tea and cigarettes, while the medicine-chest is +brought into requisition, and I bathe the swollen limb unceasingly for +three or four hours with Goulard's extract and water, surrounded by a +ring of admiring and very dirty natives. But my efforts are in vain, +for the following morning the pain is as severe, the leg as swollen as +ever. Gerome is all for applying a blister, which he says will "bring +the poison out"! Another miserable day breaks, and finds me still +helpless. I do not think I ever realized before how slowly time can +pass, for I had not a single book, with the exception of "Propos +d'Exil," by Pierre Loti, and even that delightful work is apt to pall +after three complete perusals in the space of as many weeks. From +sunrise to sunset I lay, prone on my back, staring up at the cobwebby, +smoke-blackened rafters, while the shadows shortened and lengthened in +the bright sunlit yard, the monotonous silence broken only by the deep +regular snores of my companion, whose capacity for sleep was something +marvellous, the clucking of poultry, and the occasional stamp or snort +of a horse in the stable below. Now and again a rat would crawl out, +and, emboldened by the stillness, creep close up to me, darting back +into its hole with a jump and a squeal as I waved it off with hand or +foot. My visitors from the village did not return to-day, which was +something to be thankful for, although towards evening I should have +hailed even them with delight--dirt, vermin, and all. Patience was +rewarded, for next day I was able to stand, and towards evening set +out for Kawamabad, twenty-four miles distant. Though still painful and +almost black, all inflammation had subsided, and three days later I +was able to get on a boot "You'd have been well in half the time," +insisted Gerome, "if you had only let me apply a blister." + +The road from Mourghab to Kawamabad is wild and picturesque, leading +through a narrow gorge, on either side of which are precipitous cliffs +of rock and forest, three or four hundred feet high. A broad, swift +torrent dashes through the valley, which is about a quarter of a mile +broad. In places the pathway, hewn out of the solid rock, is barely +three feet wide, without guard or handrail of any kind. This part of +the journey was reached at sunset, and we did not emerge on the plain +beyond till after dark. Our horses were, fortunately, as active as +cats, and knew their way well, for to guide them was impossible. In +places one's foot actually swung over the precipice, and a false step +must have sent one crashing over the side and into the roaring torrent +below, which, perhaps luckily, we could only hear, not see. + +The ruins of Persepolis are situated about fifty miles north-east of +Shiraz, two or three miles from the main road. Signs that we were +approaching the famous city were visible for some distance before we +actually reached them. Not fifty yards from the post-house of Poozeh, +a picturesque spot surrounded by a chain of rocky, snow-capped hills, +we came upon a kind of cave, with carvings in bas-relief on its +granite walls, representing figures of men and horses from eight to +ten feet high, evidently of great antiquity. The desecrating hand of +the British tourist had, however, left its mark in the shape of the +name "J. Isaacson" cut deep into one of the slabs, considerably +marring its beauty. + +It is not my intention to write a description of the ruins that now +mark the spot where once stood the capital of the Persian Empire. To +say nothing of its having been so graphically portrayed by far more +competent hands, my visit was of such short duration that I carried +away but faint recollections of the famous city. The fact that it +had been persistently crammed down my throat, upon every available +occasion, ever since I landed in Persia, may have had something to do +with the feeling of disappointment which I experienced on first sight +of the ruins. It may be that, like many other things, they grow upon +one. If so, the loss was mine. I cannot, however, help thinking that +to any but a student of archaeology, Persepolis lacks interest. The +Pyramids, Pompeii, the ancient buildings of Rome and Greece, are +picturesque; Persepolis is not. I noticed, however, that here, as at +Poozeh, the British tourist had been busy with chisel and hammer, and, +I am ashamed to add, some of the names I read are as well known in +England as that of the Prince of Wales. + +On the 18th of February, just before midnight, we rode into Shiraz. +The approach to the city lying before us, white and still in the +moonlight, through cypress-groves and sweet-smelling gardens, gave me +a favourable impression, which a daylight inspection only served to +increase. Shiraz is the pleasantest reminiscence I retain of the ride +through Persia. + + +[Footnote A: Small copper money.] + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +SHIRAZ--BUSHIRE. + + + "The gardens of pleasure where reddens the rose, + And the scent of the cedar is faint on the air." + OWEN MEREDITH. + +Shiraz stands in a plain twenty-five miles long by twelve broad, +surrounded by steep and bare limestone mountains. The latter alone +recall the desert waste beyond; for the Plain of Shiraz is fertile, +well cultivated, and dotted over with prosperous-looking villages +and gardens. Scarcely a foot of ground is wasted by the industrious +inhabitants of this happy valley, save round the shores of the +Denia-el-Memek, a huge salt lake some miles distant, where the +sun-baked, briny soil renders cultivation of any kind impossible. + +Were it not for its surroundings--the green and smiling plains +of wheat, barley, and Indian corn; the clusters of pretty sunlit +villages; the long cypress-avenues; and last, but not least, the quiet +shady gardens, with rose and jasmine bowers, and marble fountains +which have been famous from time immemorial--Shiraz would not be what +it now is, the most picturesque city in Persia. + +Although over four miles in circumference, the city itself has a +squalid, shabby appearance, not improved by the dilapidated ramparts +of dried mud which surround it. Founded A.D. 695, Shiraz reached its +zenith under Kerim Khan in the middle of the eighteenth century, since +when it has slowly but steadily declined to its present condition. The +buildings themselves are evidence of the apathy reigning among the +Shirazis. Incessant earthquakes destroy whole streets of houses, but +no one takes the trouble to rebuild them, and the population was once +nearly double what it now is--40,000. + +There are six gates, five of which are gradually crumbling away. +The sixth, or Ispahan Gate, is the only one with any attempt at +architecture, and is crenellated and ornamented with blue and yellow +tile-work. A mean, poor-looking bazaar, narrow tortuous streets, +knee-deep in dust or mud, as the case may be, and squalid, filthy +houses, form a striking contrast to the broad, well-kept avenues, +gilded domes, and beautiful gardens which encircle the city. Shiraz +has fifteen large mosques and several smaller ones, but the people are +as fanatical as those of Teheran are the reverse. Gerome, who had a +singular capacity for getting into mischief, entered one of these +places of worship, and was caught red-handed by an old moullah in +charge. Half the little Russian's life having been spent among +Mohammedans, he quickly recited a few verses of the Koran in perfect +Arabic, which apparently satisfied the priest, for he let him depart +with his blessing. Had the trick been discovered, he would undoubtedly +have been roughly treated, if not killed, for the Shirazis have an +unmitigated contempt for Europeans. There are few places, too, in Asia +where Jews are more persecuted than in Shiraz, although they have +their own quarter, in the lowest, most poverty-stricken part of the +town, and other privileges are granted them by the Government. Shortly +before my visit, a whole family was tortured and put to death by a mob +of infuriated Mohammedans. The latter accused them of stealing young +Moslem children, and sacrificing them at their secret ceremonies. [A] +Guilty or innocent of the charge, the assassins were left unpunished. + +The climate of Shiraz is delicious, but dangerous. Though to a +new-comer the air feels dry, pure, and exhilarating, the city is +a hot-bed of disease, and has been christened the "Fever Box." +Small-pox, typhus, and typhoid are never absent, and every two or +three years an epidemic of cholera breaks out and carries off a +fearful percentage of the inhabitants. In spring-time, during heavy +rains, the plains are frequently inundated to a depth of two or three +feet, and the water, stagnating and rotting under a blazing sun, +produces towards nightfall a thick white mist, pregnant with miasma +and the dreaded Shiraz fever which has proved fatal to so many +Europeans, to say nothing of natives. Medical science is at a very low +ebb in Persia; purging and bleeding are the two remedies most resorted +to by the native hakim. If these fail, a dervish is called in, and +writes out charms, or forms of prayer, on bits of paper, which are +rolled up and swallowed like pills. Inoculation is performed by +placing the patient in the same bed as another suffering from virulent +small-pox. Under these circumstances, it is scarcely to be wondered at +that the Shirazis die like sheep during an epidemic, and indeed at all +times. Persian surgery is not much better. In cases of amputation the +limb is hacked off by repeated blows of a heavy chopper. In the case +of fingers or toes a razor is used, the wound being dipped into +boiling oil or pitch immediately after the operation. + +The office of the Indo-European Telegraph is in Shiraz, but the +private dwellings of the staff are some distance outside the city. A +high wall surrounds the grounds in which the latter are situated--half +a dozen comfortable brick buildings, bungalow style, each with its +fruit and flower garden. Looking out of my bedroom window the morning +following my arrival, on the shrubberies, well-kept lawns, bright +flower-beds, and lawn-tennis nets, I could scarcely realize that this +was Persia; that I was not at home again, in some secluded part of the +country in far-away England. Long residence in the East had evidently +not changed my host Mr. F---- 's ideas as to the necessity for European +comforts. The cheerful, sunlit, chintz-covered bedroom, with its white +furniture, blue-and-white wall-paper, and lattice windows almost +hidden by rose and jasmine bushes, was a pleasant _coup d'oeil_ after +the grimy, bug-infested post-houses; and the luxuries of a good +night's rest and subsequent shave, cold tub, and clean linen were that +morning appreciated as they only can be by one who has spent many +weary days in the saddle, uncombed, unshaven, and unwashed. + +There is no regular post-road between Shiraz and Bushire, or rather +Sheif, the landing-place, eight miles from the latter city. The +journey is performed by mule-caravan, resting by night at the +caravanserais. Under the guidance of Mr. F----, I therefore set about +procuring animals and "chalvadars," or muleteers. The task was not an +easy one; for Captain T---- of the Indian Army was then in Shiraz, +buying on behalf of the Government; and everything in the shape of a +mule that could stand was first brought for his inspection. By good +luck, however, I managed to get together half a dozen sorry-looking +beasts; but they suited the purpose well enough. The price of these +animals varies very much in Persia. They can be bought for as little +as L4, while the best fetch as much as L60 to L80. + +Those were pleasant days at Shiraz. One never tired of wandering about +the outskirts of the city and through the quiet, shady gardens and +"cities of the silent," as the Persians call their cemeteries; +for, when the solemn stillness of the latter threatened to become +depressing, there was always the green plain, alive from morning till +night with movement and colour, to go back to. Early one morning, +awoke by the sound of a cracked trumpet and drums, I braved the dust, +and followed a Persian regiment of the line to its drill-ground. +The Persian army numbers, on a peace footing, about 35,000 men, the +reserve bringing it up to perhaps twice that number. + +Experienced military men have said that material for the smartest +soldiery in the world is to be found in Persia. If so, it would surely +be the work of years to bring the untrained rabble that at present +exists under discipline or order of any kind. The regiment whose +evolutions or antics I witnessed at Shiraz was not in the dress of +the Russian cossack or German uhlan, as at Teheran, but in the simple +uniform of the Persian line--dark-blue tunic, with red piping; loose +red-striped breeches of the same colour, stuffed into ragged leather +gaiters; and bonnets of black sheepskin or brown felt (according to +the taste of the wearer), with the brass badge of the lion and sun. +All were armed with rusty flint-locks. + +As regards smartness, the officers were not much better than the +men, who did not appear to take the slightest notice of the words of +command, but straggled about as they pleased, like a flock of sheep. +Some peasants beside me were looking on. "Sons of dogs!" said one; +"they are good for nothing but drunkenness and frightening women and +children." There is no love lost between the army and the people in +Persia--none of the enthusiasm of other countries when a regiment +passes by; and no wonder. The pay of a Persian soldier is, at most, L3 +a year, and he may think himself lucky if he gets a quarter of that +sum. _En revanche_, the men systematically plunder and rob the +wretched inhabitants of every village passed through on the march. The +passage of troops is sometimes so dreaded that commanders of regiments +are bribed with heavy sums by the villagers to encamp outside +their walls. Troops are not the only source of anxiety to the poor +fellaheen. Princes and Government officials also travel with an +enormous following, mainly composed of hangers-on and riff-raff, who +plunder and devastate as ruthlessly as a band of Kurd or Turkoman +robbers. They are even worse than the soldiery, for the latter usually +leave the women alone. Occasionally a whole village migrates to the +mountains on the approach of the unwelcome guests, leaving houses and +fields at their mercy. + +There is probably no peasantry in the world so ground down and +oppressed as the Persian. The agricultural labourer never tries to +ameliorate his condition, or save up money for his old age, for the +simple reason that, on becoming known to the rulers of the land, it is +at once taken away from him. Though poor, however (so far as cash +and valuables are concerned), the general condition of the labouring +classes is not so bad as might be supposed. In a country so vast +(550,000 square miles) and so thinly populated (5,000,000 in all), a +small and sufficient supply of food is easily raised, especially with +such prolific soil at the command of the poorest. At Shiraz, for +instance, there are two harvests in the year. The seifi, sown in +summer and reaped in autumn, consists of rice, cotton, Indian corn, +and garden produce; the tchatvi, sown in October and November, and +reaped from May till July, is exclusively wheat and barley. A quantity +of fruit is also grown--grapes, oranges, and pomegranates. Shiraz is +famed for the latter. The heat and dust, to say nothing of smells, +prevented me from often entering the city; but I walked through the +bazaar once or twice, and succeeded in purchasing some old tapestries +and a prayer-carpet. The merchants here are not so reserved and +secretive as those of Teheran and other cities, and are, moreover, +civil enough to produce coffee and a kalyan at the conclusion of a +bargain, as at Stamboul. The best tobacco for kalyan-smoking is grown +round Shiraz. Some, the coarser kind, from Kazeroon and Zulfaicar, +is exported to Turkey and Egypt, but the most delicate Shiraz +never leaves the country. The pipe is on the same principle as the +narghileh, the smoke being drawn through a vessel of water. The tube, +a wooden stalk about two feet long, is changed when it becomes tainted +with use; for the people of the East (unlike some in the West) like +their tobacco clean. + +Manufactories are trifling in comparison with what they were in former +days. Where, a century since, there stood five hundred factories owned +by weavers, there are now only ten, for the supply of a coarse white +cotton material called "kerbas," and carpets of a cheap and common +kind. Earthenware and glass is also made in small quantities, the +latter only for wine-bottles and kalyan water-bowls. All the best +glass is imported from Russia. A kind of mosaic work called "khatemi," +much used in ornamenting boxes and pen-and-ink cases, is turned out in +large quantities at Shiraz. It is pretty and effective, though some of +the illustrations on the backs of mirrors, etc., are hardly fit for a +drawing-room table. Caligraphy, or the art of writing, is also carried +by the Shirazis to the highest degree of perfection, and they are said +to be the best penmen in the East. To write really well is considered +as great an accomplishment in Persia as to be a successful musician, +painter, or sculptor in Europe; and a famous writer of the last +century, living in Shiraz, was paid as much as five tomans for every +line transcribed. + +My favourite walk, after the heat of the day, was to the little +cemetery where Hafiz, the Persian poet, lies at rest--a quiet, +secluded spot, on the side of a hill, in a clump of dark cypress trees +a gap cut through which shows the drab-coloured city, with its white +minarets and gilt domes shining in the sun half a mile away. The tomb, +a huge block of solid marble, brought across the desert from Yezd, is +covered with inscriptions--the titles of the poet's most celebrated +works. Near it is a brick building containing chambers, where bodies +are put for a year or so previous to final interment at Kermanshah +or Koom. Each corpse was in a separate room--a plain whitewashed +compartment, with a square brick edifice in the centre containing the +body. Some of the catafalques were spread with white table-cloths, +flowers, candles, fruit, and biscuits, which the friends and relations +(mostly women and children) of the defunct were discussing in anything +but a mournful manner. A visit to a departed one's grave is generally +an excuse for a picnic in Persia. + +Hard by the tomb of Hafiz is a garden, one of many of the kind around +Shiraz. It is called "The Garden of the Seven Sleepers," and is much +frequented in summer by Shirazis of both sexes. A small open kiosk, in +shape something like a theatre proscenium, stands in the centre, its +outside walls completely hidden by rose and jasmine bushes. Inside +all is gold moulding, light blue, green, and vermilion. A dome of +looking-glass reflects the tesselated floor. Strangely enough, this +garish mixture of colour does not offend the eye, toned down as it is +by the everlasting twilight shed over the mimic palace and garden by +overhanging branches of cypress and yew. An expanse of smooth-shaven +lawn, white beds of lily and narcissus, marble tanks bubbling over +with clear, cold water, and gravelled paths winding in and out of the +trees to where, a hundred yards or so distant, a sunk fence divides +the garden from a piece of ground two or three acres in extent,--a +perfect jungle of trees, shrubs, and flowers. + +Here, from about 4 p.m. till long after sunset, you may see the +Shirazi taking his rest, undisturbed save for the ripple of running +water, the sighing of the breeze through the branches, and croon of +the pigeons overhead. Now and again the tinkle of caravan-bells breaks +in upon his meditations, or the click-click of the attendant's sandals +as he crosses the tiled floor with sherbet, coffee, or kalyan; but +the interruption is brief. A few moments, and silence again reigns +supreme--the perfection of rest, the acme of _Dolce far niente._ From +here my way usually lay homewards, through the dusky twilight, past +the city gates and along the now deserted plain. A limestone hill to +the south of Shiraz bears an extraordinary resemblance to the head of +a man in profile. Towards sunset the likeness was startling, and the +nose, chin, and mouth as delicately formed as if chiselled by the +tools of a sculptor. On fine, still evenings, parties of people would +sometimes sit out on the plain till long after dark, conversing, +eating sweetmeats, and tea-drinking, till the stars appeared, and the +white fever mist, gathering round the ramparts, hid the city from +view. Shiraz has been called the "Paris of Persia," from the cheerful, +sociable character of its people as compared with other Persian +cities; also, perhaps, partly from the beauty and coquetry (to use no +other term) of its women. + +I was enabled, thanks to my host, to glean some interesting facts +concerning the latter, many European ladies having, from time to +time, resided in Shiraz, and, obtaining access to the "anderoon," had +afterwards given Mr. F---- the benefit of their observations. + +Persian women are unquestionably allowed more freedom and liberty +than those of other Oriental countries. It is extremely rare, in the +bazaars of Stamboul or Cairo, to see a lady of the harem unattended, +but the sight is common enough in Shiraz and Ispahan. Infidelity in +Persia is therefore more common in proportion to the licence allowed; +though, when discovered, it is severely punished, in some cases by +death. Though a few are highly educated, the majority of Persian women +are ignorant, indolent, and sensual. _Mariages de convenance_ are as +common as in France, and have a good deal to do with the immorality +and intrigue that go on in the larger cities. + +An eye-witness thus describes an "anderoon," or harem, of a prince in +Ispahan: "A large courtyard some thirty yards by ten in extent. All +down the centre is the 'hauz,' or tank--a raised piece of ornamental +water, the surface of which is about two feet above the ground. The +edges are formed of huge blocks of well-wrought stone, so accurately +levelled that the 'hauz' overflows all round its brink, making a +pleasant sound of running water. Goldfish of large size flash in +shoals in the clear tank. On either side of it are long rectangular +flower-beds, sunk six inches below the surface of the court. This +pavement, which consists of what we should call pantiles, is clean +and perfect, and freshly sprinkled; and the sprinkling and consequent +evaporation make a grateful coolness. In the flower-beds are irregular +clumps of marvel of Peru, some three feet high, of varied coloured +blossom, coming up irregularly in wild luxuriance. The moss-rose, too, +is conspicuous, with its heavy odour; while the edging, a foot wide, +is formed by thousands of bulbs of the _Narcissus poeticus_, massed +together like packed figs; these, too, give out a pleasant perfume. +But what strikes one most is the air of perfect repair and cleanliness +of everything. No grimy walls, no soiled curtains, here; all is clean +as a new pin, all is spick and span. The courtyard is shaded by orange +trees covered with bloom, and the heavy odour of neroli pervades the +place. Many of the last year's fruit have been left upon the trees for +ornament, and hang in bright yellow clusters out of reach. A couple of +widgeon sport upon the tank. All round the courtyard are rooms, the +doors and windows of which are jealously closed, but as we pass we +hear whispered conversations behind them, and titters of suppressed +merriment." + +"The interior resembles the halls of the Alhambra. A priceless carpet, +surrounded by felt edgings, two inches thick and a yard wide, appears +like a lovely but subdued picture artfully set in a sombre frame. In +the recesses of the walls are many bouquets in vases. The one great +window--a miracle of intricate carpentry, some twenty feet by +twenty--blazes with a geometrical pattern of tiny pieces of glass, +forming one gorgeous mosaic. Three of the sashes of this window +are thrown up to admit air; the coloured glass of the top and four +remaining sashes effectually shuts out excess of light." + +Such is the _coup d'oeil_ on entering an anderoon. With such +surroundings, one would expect to find refined, if not beautiful +women; but, though the latter are rare enough, the former are even +rarer in Persia. The Persian woman is a grown-up child, and a very +vicious one to boot. Her daily life, indeed, is not calculated to +improve the health of either mind or body. Most of the time is spent +in dressing and undressing, trying on clothes, painting her face, +sucking sweetmeats, and smoking cigarettes till her complexion is as +yellow as a guinea. Intellectual occupation or amusement of any kind +is unknown in the anderoon, and the obscene conversation and habits of +its inmates worse even than those of the harems of Constantinople and +Cairo, which, according to all accounts, is saying a good deal. A love +of cruelty, too, is shown in the Persian woman; when an execution or +brutal spectacle of any kind takes place, one-third at least of the +spectators is sure to consist of women. But this is, perhaps, not +peculiar to Persia; witness a recent criminal trial at the Old Bailey. + +It will thus be seen that sensuality is the prevalent vice of the +female sex in Persia. An English-speaking Persian at Bushire told me +that, with the exception of the women of the wandering Eeliaut tribes, +there were few chaste wives in Persia. Although the nominal punishment +for adultery is death, the law, as it stands at present, is little +else than a dead letter, and, as in some more civilized countries, +husbands who are fond of intrigue, do not scruple to allow their wives +a similar liberty. Not half an hour's walk from the Tomb of Hafiz, at +the summit of the mountain, is a deep well, so deep that no one has +ever yet succeeded in sounding it. The origin of the chasm is unknown; +some say it is an extinct volcano. But the smallest child in Shiraz +knows the use to which it has been put from time immemorial. It is the +grave of adulterous women--the Well of Death. + +An execution took place about fifteen years ago, but there have been +none since. Proved guilty of infidelity, the wretched woman, dressed +in a long white gown, was placed on a donkey, her face to the tail, +with shaven head and bared face. In front of the _cortege_ marched +the executioner, musicians, dancers, and abandoned women of the town. +Arrived at the summit of the mountain, the victim, half dead with +fright, was lifted off and carried to the edge of the yawning abyss +which had entombed so many faithless wives before her. "There is but +one God, and Mohammed is His Prophet," cried a moullah, while +the red-robed executioner, with one spurn of his foot, sent the +unconscious wretch toppling over the brink, the awe-stricken crowd +peering over, watching the white wisp disappear into eternity. +Although the last execution is still fresh in the minds of many, the +Well has no terrors for the gay, intrigue-loving ladies of Shiraz. +They make a jest of it, and their husbands jokingly threaten them with +it. Times are changed indeed in Persia! + +I left Shiraz with sincere regret. Apart from the interest attached to +the place, I have never received a kinder or more hospitable welcome +than from the little band of Englishmen who watch over the safety, and +work the wires, of the Indo-European telegraph. They are under a dozen +in number. With cheap horseflesh, capital shooting, the latest books +and papers from India, a good billiard-room and lawn-tennis ground, +time never hangs very heavily. Living is absurdly cheap. A bachelor +can do well on L6 a month, including servants. He has, of course, no +house-rent to pay. + +A number of square stone towers about thirty feet high, loopholed and +crenelated, are visible from the caravan-track between Shiraz and +Khaneh Zinian, where we rested the first night. The towers are +apparently of great antiquity, and must formerly have served for +purposes of defence. We lunched at the foot of one on a breezy upland, +with pink and white heather growing freely around, and a brawling, +tumbling mountain stream at our feet. It was like a bit of Scotland +or North Wales. The tower was in a state of decay and roofless, but a +wandering tribe of ragged Eeliauts had taken up their quarters +inside, and watched us suspiciously through the grey smoke of a damp, +spluttering peat fire. They are a queer race, these Eeliauts, [B] and +have little or nothing in common with the other natives. The sight of +a well-filled lunch-basket and flasks of wine (which our kind hosts +had insisted on our taking) would have brought ordinary gipsies out +like flies round a honey-pot, if recollections of Epsom or Henley go +for anything. Not so the Eeliauts, who, stranger still, never even +begged for a sheis--a self-control I rewarded by presenting the +chief, a swarthy handsome fellow, in picturesque rags of bright +colour, with a couple of kerans. But he never even thanked me! + +It seemed, next morning, as if we had jumped, in a night, from early +spring into midsummer. Although at daybreak the ice was thick on a +pool outside the caravanserai, the sun by midday was so strong, and +the heat so excessive, that we could scarcely get the mules along. +The road lies through splendid scenery. Passing Dashti Arjin, or "The +Plain of Wild Almonds," a kind of plateau to which the ascent is +steep and difficult, one might have been in Switzerland or the Tyrol. +Undulating, densely wooded hills, with a background of steep limestone +cliffs, their sharp peaks, just tipped with snow, standing out crisp +and clear against the cloudless sky, formed a fitting frame to the +lovely picture before us; the pretty village, trees blossoming on all +sides, fresh green pastures overgrown in places by masses of fern and +wild flowers, and the white foaming waterfall dashing down the side of +the mountain, to lose itself in the blue waters of a huge lake just +visible in the plains below. The neighbourhood of the latter teems +with game of all kinds--leopard, gazelle, and wild boar, partridge, +duck, snipe, and quail, the latter in thousands. + +A stiff climb of four hours over the Kotal Perizun brought us to the +caravanserai of Meyun Kotal. Over this pass, ten miles in length, +there is no path; one must find one's way as best one can through the +huge rocks and boulders. Some of the latter were two to three feet +in height. How the mules managed will ever be a mystery to me. We +dismounted, leaving, by the chalvadar's request, our animals to look +after themselves. The summit of the mountain is under two thousand +feet. We reached it at four o'clock, and saw, to our relief, our +resting-place for the night only three or four hundred feet below us. +But it took nearly an hour to do even this short distance. The passage +of the Kotal Perizun with a large caravan must be terrible work. + +[Illustration: THE CARAVANSERAI, MEYUN KOTAL] + +The caravanserai was crowded. Two large caravans had arrived that +morning, and a third was hourly expected from Bushire. There was +barely standing-room in the courtyard, which was crowded with +wild-looking men, armed to the teeth, gaily caparisoned mules, and +bales of merchandise. + +The caravanserai at Meyun Kotal is one of the finest in Persia. It was +built by Shah Abbas, and is entirely of stone and marble. Surrounded +by walls of enormous thickness, the building is in the shape of a +square. Around the latter are seventy or eighty deep arches for the +use of travellers. At the back of each is a little doorway, about +three feet by three, leading into a dark, windowless stone chamber, +unfurnished, smoke-blackened, and dirty, but dry and weather-proof. +Any one may occupy these. Should the beggar arrive first, the prince +is left out in the cold, and _vice versa_. Everybody, however, is +satisfied as a rule, for there is nearly as much accommodation for +guests as in a large London or Paris hotel. Behind the sleeping-rooms +is stabling for five or six hundred horses, and, in the centre of the +courtyard, a huge marble tank of pure running water for drinking and +washing purposes. This, and fodder for the horses, is all that there +was to be got in the way of refreshment. But Gerome, with considerable +forethought, had purchased bread, a fowl, and some eggs on the road, +and, our room swept out and candles lit, we were soon sitting down +to a comfortable meal, with a hissing samovar, the property of the +caravanserai-keeper, between us. + +One need sleep soundly to sleep well in a caravanserai. At sunset the +mules, with loud clashing of bells, are driven into the yard from +pasture, and tethered till one or two in the morning, when a start +is made, and sleep is out of the question. In the interim, singing, +talking, story-telling, occasionally quarrelling and fighting, go on +all round the yard till nearly midnight. Tired out with the stiff +climb, I fell into a delicious slumber, notwithstanding the noise, +about nine o'clock, to be awakened shortly after by a soft, cold +substance falling heavily, with a splash, upon my face. Striking a +match, I discovered a large bat which the smoke from our fire (there +was no chimney) had evidently detached from the rafters. + +I purchased, the next morning before starting, a Persian dagger +belonging to one of the caravan-men. He was one of the Bakhtiari, +a wild and lawless tribe inhabiting a tract of country (as yet +unexplored by Europeans) on the borders of Persia and Asia Minor. The +blade of the dagger is purest Damascene work, the handle of fossilized +ivory. On the back of the blade is engraved, in letters of inlaid +gold, in Arabic characters-- + + "There is one God! He is Eternal!" + "Victory is nigh, O true believer!" + +Connoisseurs say that the dagger is over a hundred years old. After +quite an hour's haggling (during which our departure was delayed, much +to Gerome's disgust), I managed to secure it for L9 English money, +although the Bakhtiari assured me that he had already sworn "by his +two wives" never to part with it. I have since been offered four times +the amount by a good judge of Eastern weapons. + +A second pass, the Kotal Doktar, lay between us and Bushire. Though +steep and slippery in places, the path is well protected, and there +are no boulders to bar the way. On leaving the caravanserai, we paused +to examine the second longest telegraph wire (without support) in the +world. It is laid from summit to summit of two hills, and spans a +valley over a mile in width. [C] + +The country round Meyun Kotal is well cultivated, and we passed not +only men, but women, ploughing with the odd-shaped primitive wooden +ploughs peculiar to these parts. Near the foot of the pass some +children were gathering and collecting acorns, which are here eaten in +the form of a kind of bread by the peasantry. Seldom has Nature seemed +more beautiful than on that bright cloudless morning, as we rode +through sweet-scented uplands of beans and clover, meadows of deep +rich grass. By the track bloomed wild flowers, violets and narcissus, +shedding their fresh delicate perfume. The song of birds and hum of +insects filled the air, bright butterflies flashed across our path, +while the soft distant notes of a cuckoo recalled shady country lanes +and the sunlit hay-fields of an English summer. It was like coming +from the grave, after the sterile deserts and bleak desolate plains of +Northern Persia. + +There is a small square building at the northern end of the Kotal +Doktar, a mud hut, in which are stationed a guard of soldiers to be +of assistance in the event of robbery of caravans or travellers. Such +cases are not infrequent. Upon our approach, three men armed with +flint-locks and long iron pikes accosted us. "We are the escort," said +one, apparently the leader, from the bar of rusty gold braid on his +sleeve. "You cannot go on alone. It is not safe." We then learnt that +a large lion had infested the caravan-track over the pass for some +days, and had but yesterday attacked the mail and carried off one of +the mules, the native in charge only just escaping by climbing a tree. + +Persian travel is full of these little surprises or rather items of +news; for one must be of a very ingenuous disposition to be surprised +at anything after a journey of any length in that country. If the man +had said that an ichthyosaurus or dodo barred the way, I should have +believed him just as much. Gerome sharing my opinion that the report +was got up for the sake of extorting a few kerans, we soon sent our +informants about their business, and calmly proceeded on our journey. +Nevertheless, the Kotal Doktar would not be a pleasant place to +encounter the "king of beasts," I thought. The pass consists simply of +a narrow pathway four feet wide, on the one side a perpendicular wall +of rock, on the other an equally sheer precipice. + +"Did you come across the lion?" was Mr. J---- 's first question, as +we dismounted at the gate of his telegraph-station at Kazeroon. "I +suppose not," he added, seeing the surprise with which I greeted his +remark. "We have had three parties out from here this week, but with +no luck. I just managed to get a sight of him, and that's all. He is a +splendid beast." + +Ignorance had indeed been bliss in our case, and I felt some +compunction when I remembered how disdainfully we had treated the +ragged sergeant and his men. They would have been of no use, except +in the way of stop-gaps, like the babies, in cheap prints, that the +Russian traveller in the sleigh throws to the wolves to occupy their +attention while he urges on his mad career, a pistol in each hand and +the reins in his mouth. Still, even for this purpose, they might have +been useful, and were certainly worth a few kerans. I was glad not to +learn the truth till we reached Kazeroon. The enjoyment of the meal of +which we partook at the summit of the pass would have been somewhat +damped by the feeling that at any moment a loud roar, bursting out of +the silent fastnesses of the Kotal Doktar, might announce the approach +of its grim tenant. + +There was, after all, nothing very remarkable about the occurrence, +for the southern parts of Persia are infested with wild animals of +many kinds. Of this I was already aware, but not that lions were among +the number. + +Kazeroon is, next to Shiraz, the most important place in the province +of Fars, and has a population of about 6000. Surrounded by fields of +tobacco and maize, it is neatly laid out, and presents a cheerful +appearance, the buildings being of white stone, instead of the +everlasting baked mud and clay. Many of the courtyards were +surrounded by date palms, and the people seemed more civilized and +prosperous-looking than those in the villages north of Shiraz. + +"So you refused the escort over the Kotal?" said J--that evening, as +we sat over our coffee and cigars in his little stone courtyard, white +and cool in the moonlight, adding, with a laugh, "Well, I don't blame +you. A good story was told me the other day in Shiraz _apropos_ of +escorts. It happened not long ago to an Englishman who was going to +Bagdad from Kermanshah through a nasty bit of country. A good many +robberies with violence had occurred, and the Governor of Kermanshah +insisted on providing him with an escort, at the same time arranging +for a Turkish escort to meet him on the frontier and take him on to +Bagdad." + +"You have seen the ordinary cavalry soldier of this country. There +were twelve of them and a sergeant. V---- was the only European. All +went well till they reached a small hamlet near Zarna, about twenty +miles from the Turkish border. It was midday. V---- was quietly +breakfasting in his tent, the horses picketed, the men smoking or +asleep. Suddenly the sound of firing was heard about a mile off, not +sharp and loud, but slow and desultory, like the pop, pop, pop of a +rifle or revolver. V---- was not in the least alarmed, but, the firing +continuing for some time, he thought well at last to inquire into the +matter. What was his surprise, on emerging from his tent, to find +himself alone, not a trace of his companions to be seen. There were +the picket-ropes, a smouldering fire, a kalyan, and the remains of a +pilaff on the ground, but no men. The firing had done it. One and all +had turned tail and fled. The position was not pleasant, for V---- was +naturally absolutely ignorant of the road. 'They will come back,' he +thought, and patiently waited. But sunset came, then night, then the +stars, and still V---- was alone, utterly helpless and unable to move +backwards or forwards. At sunrise a head was shoved into his tent. But +it had a red fez on, not an astrakhan bonnet. It was one of the Bagdad +escort. The Turks laughed heartily when they heard the story. 'It must +have been us,' they said; 'we had nothing to do, and were practising +with our revolvers.' In the mean time the Persians returned post haste +to Kermanshah, and evinced great surprise that V---- was not with +them." + +"'He was the first to fly,' said the sergeant. 'I am afraid he must +have lost his way, and fallen into the hands of the robbers. If so, +God help him. There were more than fifty of them.'" + +"J---- 's anecdote was followed by many others, coffee was succeeded +by cognac and seltzer, Gerome gave us some startling Central Asian +experiences, and we talked over men and things Persian far into the +night, or rather morning, for it was nearly 2 a.m. when I retired to +rest." + +"I hope you'll sleep well," said J----, as he led the way to a +comfortable bedroom looking out on to the needle-like peaks of the +Kotal Doktar, gleaming white in the moonlight. "By the way, I forgot +to tell you we usually have an earthquake about sunrise, but don't let +it disturb you. The shocks have been very slight lately, and it's sure +not to last long," added my host, as he calmly closed the door, and +left me to my slumbers. + +I am not particularly nervous, but to be suddenly aroused from sleep +by a loud crash, as if the house were falling about one's ears; to +see, in the grey dawn, brick walls bending to and fro like reeds, +floors heaving like the deck of a ship, windows rattling, doors +banging, with an accompaniment of women and children screaming as if +the end of the world had arrived, is calculated to give the boldest +man a little anxiety. I must at any rate own to feeling a good deal +when, about 6 a.m. the following morning, the above phenomena took +place. As prophesied, "it" did not last long--eight or ten seconds at +most, which seemed to me an hour. Not the least unpleasant sensation +was a low, rumbling noise, like distant thunder, that accompanied the +shock. It seemed to come from the very bowels of the earth. + + +"We have them every day," said J---- at breakfast, placidly, "but +one soon gets used to them." My host was obliged to acknowledge +reluctantly that this morning's shock was "a little sharper than +usual"! It was sharp enough, Gerome afterwards told me, to send all +the people of Kazeroon running out of their houses into the street. +Common as the "Zil-Zillah" [D] is in these parts, the natives are +terrified whenever a shock occurs. The great Shiraz earthquake some +years ago, when over a thousand lost their lives, is still fresh in +their minds. + + An easy ride, through a pretty and fertile country, brought us to +the telegraph-station of Konar Takta, where Mr. E----, the clerk in +charge, had prepared a sumptuous breakfast. But we were not destined +to enjoy it. They had, said Mr. E----, experienced no less than nine +severe shocks of earthquake the night before, one of which had rent +the wall of his house from top to bottom. His wife and children were +living in a tent in the garden, and most of the inhabitants of the +village had deserted their mud huts, and rigged up temporary shanties +of palm leaves in the road. "We will have breakfast, anyhow," continued +our host. "You must be hungry"--leading the way into the dining-room, +where a long, deep crack in the whitewashed wall showed traces of +last night's disaster. + +The latter had, apparently, considerably upset my host, who, +throughout the meal, kept continually rising and walking to the open +window and back again, in an evidently uneasy state of mind; so much +so that I was about to propose an adjournment to the garden, when a +diversion was created by the entrance of a servant with a dish of +"Sklitch," which he had no sooner placed on the table, than he rapidly +withdrew. Sklitch is peculiar to this part of Persia. It is made of a +kind of moss gathered on the mountains, mixed with cream and dates, +and, iced, is delicious. But scarcely had I raised the first mouthful +to my lips when my host leapt out of his seat. "There it is again," he +cried. "Run!" and with a bound disappeared through the window. Before +I could reach it the floor was rocking so that I could scarcely keep +my feet, and I was scarcely prepared for the drop of nine feet that +landed me on to the flower-beds. The shock lasted quite ten seconds. +Every moment I expected to see the house fall bodily over. I left poor +E---- busily engaged in removing his instruments into the garden. +"Another night like the last would turn my hair grey," he said, as we +bade him good-bye. Truly the lot of a Persian telegraph official is +not always a bed of roses. + +A gradual descent of over two thousand feet leads from Konar Takta +to the village of Dalaki, which is situated on a vast plain, partly +cultivated, the southern extremity of which is washed by the waters of +the Persian Gulf. There is a comfortable rest-house at this village, +the population of which is noted as being the most fierce and lawless +in Southern Persia. Rest, though undisturbed by earthquakes, was, +however, almost out of the question, on account of a most abominable +stench of drainage, which came on at sunset and lasted throughout the +night. So overpowering was it that towards 3 a.m. both Gerome and +myself were attacked by severe vomiting, and recurrence was had to the +medicine-chest and large doses of brandy. One might have been sleeping +over an open drain. It was not till next day that I discovered the +cause--rotten naphtha, which springs in large quantities from the +ground all round the village. Curiously enough, the smell is not +observable in the daytime. + +"We have done with the snow now, monsieur," said Gerome, as we rode +next morning through a land of green barley and cotton plains, date +palms, and mimosa. On the other hand, we had come in for other +annoyances, in the shape of heat, dust, and swarms of flies and +mosquitoes. Nearing the sea, vegetation entirely ceases. Nothing is +visible around but hard calcined plain, brown and level, lost on the +horizon seaward in a series of mirages, ending northward in a chain +of rocky, precipitous mountains. The bright, clear atmosphere was +remarkable; objects thirty or forty miles off looking but a mile or +so away. About midday an unusual sight appeared on the horizon--two +Europeans, a lady and gentleman, mounted on donkeys, and attended by +a chalvadar on a third, who apparently carried all the baggage of +the party. Halting for a few moments, and waiving introduction, +we exchanged a few words. Mr. and Mrs. D---- were on their way to +Teheran, with the object of making scientific researches at Persepolis +and other parts of Persia. I could not help admiring the courage of +the lady, though regretting, at the same time, the task she had set +herself. To inquiries of "How is the road?" I replied, "Very good," +May the lie be forgiven me! It was told for a humane purpose. + +Save a large herd of gazelle on the far horizon, nothing occurred to +break the monotony of the journey through deep heavy sand till about 4 +p.m., when a thin thread of dark blue, cutting the yellow desert and +lighter sky-line, appeared before us. It was the Persian Gulf. An hour +later, and Sheif, the landing-place for Bushire, was reached. + +A trim steam-launch, with Union Jack floating over her stern, awaited +us. She was sent by Colonel Ross, British Resident at Bushire, who +kindly invited me to the Residence during my stay in the Persian port. +I was not sorry, after the hot, dusty ride, to throw myself at length +on the soft, luxurious cushion, and, after an excellent luncheon, to +peruse the latest English papers. Skimming swiftly through the bright +blue waters, we neared the white city, not sorry to have successfully +accomplished the voyage so far, yet aware that the hardest part of the +journey to India was yet to come. + +At a distance, and seen from the harbour, Bushire is not unlike Cadiz. +Its Moorish buildings, the whiteness of its houses and blueness of +the sea, give it, on a fine day, a picturesque and taking appearance, +speedily dissipated, how ever, on closer acquaintance; for Bushire is +indescribably filthy. The streets are mere alleys seven or eight feet +broad, knee-deep in dust or mud, and as irregular and puzzling to a +stranger as the maze at Hampton Court. + +The Persian port is cool and pleasant enough in winter-time, but in +summer the stench from open drains and cesspools becomes unbearable, +and Europeans (of whom there are thirty or forty) remove _en masse_ to +Sabsabad, a country place eight or ten miles off. The natives, in +the mean time, live as best they can, and epidemics of cholera and +diphtheria are of yearly occurrence. The water of Bushire producing +guinea-worms (an animal that, unless rolled out of the skin with great +care, breaks, rots, and forms a festering sore), supplies of it are +brought in barrels from Bussorah or Mahommerah; but this is not within +reach of the poorer class. Nearly every third person met in the street +suffers from ophthalmia in some shape or other--the effect of the dust +and glare, for there is no shade in or about the city. + +The latter is built at the end of a peninsula ten miles in length and +three in breadth, the portion furthest away from the town being swampy +and overflowed by the sea. Most of the houses are of soft crumbling +stone full of shells; some, of brick and plastered mud; but all are +whitewashed, which gives the place the spurious look of cleanliness +to which I have referred. The inhabitants of this "whited sepulchre" +number from 25,000 to 30,000. There is a considerable trade in +tobacco, attar of roses, shawls, cotton wool, etc.; but vessels +drawing over ten feet cannot approach the town nearer than a distance +of three miles--a great drawback in rough or squally weather. + +Were it five thousand miles away, Bushire could scarcely be less like +Persia than it is. It has but one characteristic in common with other +cities--its ruins. Although of no antiquity, Bushire is rich in these. +With this exception, it much more resembles a Moorish or Turkish city. +The native population, largely mixed with Arabs, carries out the +illusion, and bright-coloured garments, white "bournouses," and green +turbans throng the streets, in striking contrast to the sombre, +rook-like garments affected by the natives of Iran. A stranger, too, +is struck by the difference in the mode of life adopted by Europeans +as compared with those inhabiting other parts of the Shah's dominions. +The semi-French style of Teheran and Shiraz is here superseded by +the Anglo-Indian. _Dejeuner a la fourchette, vin ordinaire_, and +cigarettes are unknown in this land of tiffins, pegs, and cheroots. + +My recollections of Bushire are pleasant ones. The Residency is a +large, rambling building, all verandahs, passages, and courtyards, +faces the sea on three sides, and catches the slightest breath of air +that may be stirring in hot weather. Two or three lawn-tennis courts, +and a broad stone walk almost overhanging the waves, form a favourite +rendezvous for Europeans in the cool of the evening. From here may be +seen the Persian Navy at anchor, represented by one small gunboat, the +_Persepolis_. This toy of the Shah's was built by a German firm in +1885, and cost the Government over L30,000 sterling. + +She has never moved since her arrival. Her bottom is now covered with +coral and shells, her screw stuck hard and fast, while the four steel +Krupp guns which she mounts are rusty and useless. + +My preparations for Baluchistan were soon completed. The escort +furnished me by the Indian Government had been awaiting me for some +days at Sonmiani, our starting-point on the coast. A telegram from +Karachi, saying that men, camels, tents, and stores were ready, was +the signal for our departure, and on March 7 I took leave of my host +to embark on the British India Company's steamer _Purulia_, for +Baluchistan. With genuine regret did I leave my pleasant quarters at +the Residency. Enjoyable as my visit was, it had not come upon me +quite as a surprise, for the hospitality of Colonel Ross, Resident of +Bushire, is well known to travellers in Persia. + + +[Footnote A: A similar case happened not long ago in Southern Russia.] + +[Footnote B: The Eeliauts are said to be of Arab and Kurd descent.] + +[Footnote C: The longest is in Cochin China, across the river Meikong, +the distance from post to post being 2560 feet.] + +[Footnote D: Earthquake.] + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +BALUCHISTAN--BEILA. + + +The coast-line of Baluchistan is six hundred miles long. On it there +is one tree, a sickly, stunted-looking thing, near the telegraph +station of Gwadar, which serves as a landmark to native craft and a +standing joke to the English sailor. Planted some years since by a +European, it has lived doggedly on, to the surprise of all, in this +arid soil. The Tree of Baluchistan is as well known to the manner in +the Persian Gulf as Regent Circus or the Marble Arch to the London +cabman. + +With this solitary exception, not a trace of vegetation exists along +the sea-board from Persian to Indian frontier. Occasionally, at +long intervals, a mud hut is seen, just showing that the country is +inhabited, and that is all. The steep, rocky cliffs, with their sharp, +spire-like summits rising almost perpendicularly out of the blue sea, +are typical of the desert wastes inland. + +"And this is the India they talk so much about!" says Gerome, +contemptuously, as we watch the desolate shores from the deck of the +steamer. I do not correct the little man's geography. It is too hot +for argument, for the heat is stifling. There is not a breath of air +stirring, not a ripple on the smooth oily sea, and the sides of the +ship are cracking and blistering in the fierce, blinding sunshine. +Under the awning the temperature is that of a furnace, and one almost +regrets the cold and snow of three weeks ago, so perverse is human +nature. + +Mark Tapley himself would scarcely have taken a cheerful view of +things on landing at Sonmiani. Imagine a howling wilderness of rock +and scrub, stretching away to where, on the far horizon, some low +hills cut the brazen sky-line. On the beach the so-called town of +Sonmiani--a collection of dilapidated mud huts, over which two or +three tattered red and yellow banners flutter in the breeze, and +beneath which a small and shallow harbour emits a powerful odour of +mud, sewage, and rotten fish. Every hut is surmounted by a "badgir," +or wind-catcher--a queer-looking contrivance, in shape exactly like a +prompter's box, used in the summer heats to cool the interior of the +dark, stifling huts. A mob of ragged, wild-looking Baluchis, with +long, matted locks and gaudy rags, completes this dreary picture. + +Shouts of "Kamoo!" from the crowd brought a tall, good-looking native, +clad in white, out of an adjacent hut, who, I was relieved to find, +was the interpreter destined to accompany us to Kelat. The camels and +escort were, he said, ready for a start on the morrow, if necessary. +In the mean time there was a bare but clean Government bungalow at our +disposal, and in this we were soon settled. But notwithstanding the +comparative comfort of our quarters compared with the filthy native +houses around, I determined to get away as soon as possible. The +mosquitoes were bad enough, but the flies were far worse. Ceiling, +walls, and floor were black with them. One not only ate them with +one's food, but they inflicted a nasty, poisonous bite. As for the +smells, they were beyond description; but the fact that a dead camel +was slowly decomposing in the immediate vicinity of our dwelling may +have had something to do with this. + +With all these drawbacks, I was glad to find the population, although +dirty, decidedly friendly--rather too much so, indeed; for the little +whitewashed room was crowded to overflowing the greater part of the +day with relays of visitors, who apparently looked upon us as a kind +of show got up for their entertainment. Towards sunset a tall, swarthy +fellow, about fifty years old, with sharp, restless eyes and a huge +hook nose, made his appearance at the doorway; and this was the signal +for a general stampede, for my visitor was no other than the head-man +of Sonmiani--Chengiz Khan. + +Chengiz was attired in a very dirty white garment, loose and flowing +to the heels, and a pair of gold-embroidered slippers. A small conical +cap of green silk was perched rakishly on the top of his head, from +which fell, below the shoulders, a tumbled mass of thick, coarse, +black hair. The head-man was unarmed, but his followers, five in +number, fairly bristled with daggers and pistols. Like all natives, +Chengiz was at first shy and reserved. It was only when I had +prevailed upon him to take a cigar that my visitor became more at his +ease. Having lit his cheroot, he took a long pull and passed it on to +one of his followers, who repeated the performance. When it had gone +the round twice it was thrown away; and Chengiz, turning to Kamoo, +gravely asked if I wished for anything before he retired for the +night. + +"You should reach Kelat in twenty-five days," was the answer to my +question, "provided the camels keep well and you have no difficulty +with the people at Gwarjak; they are not used to Europeans, and may +give you some trouble." + +One of the men here whispered to his chief. + +"Malak is the name of the head-man at Gwarjak," went on Chengiz--"a +treacherous, dangerous fellow. Do not have much to do with Malak; he +detests Europeans." + +Malak was, judging from my experiences that night, not the only +Baluchi possessed of this failing. Chengiz having left, I retired to +rest, to be suddenly aroused at midnight by a piercing yell, and to +find a tall, half-naked fellow, with wild eyes and a face plastered +with yellow mud, standing over me, brandishing a heavy club. Though a +revolver was at hand, it was useless; for I saw at a glance that I had +to deal with a madman. After a severe tussle, Gerome and I managed to +throw out the unwelcome visitor and bar the door, though we saw him +for an hour or more prowling backwards and forwards in the moonlight +in front of the bungalow, muttering to himself, waving his arms about, +and breaking every now and then into peals of loud laughter. The +incident now seems trifling enough, though it left a powerful +impression upon my mind that night, on the eve of setting out through +an unknown country, where the life of a European more or less is of +little moment to the wild tribes of the interior. The madman was a +dervish, the head-man said, and perfectly harmless as a rule, but +liable to fits of rage at sight of a European and unbeliever. I was, +therefore, not sorry to hear next morning that this ardent follower +of the Prophet had been securely locked up, and would not be released +till the morrow, when we were well on the road to Beila. + +There are, I imagine, few countries practically so little known to +Europeans as the one we were about to traverse. I had, up to the time +of my visit, often wondered that, with India so near, Baluchistan +should have been so long allowed to remain the _terra incognita_ +it is. My surprise ceased on arrival at Kelat. It is impossible +to conceive a more monotonous or uninteresting journey, from a +traveller's point of view, than that from the sea to Quetta--a +distance (by my route) of nearly five hundred miles, during which +I passed (with the exception of Kelat and Beila) but half a dozen +villages worthy of the name, and met, outside the villages in +question, a dozen human beings at the most. This is, perhaps, scarcely +to be wondered at. The entire population of the country does not +exceed 450,000, while its area is estimated at something like 140,000 +square miles, of which 60,000 are under Persian rule, and the +remaining 80,000 (nominally) under the suzerainty of the Khan of +Kelat. + +The inhabitants of Baluchistan may be roughly divided into two +classes: the Brahuis [A] in the north, and the Baluchis in the south. +The former ascribe their origin to the earliest Mohammedan invaders of +Persia, and boast of their Arab descent; the latter are supposed by +some to have been originally a nation of Tartar mountaineers who +settled at a very early period in the southern parts of Asia, where +they led a nomad existence for many centuries, governed by their own +chiefs and laws, till at length they became incorporated and attained +their present footing at Kelat and throughout Northern Baluchistan. +Both races differ essentially in language and customs, and are +subdivided into an infinitesimal number of smaller tribes under the +command or rule of petty chiefs or khans. Although somewhat similar in +appearance, the Brahuis are said to be morally and physically superior +to their southern neighbours. The Baluch, as I shall now call each, is +not a prepossessing type of humanity on first acquaintance, with his +swarthy sullen features, dark piercing eyes, and long matted locks. +Most I met in the interior looked, a little distance off, like +perambulating masses of dirty rags; but all, even the filthiest and +most ragged, carried a bright, sharp tulwar. Though rough and uncouth, +however, I found the natives, as a rule, hospitable and kindly. It was +only in the far interior that any unpleasantness was experienced. This +was, perhaps, only natural, seeing that seventy miles of the journey +lay through a region as yet unexplored by Europeans, the inhabitants +of which were naturally resentful of what they imagined to be +intrusion and interference. + +Owing to the nomadic nature of the Baluchis, the barrenness of +their country, and consequent absence of manufactures and commerce, +permanent settlements are very rare. + +[Illustration: SONMIANI] + +With the exception of Quetta, Kelat, Beila, and Kej, there are no +towns in Baluchistan worthy of the name. Even those I have mentioned +are, with the exception of Quetta (now a British settlement), +mere collections of tumble-down mud huts, invariably guarded by a +ramshackle fort and wall of the same material. The dwellings of the +nomads consist of a number of long slender poles bent and inverted +towards each other, over which are stretched slips of coarse fabrics +of camel's hair. It was only in the immediate neighbourhood of Gwarjak +that the native huts were constructed of dried palm-leaves, the +fertile soil of that district rendering this feasible. + +Attended by Chengiz Khan in a gorgeous costume of blue and yellow +silk, and followed by a rabble of two or three hundred men and boys, I +visited the bazaar next morning. Chengiz had preceded his visit with +the present of a fine goat, and evidently meant to be friendly, +informing me, before we had gone many yards, that the Queen of England +had just invested the Djam of Beila (a neighbouring chief) with the +Star of India, and did I think that that honour was very likely to +accrue to him? + +The trade of Sonmiani is, as may be imagined, insignificant. Most of +the low dark stalls were kept for the sale of grain, rice, salt, and +tobacco, by Hindus; but I was told that a brisk trade is done in fish +and sharks' fins; and dried fruits, madder, and saffron, sent down +from the northern districts, are exported in small quantities to +India and Persia. In the vicinity are some ancient pearl-fisheries of +considerable value, which were once worked with great profit. These +have been allowed to lie for many years undisturbed, owing to lack of +vigour and enterprise on the part of those in power in the state. Here +is a chance for European speculators. + +By a well in the centre of the village stood some young girls and +children. The former were decidedly good looking, and one, but for the +hideous gold nose-ring, [B] would have been almost beautiful. Here, as +elsewhere in Baluchistan, the women present much more the Egyptian +type of face than the Indian--light bronze complexions, straight +regular features, and large, dark, expressive eyes. None of these made +the slightest attempt at concealment. As we passed, one of them +even nodded and smiled at Chengiz, making good use of her eyes, and +disclosing a row of small, pearly teeth. Their dress, a loose divided +skirt of thin red stuff, and short jacket, with tight-fitting sleeves, +open at the breast, showed off their slight graceful figures and +small, well-shaped hands and feet to perfection. Chengiz, pointing to +the group, smiled and addressed me in a facetious tone. "He wants to +know if you think them pretty," said my interpreter; but I thought it +best to maintain a dignified silence. The chief of Sonmiani was, for a +Mohammedan, singularly lax. + +A kind of rough pottery is made at Sonmiani, and this is the only +industry. Some of the water-jars were neatly and gracefully fashioned, +of a delicate grey-green colour; others red, with rude yellow devices +painted on them. The clay is porous, and keeps the water deliciously +cool. + +By four o'clock next morning all was ready for a start. The caravan +consisted of eighteen camels, four Baluchis, Kamoo, and Gerome, +with an escort of ten soldiers of the Djam of Beila, smart-looking, +well-built fellows in red tunics, white baggy trousers, and dark-blue +turbans. Each man, armed with a Snider rifle and twenty rounds of +ammunition, was mounted on a rough, wiry-looking pony. As we were +starting, Chengiz Khan rode up on a splendid camel, and announced his +intention of accompanying us the first stage, one of eighteen miles, +to Shekh-Raj. + +Here the honest fellow bade us good-bye. "The sahib will not forget me +when he gets to India," he said, on leaving, thereby implying that he +wished to be well reported to the Indian Government. "But take care of +Malak; he is a bad man--a very bad man." + +A rough and tedious journey of two days over deep sandy desert, +varied by an occasional salt marsh, brought us to Beila, the seat of +government of the Djam, or chief of the province of Las Beila, eighty +miles due north of Sonmiani. With a feeling of relief I sighted the +dirty, dilapidated city, with its mud huts and tawdry pink and green +banners surmounting the palace and fort. The Baluch camel is not the +easiest animal in existence, and I had, for the first few hours of the +march, experienced all the miseries of _mal de mer_ brought on by a +blazing sun and the rolling, unsteady gait of my ship of the desert. +Though awkward in his paces, the Baluch camel is swift. They are small +and better looking than most; nor do their coats present so much the +appearance of a "doormat with the mange," as those of the animals of +other countries. We had as yet passed but two villages--three or four +low shapeless huts, almost hidden in rock and scrub by the side of +the caravan-track, which, as far as Beila, is pretty clearly defined. +There had been nothing else to break the dull, dead monotony of sand +and swamp, not a sign of human life, and but one well (at Outhal) of +rather brackish water. + +On the second day one of the escort had pointed out a dry rocky bed +as the river Purali, which is one of the largest in Baluchistan, but, +like all the others, quite dry the greater portion of the year. There +are no permanent rivers in this country. To this fact is perhaps due +the slight knowledge obtained up to the present time of the interior, +where arid sandy deserts, dangerous alike to native or European +travellers, are the rule, and cover those large open spaces marked +upon maps as "unexplored." Notwithstanding the great width of the bed +of the Purali river in many places, it has no regular outlet into the +sea. Its waters, when in flood from rainfall, lose themselves in +the level plains in a chain of lagoons or swamps. Some of these are +several miles in length, but decrease considerably in the dry season, +when the water becomes salt. The Habb river, which divides Las from +the British province of Sind, is another case in point. It possesses +permanent banks, is fed from the Pabb chain of mountains, and after +heavy rains in these hills a large body of water is formed, which +rushes down to the sea with great force and velocity. But at other +times water is only to be found in a few small pools in its rocky bed. +It is, in short, a mountain torrent on a large scale. So also with the +greater number of streams in the western districts, though a few of +these have more the semblance of rivers than can be found elsewhere in +Baluchistan. Of lakes there are none throughout the entire area of the +country. + +At Outhal we were met by one Hussein Khan, a wild-looking fellow +mounted on a good-looking chestnut horse, its saddle and headstalls +ornamented with bright-coloured leathers and gold and silver +ornaments. Hussein was from Beila, with a message from the Djam to say +that I was welcome in his dominions. Tents were then pitched, and +I invited Hussein to partake of refreshment, which was refused. He +accepted a cigarette, however, but seemed undecided whether to smoke +or eat it, till presented with a light. Having asked if I would like +to be saluted with guns on arrival, an offer I politely declined, my +visitor then left to prepare for our reception on the morrow. + + +[Illustration: OUR CAMP AT OUTHAL] + +Daybreak saw us well _en route_ and by 10 a.m. we were in sight of +Beila. About a mile or so out of the city, a mounted sowar in scarlet +and gold uniform, and armed with two huge horse-pistols and a long +cavalry sabre, galloped up to the caravan. "It is a messenger from +the palace," said Kamoo, "to say that his Highness the Djam has been +suddenly called away to Kej, [C] but that his son, Prince Kumal Khan, +is riding out in state to meet the sahib, and conduct him to his +father's city." + +The prince shortly afterwards appeared, mounted on a huge camel, +the tail and hind quarters of which were ornamented with intricate +patterns stamped on the hide by some peculiar process. A guard of +honour of thirty soldiers accompanied, while a rabble of two or three +hundred foot people surrounded the party, for the sight of a white +face is rare in Beila. It was a strange scene: the picturesque city, +brilliant barbaric costume of the young chief and his followers, and +crowd of wild, half-naked Baluchis were fitly set off by surroundings +of desert landscape and dazzling sunshine. A Gerome or Vereschagin +would have revelled in the sight. + +Shaking hands with Kumal (no easy matter on camels), he placed me on +his right hand, and, heading the procession, we rode into Beila, where +a large tent had been erected for my accommodation. Having placed a +guard at my disposal, the prince then left, announcing his intention +of receiving me in state that afternoon at the palace. + +Beila, which is protected by a fort and high mud wall, is situated on +the right bank of the river Purali, which, at the time of my visit, +was no more than a dry rocky bed. The town contains about 4000 +inhabitants, and, from a distance, presents a curious appearance, +each house being fitted, as at Sonmiani, with a large "badgir," or +wind-catcher. Like most Eastern cities, Beila does not improve on +closer acquaintance. The people are dirty and indolent. There is +little or no trade, and the dark, narrow streets, ankle-deep in mud +and filth, are crowded with beggars and pariah dogs, while the dull +drab colour of the mud houses is depressing in the extreme. The fort +and palace alone are built of brick, and, being whitewashed, relieve +to a certain extent the melancholy aspect of the place. I was escorted +to the latter the afternoon of my arrival by a guard of honour, +preceded by the Djam's band--half a dozen cracked English cavalry +trumpets! + +Djam Ali Khan, the present ruler of the state of Las Beila, is about +fifty years of age, and is a firm ally of England. The Djam is a +vassal of the Khan of Kelat, but, like most independent Baluch chiefs, +only nominally so. So far as I could glean, the court of Kelat has no +influence whatsoever beyond a radius of twenty miles or so from that +city. The provinces of Sarawan, Jhalawan, Kach-Gandava, Mekran, [D] and +Las Beila, which constitute the vast tract of country known as Kalati +Baluchistan, are all governed by independent chiefs, nominally +viceroys of the Khan of Kelat. Practically, however, the latter +has little or no supremacy over them, nor indeed over any part of +Baluchistan, Kelat and its suburbs excepted. + +Prince Kumal Khan received me in his father's durbar-chamber, a +cheerless, whitewashed apartment, bare of furniture save for a +somewhat rickety "throne" of painted wood, and a huge white linen +punkah, overlooking a dreary landscape of barren desert and mud roofs. +The prince, a tall, slim young man, about twenty-five years of +age, has weak but not unpleasing features. He was dressed in a +close-fitting tunic of dark-blue cloth, heavily trimmed with gold +braid, baggy white linen trousers, and a pair of European side-spring +boots, very dirty and down at heel. A light-blue turban completed his +attire. + +The interview was not interesting. Notwithstanding all my efforts and +the services of the interpreter, Kumal was evidently shy and ill at +ease, and resolutely refused to enter into conversation. One thing, +however, roused him. Hearing that I was accompanied by a Russian, +Kumal eagerly demanded that he should be sent for. Gerome presently +made his appearance, and was stared at, much to his discomfiture and +annoyance, as if he had been a wild beast. A pair of white-linen +drawers, no socks, carpet slippers, and a thin jersey, were my +faithful follower's idea of a costume suitable to the Indian +climate--surmounted by the somewhat inappropriate head-dress of a +huge astrakhan cap, which for no earthly consideration could he be +persuaded to exchange for a turban. "So that is a Russian!" said the +prince, curiously surveying him from head to foot. "I thought they +were all big men!" But patience has limits, and, with a muttered +"Dourak," [E] poor Gerome turned and left the princely presence in +anything but a respectful manner. + +Coffee and nargileh discussed, my host moved an adjournment to the +roof of the palace, where, he said, I should obtain a better view of +his father's city. This ceremony concluded, the trumpets sounded, a +gentle hint that the audience was at an end, and I took leave, and +returned to camp outside the walls of the town. + +The Wazir, or Prime Minister, of the Djam paid me a visit in the +evening _sans ceremonie_--a jolly-looking, fresh-complexioned old +fellow, dressed in a suit of karki, cut European fashion, and with +nothing Oriental about him save a huge white linen turban. The Wazir +spoke English fairly well, and, waxing confidential over a cigar and +whisky-and-water (like my Sonmiani friend, the Wazir was no strict +Mussulman), entertained me with an account of the doings of the +Court in Beila and the _aventures galantes_ of Kumal, who, from all +accounts, was a veritable Don Juan. "Will the Russians ever take +India?" asked the old fellow of Gerome, as he left the tent. "You can +tell them they shall never get it so long as _we_ can prevent them;" +but the next moment the poor Wazir, to Gerome's delight, had measured +his length on the ground. Either the night was very dark, or the +whisky very strong; a tent-rope had avenged the taunt levelled at my +companion's countrymen. + +Early next morning came a message from Prince Kumal, inviting me +to visit the caves of Shahr-Rogan, an excavated village of great +antiquity, about ten miles from Beila. I gladly accepted. The camels +were tired; the men of the caravan unwilling to proceed for another +day, and time hung heavily on one's hands, with nothing to vary the +monotony but an occasional shot at a wood-pigeon (which swarm about +Beila), or a game of _ecarte_ (for nuts) with Gerome. + +The caves were well worth a visit. I could gain no information at +Beila, Quetta, or even Karachi, as to the origin of this curious +cave-city, though there can be no doubt that it is of great antiquity. +Carless the traveller's account is perhaps the most authentic. + +"About nine miles to the northward of Beila a range of low hills +sweeps in a semicircle from one side of the valley to the other, and +forms its head. The Purali river issues from a deep ravine on the +western side, and rushes down (in the wet season) about two hundred +yards broad. It is bounded on one side by steep cliffs, forty or +fifty feet high, on the summit of which is an ancient burial-ground. +Following the stream, we gained the narrow ravine through which +it flows, and, turning into one of the lateral branches, entered +Shahr-Rogan." + +Here, on the day in question, Prince Kumal called a halt. A couple +of small tents were pitched, and a meal, consisting of an excellent +curry, stewed pigeons, beer, and claret, served. Leaving the Prince +to amuse himself and delight his followers with his skill in +rifle-shooting at a mark chalked out on the rocks, I continued my +explorations. The result is, perhaps, better explained to the reader +in the words of an older and more experienced observer. Carless +says--"The scene was singular. On either side of a wild broken ravine +the rocks rise perpendicularly to the height of four or five hundred +feet, and are excavated, as far as there is footing to ascend, up to +the summit. The excavations are most numerous along the lower part +of the hills, and form distinct houses, most of which are uninjured +by-time. They consist, in general, of a room fifteen feet square, +forming a kind of open verandah, with an interior chamber of the same +dimensions, to which admittance is gained by a narrow doorway. There +are niches for lamps in many, and a place built up and covered in, +apparently to hold grain. Most of the houses or caves at the summits +of the cliffs are now inaccessible, from the narrow precipitous +paths by which they were approached having worn away. The cliffs are +excavated on both sides of the valley for a distance little short of +a mile. There cannot be less than fifteen hundred of these strange +habitations." + +The caves of Shahr-Rogan are not the only sights of interest near +Beila. Time, unfortunately, would not admit of my visiting the +mud-volcanoes of Las, situated near the Harra Mountains, about sixty +miles from Shahr-Rogan. The hills upon which these are found are +from three to four hundred feet high, and are conical in form, with +flattened and discoloured tops and precipitous sides. At their bases +are numerous fissures and cavities reaching far into their interior. +Captain Hart, who visited these geysers some years ago, describes +them as basins of liquid mud, about a hundred paces in diameter, in a +continual state of eruption. These geysers, or "chandra-kupr," as they +are called by the Baluchis, are also found on parts of the Mekran +coast. Colonel Ross, H.M.'s Resident at Bushire, is of opinion that +these coast craters have communication with the sea, as the state of +the tides has considerable influence on the movements of the mud. This +theory is, perhaps, strengthened by the fact that by the coast natives +the volcanoes are called "Darya-Chan," or "Eyes of the Sea." + +On the way back from Shahr-Rogan to Beila a herd of antelope was +seen. I may here mention that, with one exception, this was the only +occasion upon which I came across big game of any kind throughout the +journey, although, from all accounts, there is no lack of wild animals +in Baluchistan. Bear and hyena are found in the southern districts, +and the leopard, wolf, ibex, and tiger-cat exist in other parts of +the country. The wild dog is also found in the northern and more +mountainous regions. The latter hunt in packs of twenty and thirty, +and will seize a bullock and kill him in a few minutes. On the other +hand, vermin and venomous animals are not so common as in India. +Dangerous snakes are rare, though we were much annoyed by scorpions +and centipedes in the villages of the north, and a loathsome bug, the +"mangar," which infests the houses of Kelat. + +Riding homewards, we stopped about a mile out of Beila to inspect the +Djam's garden, a large rambling piece of ground about fifty acres in +extent, enclosed by high walls of solid masonry. Never was I more +surprised than upon entering the lofty iron gates guarded by a sowar +in neat white uniform. It seemed incredible that such fertility and +abundance could exist in this dry, arid land. The cool fragrant +gardens, with their shady grass walks, forest trees, and palms, +springing up, as it were, out of the scorched, stony desert, reminded +one of a bunch of sweet-smelling flowers in a fever ward, and the +scent of rose, jasmine, and narcissus was apparent quite half a mile +away. In the centre of the garden is a tamarind tree of enormous +girth. It takes twelve men with joined hands to surround it. Half an +hour was spent in this pleasant oasis, which was constructed by the +late Djam, after infinite trouble and expense, by means of irrigation +from the Purali river. There are also two deep wells of clear water in +the grounds, which are never quite dry even in the hottest seasons. + +Proceeding homewards, we had scarcely reached camp when a terrific +thunderstorm burst over our heads. The thunderclaps were in some +instances nearly a minute in duration, and the lightning unpleasantly +close and vivid. + +The weather clearing, I visited the bazaar in the evening, under +the guidance of my old friend, the Wazir. Trade is, as I have said, +practically _nil_ in Beila, and the manufactures, which are trifling, +are confined to oil, cotton, a rough kind of cloth, and coarse +carpets; indeed, throughout the country, commerce is almost at a +standstill. + +This is scarcely surprising when the semi-savage state of the people, +and consequent risks to life and property, are taken into account. The +export trade of the interior is, though trifling at present, capable, +under firm and wise rule, of great improvement. Madder, almonds, and +dried fruit from Kelat and Mastung, seed and grain from Khozdar, small +quantities of assa-foetida from Nushki, and sulphur from Kach-Gandava, +comprise all the exports. From Mekran and Las Beila are exported +"rogan," or clarified butter used for cooking purposes, hides, tobacco +(of a very coarse kind), salt fish, oil-seeds, and dates. The imports +chiefly consist of rice, pepper, sugar, spices, indigo, wood, and +piece goods, chiefly landed at the ports of Gwadar or Sonmiani. But +little is as yet known of the mineral products of this district. Iron +ore is said to exist in the mountains north of Beila, while to the +south copper is reported as being found in large quantities; but +nothing has as yet been done to open up the mineral resources of the +district. Although silver and even gold have been found in small +quantities, and other minerals are known to exist, the only mines at +present in Baluchistan are those near Khozdar, in the province of +Jhalawan, where lead and antimony are worked, but in a very primitive +manner. + +Notwithstanding the trade stagnation, there seems to be a good deal of +cultivation in and around Beila. Water is obtained from deep wells; +and vegetables, rice, and tobacco are largely grown. Most of the +stalls in the bazaar were devoted to the sale of rice, wheat, and +tobacco, cheap cutlery, and Manchester goods; and I noticed, with some +surprise, cheap photographs of Mrs. Langtry, Ellen Terry, Miss Nelly +Farren, Sylvia Grey, and other leading lights of society and art, +spread out for sale among the many-bladed knives, nickel forks and +spoons, and German timepieces. Although the narrow alleys reeked with +poisonous smells and filth and abomination of all kinds, Beila is not +unhealthy--so at least the Wazir informed me. I doubted the truth of +this assertion, however, for the features of every second person I met +were scarred more or less with small-pox. + +My caravan, on leaving Beila, was considerably increased. It now +consisted of twenty-two camels (six of which were laden with water), +five Baluchis, my original escort, and six of the Djam's cavalry. I +could well have dispensed with the latter, but the kindly little Wazir +would not hear of my going without them. An addition also to our party +was a queer creature, half Portuguese, half Malay, picked up by Gerome +in the Beila bazaar, and destined to fulfil the duties of cook. How he +had drifted to Beila I never ascertained, and thought it prudent not +to inquire too much into his antecedents. No one knew anything about +him, and as he talked a language peculiar to himself, no one was ever +likely to; but he was an undeniably good _chef_, and that was the +chief consideration. Gaetan, this strange being informed us, was his +name--speedily transformed by Gerome into the more euphonious and +romantic name of Gaetano! + +I took leave of the Prince and my old friend the Wazir with some +misgivings, for the new camel-drivers were Beila men, and frankly +owned that their knowledge of the country lying between Gwarjak and +Noundra (where we were to leave the caravan-track) was derived chiefly +from hearsay. + +There are two caravan-roads through Beila. One, formerly much used, is +that over which we had travelled from the coast, and which, on leaving +Beila, leads due north to Quetta _via_ Wadd and Sohrab. An ordinary +caravan by this route occupies at least forty days in transit. +Traffic is now, therefore, usually carried on by means of the safer +trade-routes through British Sindh, whereby the saving of time is +considerable, and chances of robbery much lessened. The second road +(which has branches leading to the coast towns of Gwadar, Pasui, and +Ormara) proceeds due west to Kej, capital of the Mekran province, +near the Persian border. The latter track we were to follow as far as +Noundra, ninety miles distant. I should add that the so-called roads +of Baluchistan are nothing more than narrow, beaten paths, as often as +not entirely obliterated by swamp or brushwood. Beyond Noundra, where +we left the main track to strike northwards for Gwarjak, there was +absolutely nothing to guide us but occasional landmarks by day and the +stars at night. + +Barring the intense monotony, the journey was not altogether +unenjoyable. To reach Noundra it took us five days. This may appear +slow work, but quicker progress is next to impossible in a country +where, even on the regular caravan-road, the guides are constantly +losing the track, and two or three hours are often wasted in regaining +it. The first two or three days of the journey lay through swampy +ground, through which the camels made their way with difficulty, for a +cat on the ice in walnut-shells is less awkward than a camel in mud. +Broad deep swamps alternating with tracts of sandy desert, with +nothing to relieve the monotonous landscape but occasional clumps of +"feesh," a stunted palm about three feet in height, and rough cairns +of rock erected by travellers to mark the pathway where it had become +obliterated, sufficiently describes the scenery passed through for the +first three days after leaving Beila. Large stones accurately laid out +in circles of eighteen or twenty feet in diameter were also met with +at intervals of every two miles or so by the side of the track, and +this very often in districts where nothing was visible but a boundless +waste of loose, drifting sand. Our Baluchis could not or would not +explain the _raison d'etre_ of them, though the stones must, in many +instances, have been brought great distances and for a definite +purpose. I could not, however, get any explanation regarding them at +either Kelat or Quetta. + +With the exception of the Lakh Pass leading over a chain of hills +about eighteen miles due west of Beila, the road to Noundra was as +flat as a billiard-table. The crossing of the Lakh, however, was not +accomplished without much difficulty and some danger; for the narrow +pathway, leading over rocky, almost perpendicular, cliffs, three to +four hundred feet high, had, in places, almost entirely crumbled away. +The summits of these cliffs present a curious appearance--fifty to +sixty needle-like spires, hardly a couple of feet thick at the top, +which look as if the hand of man and not of nature had placed them in +the symmetrical order in which they stand, white and clear-cut against +the deep-blue sky, slender and fragile as sugar ornaments, and looking +as though a puff of wind would send them toppling over. The ascent +was terribly hard work for the camels, and, as the track is totally +unprotected by guard-rail of any kind, anything but comfortable for +their riders. Towards the summit we met a couple of these beasts laden +with tobacco from Kej, in charge of a wild-looking fellow in rags, +as black as a coal, who eyed us suspiciously, and answered in sulky +monosyllables when asked where he hailed from. His merchandise, +consisting of four small bags, seemed hardly worth the carrying, but +Kej tobacco fetches high prices in Beila. At this point the pathway +had latterly been widened by order of the Djam. Formerly, if two +camels travelling in opposite directions met, their respective owners +drew lots. The animal belonging to the loser was then sacrificed and +pushed over the precipice to clear the way for the other. + +In the wet season a foaming torrent dashes through the Valley of Lakh, +but this was, at the time of my visit, a dry bed of rock and shingle. +Indeed, although we were fairly fortunate as regard wells, and I was +never compelled to put the caravan on short allowance, I did not +pass a single stream of running water the whole way from Sonmiani to +Dhaira, twenty miles south of Gwarjak, though we must in that distance +have crossed at least fifteen dry river-beds, varying from twenty to +eighty yards in width. + +Travelling in the daytime soon became impossible, on account of the +heat, as we proceeded further inland. A start was therefore generally +made before it was light, and by 11 a.m. the day's work was over, +tents pitched, camels turned loose, and a halt made till three or four +the next morning. Though the sun at midday was, with the total absence +of shade, dangerously powerful, and converted the interior of our +canvas tents into the semblance of an oven, there was little to +complain of as regards weather. The nights were deliciously cool, and +the pleasantest part of, the twenty-four hours was perhaps that from +8 till 10 a.m., when, dinner over and camp-fires lit, the Baluchis +enlivened the caravan with song and dance. Baluch music is, though +wild and mournful, pleasing. Some of the escort had fine voices, +and sang to the accompaniment of a low, soft pipe, their favourite +instrument. Gerome was in great request on these occasions, and, +under the influence of some fiery raki, of which he seemed to have an +unlimited stock, would have trolled out "Matoushka Volga" and weird +Cossack ditties till the stars were paling, if not suppressed. As +it was, one got little enough rest, what with the heat and flies at +midday, and, at the halt about 8 a.m., the shouting, hammering of +tent-pegs, and braying of camels that went on till the sun was high in +the heavens. + +There is a so-called town or village, Jhow (situated about twenty +miles east of Noundra), in a sparsely cultivated plain of the same +name. Barley and wheat are grown by means of irrigation from the Jhow +river, which in the wet season is of considerable size. I had expected +to find, at Jhow, some semblance of a town or village, as the Wazir +of Beila had told me that the place contained a population of four or +five hundred, and it is plainly marked on all Government maps. But I +had yet to learn that a Baluch "town," or even village, of forty or +fifty inhabitants often extends over a tract of country many miles +in extent. The "town" of Jhow, for instance, is spread over a plain +thirty-five miles long by fourteen broad, in little clusters of from +two to six houses. A few tiny patches of green peeping out of the +yellow sand and brushwood, a wreath of grey smoke rising lazily here +and there at long intervals over the plain, a few camels and goats +browsing in the dry, withered herbage by the caravan-track, showed +that there were inhabitants; but we saw no dwellings, and only one +native, a woman, who, at sight of Gerome, who gallantly rode forward +to address her, turned and fled as if she had seen the evil one. +Noundra, which was reached on the 30th of March, was a mere repetition +of Jhow. Neither houses nor natives were visible, though we passed +occasional patches of cultivated ground. About five miles west of this +we left the beaten track and struck out due north for Gwarjak, which, +according to my calculation, lay about seventy miles distant. + + +[Footnote A: The traveller Masson says that the word _Brahui_ is a +corruption of _Ba-roh-i_, meaning literally, "of the waste."] + +[Footnote B: These rings are sometimes so heavy that they are attached +to a band at the top of the head to lessen the weight on the nostril.] + +[Footnote C: A town in Western Baluchistan.] + +[Footnote D: The word "Mekran" is said to be derived from +"Mahi-Kharan," or "Fish-eaters," which food the inhabitants of this +maritime province subsisted on in Alexander's time, and do still.] + +[Footnote E: Russian, "Fool."] + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +BALUCHISTAN--GWARJAK. + + +Most European travellers through this desolate land have testified to +the fact that the most commendable trait in the Baluch is his practice +of hospitality, or "zang," as it is called. As among the Arabs, a +guest is held sacred, save by some of the wilder tribes on the Afghan +frontier, who, though they respect a stranger actually under their +roof, will rob and murder him without scruple as soon as he has +departed. The natives of Kanero and Dhaira (the two villages lying +between Noundra and Gwarjak) were, though civil, evidently not best +pleased at our appearance, but the sight of a well-armed escort +prevented any open demonstration of ill feeling. + +The first day's work after Noundra was rough, so much so that the +camels could scarcely struggle through the deep sand, or surmount the +steep, pathless ridges of slippery rock that barred our progress every +two or three miles. Though the greater part of the journey lay through +deep, drifting sand, the soil in places was hard and stony, and here +the babul tree and feesh palm grew freely, also a pretty star-shaped +yellow flower, called by Baluchis the "jour." This plant is poisonous +to camels, but, strangely enough, harmless to sheep, goats, and other +animals. + +For a desert-journey, we had little to complain of as regards actual +discomfort. There were no mosquitoes or sandflies, and the heat, +though severe, was never excessive save for a couple of hours or so at +midday, when enforced imprisonment in a thin canvas tent became rather +trying. There was absolutely no shade--not a tree of any kind visible +from the day we left Beila till our arrival at Dhaira about midday on +the 31st of March. Scarcity of water was our greatest difficulty. At +Noundra it had been salt and brackish; at Kanero we searched in vain +for a well. Had we known that a couple of days' march distant lay a +land "with milk and honey blest," this would have inconvenienced us +but little. The fact, however, that only three barrels of the precious +liquid remained caused me some anxiety, especially as the first well +upon which we could rely was at Gwarjak, nearly sixty miles distant. + +The sight of Dhaira, on the morning of the 31st, relieved us of all +further anxiety. This fertile plain, about fifteen miles long by ten +broad, is bounded on the north-west by a chain of limestone mountains, +the name of which I was unable to ascertain. Here for the second time +since Beila we found a village and traces of inhabitants, the former +encircled for a considerable distance by fields of maize and barley, +enclosed by neat banks and hedges--a grateful contrast to the desolate +waste behind us. It was the most perfect oasis imaginable. Shady +forest trees and shrubs surrounded us on every side, a clear stream of +running water fringed with ferns and wild flowers rippled through our +camp, while the poor half-starved horses of the escort revelled in the +long, rich grass. Hard by a cluster of three or four leaf huts, half +hidden in a grove of date palms, lay (part of) the little village +of Dhaira, deserted at this busy hour of the day save by women and +children. The latter fled upon our arrival, and did not reappear until +the evening, when the return of the men reassured them sufficiently to +approach our tents and look upon the strange and unwelcome features of +the Farangi without fear. + +From here, by advice of the Wazir of Beila, a messenger was despatched +to Malak, at Gwarjak, twenty miles distant, requesting permission to +travel through his dominions. I resolved to proceed no further without +the chief's sanction, or to afford him in any way an excuse for making +himself unpleasant. In the mean time, arms and accoutrements were +looked to, and the escort cleaned and smartened up as well as +circumstances would permit. The natives overcame their shyness next +morning, and brought us goat's milk and "rogan," or clarified butter. +The Baluchis seldom eat meat, their food principally consisting of +cakes or bread made of grain, with buttermilk and rice. A favourite +preparation known as "shalansh," and called "krout" by the Afghans, is +made by boiling buttermilk till the original quantity is reduced by +half. The remainder is then strained through a thick felt bag, in the +sun. When the draining ceases, the mass in the bag is formed into +small lumps dried hard by the sun's rays. When required for use these +lumps are pounded and placed in warm water, where they are worked by +the hands until dissolved. The thickened fluid is then boiled with +rogan and eaten with bread. + +Assafoetida, indigenous to the country, is largely used among all +classes for flavouring dishes. So much is this noxious plant liked +by Baluchis, that it goes by the name of "khush-khorak," or pleasant +food. At Kelat, in the palace of the Khan, I was offered it pickled, +but it is usually eaten stewed in butter. + +About midday, to my great surprise, Malak made his appearance in +person, mounted on a good-looking chestnut stallion, its bridle +and saddle adorned with gold and silver trappings. Four attendants +followed on sorry-looking steeds. The chief, a tall, well-built +fellow, about thirty years of age, with a sulky, sinister cast of +countenance, was clad in a bright green satin jacket, white and gold +turban, loose dark-blue trousers, and embroidered slippers. The loss +of one eye gave him a still more unpleasant expression, a lock +of coarse black hair being dragged over the face to conceal the +disfigurement. The whole party were armed to the teeth, and carried +guns, shields, and revolvers. + +Our interview did not commence propitiously. Swinging himself off his +horse, Malak returned my salutation with a sulky nod, and swaggered +into the tent, signing to his suite to follow his example. Curtly +refusing my offer of refreshment, he called for his pipe-bearer, and, +lighting a kalyan, commenced puffing vigorously at some abominably +smelling tobacco, which soon rendered the interior of the tent +unbearable. It is, unfortunately, Baluch etiquette to allow a guest +to open the conversation. Malak, well aware of this, maintained +a stolid silence, and appeared hugely to enjoy the annoyance and +impatience I tried in vain to conceal. It was not till nearly an hour +had elapsed that this amiable visitor at last inquired, in a rude, +surly tone, what I wanted. My interpreter's services were then called +in, but it was not without demur and a long consultation with his +suite that Malak consented to accompany me to Gwarjak on the morrow. +Matters were finally arranged, on the understanding that I did not +remain more than one day at Gwarjak, but proceeded to Kelat without +delay. + +I strolled out with a gun in the evening, and managed to bag a +brace of partridges, which swarmed in the maize and barley fields. +Overcoming the fears of the women, I was permitted to approach and +inspect, though not enter, one of their dwellings. The latter, +constructed of dried palm leaves, were about fifteen feet long by +eight feet broad, and were entirely devoid of rugs, carpets, or +furniture of any kind, and indescribably filthy. The men, though shy +and suspicious, would have been friendly, had it not been for Malak, +who followed me like a shadow; but nothing would induce the women and +children to approach either Gerome or myself. "What is this?" said one +old fellow to Malak, stroking my face with his horny, grimy palm. "I +never saw anything like it before." Most of the men were clothed in +dirty, discoloured rags. The women wore simply a cloth tied loosely +over the loins, while male and female children fourteen or fifteen +years old ran about stark naked. + +A curious flower, the "kosisant," grows luxuriantly about here. It is +in shape something like a huge asparagus, and about two feet high, +being covered from top to bottom with tiny white-and-yellow blossoms, +with a sweet but sickly perfume. It consists but of one shoot or +stalk, and bursts through the ground apparently with great force, +displacing the soil for several inches. + +We left for Gwarjak at 5.30 the following morning. Etiquette compelled +Malak to offer me his horse, while he mounted my camel--an operation +effected with very bad grace by my host. The Baluch saddle consists +simply of two sharp pieces of wood bound together by leathern thongs, +and the exchange was by no means a welcome one so far as I was +concerned. Had it cut me in two, however, I would have borne it, if +only to punish this boorish ruffian for his insolence of yesterday. +Malak's chief failing was evidently vanity, and he was very reluctant, +even for an hour, to cede the place of honour to a European. + +The road for the first ten miles or so lay along the dry bed of +a river, which, I ascertained with difficulty from my one-eyed +companion, is named the Mashki. Large holes, from eight to ten feet +deep, had been dug for some distance by the Dhaira natives, forming +natural cisterns or tanks. These were, even now, after a long spell of +dry weather, more than half full, and the water, with which we filled +barrels and flasks, clear, cold, and delicious. + +The Shirengaz Pass, which crosses a chain of hills about five hundred +feet high, separates the Dhaira Valley from the equally fertile +district of Gwarjak. The ascent and descent are gradual and easy, and +by ten o'clock we were in sight of Gwarjak, before midday had encamped +within half a mile of the town, if a collection of straggling +tumble-down huts can so be called. The news of our arrival had preceded +us, and before tents were pitched the population had turned out _en +masse_, and a mob of quite two hundred men, women, and children were +squatted around our camp, watching, at a respectful distance, the +proceedings of my men with considerable interest. Malak had meanwhile +disappeared, ostensibly to warn the Wazir of our arrival. + +Gwarjak is situated on the left bank of the Mashki river, and consists +of some thirty huts, shapeless and dilapidated, built of dried palm +leaves. About two hundred yards north of the village rises a steep +almost perpendicular rock about a hundred feet high, on the summit of +which is perched a small mud fort. The latter is crenelated, loopholed +for musketry, and mounts six cannon of a very primitive kind. It was +at once apparent that we were anything but welcome. The very sight of +my armed escort seemed to annoy and exasperate the male population, +while the women and children gathered together some distance off, +flying in a body whenever one of our party approached them. I looked +forward, with some impatience, to Malak's return, for Kamoo's request +for the loan of a knife from one of the bystanders was met with +an indignant refusal, accompanied by murmuring and unmistakable +expressions of hostility. We were well armed certainly, but were only +ten men against over a hundred. + +Our camping-place was wild and picturesque, and, had it not been for +the uncomfortable sensation of not quite knowing what would happen +next, our stay at Gwarjak would have been pleasant enough. Even Gerome +was depressed and anxious, and the Beila men and escort ill at ease. I +was sorely tempted more than once to accede to Kamoo's request, strike +tents and move on to Gajjar, the next village, but was restrained by +the thought that such a proceeding would not only be undignified, but +a source of satisfaction to my _bete noire_, Malak. + +[Illustration: MALAK] + +After a prolonged absence of four or five hours, the latter returned, +together with his Wazir and about a dozen followers. A more cut-throat +looking set of ruffians I have seldom seen. All wore long black-cloth +robes trimmed with scarlet, and white turbans, and carried a Snider +rifle and belt stuffed with cartridges slung over the left shoulder. I +now noticed with some anxiety that Malak's quiet and undemonstrative +manner had completely altered to one of swaggering insolence and +bravado. "The chief wishes you to know he has twenty more like this," +said Kamoo, pointing to Malak's villainous-looking suite. "Tell him +I am very glad to hear it," was my reply, politely meant, but which +seemed to unduly exasperate the King of Gwarjak. Brushing past me, he +burst into the tent, followed by his men, and seated himself on my +only camp-stool. Then, producing a large American revolver, he cocked +it with a loud click, placed it on the ground beside him, and called +for his kalyan. + +Patience has limits. With the reflection that few white men would have +put up with the insults I had; that "Tommy Atkins" was, after all, +only three hundred miles away; and that, in the event of my death, +Malak would probably be shot, if not blown from a gun,--I ordered him +(through the trembling Kamoo) to instantly leave the tent with all his +followers. The fire-eating chieftain was (unlike most Baluchis) a poor +creature, for to my intense relief he slunk out at once, with his +tail between his legs. Having then re-appropriated the camp-stool, +I ordered in the escort, fixed bayonets, loaded _my_ revolver with +ostentation, and commanded my friend to re-enter alone, which he did, +and, as Americans say, "quickly." + +Then ensued an uncomfortable silence, interrupted by the arrival of +one of my men to say that the villagers had refused to sell provisions +of any kind, although eggs, milk, and rice were to be had in plenty. +"I am not the king of these people," said Malak, passionately, on +being remonstrated with. "Every man here is free to do as he pleases +with his own." As our stores were now running uncomfortably short, +this "Boycotting" system was anything but pleasant. "Will _you_ sell +us some eggs and milk?" I asked, as my unwilling guest rose to go. It +was eating humble-pie with a vengeance, but hunger, like many other +things, has no laws. "I am not a stall-keeper," was the answer. A +request to be permitted to ascend the hill and visit the fort was met +by an emphatic refusal. I then, as a last resource, inquired, through +Kamoo, if my hospitable host had any objection to my walking through +the village. "If you like," was the reply; "but I will not be +responsible for your safety. This is not Kelat. The English are not +our masters. We care nothing for them." + +Notwithstanding these mysterious warnings, however, I visited the +village towards sunset, alone with Gerome, fearing lest the sight of +my escort should arouse the ire and suspicions of the natives. There +was little to see and nothing to interest. Gwarjak is built without +any attempt at order or symmetry. Many of the houses had toppled over +till their roofs touched the ground, and the whole place presented an +appearance of poverty and decay strangely at variance with the smiling +plains of grain, rice, and tobacco around it. Not a human being was +visible, for our appearance was the signal for a general stampede +indoors, but the dirty, narrow streets swarmed with huge, fierce dogs, +who would have attacked us but for the heavy "nagaikas" [A] with which +we were armed. We were evidently cordially hated by both men and +beasts! On return to camp I gave orders for a start at four the next +morning. There was no object to be gained by remaining, and the +natives would have been only too glad of an excuse for open attack. + +The remains of an ancient city, covering a very large area, are said +to exist near Gwarjak, about a mile due south of it. I could, however, +discover no trace of them, although we came from that direction, and +must have traversed the supposed site. + +After the fatigue and anxiety of the day, I was enjoying a cigar in +the bright moonlight, when a messenger from the village arrived in +camp. He had a narrow escape. Not answering the challenge of the +sentry for the second time, the latter was about to fire, when I ran +forward and threw up his rifle, which discharged in the air. A second +later, and the man would have been shot, in which case I do not +suppose we should ever have seen Quetta. The message was from Malak, +inviting me to a "Zigri," a kind of religious dance, taking place just +outside the village. After some reflection, I decided to go. It might, +of course, mean treachery, but the probability was that the chief, +afraid of being reported to the Indian Government for his insolence +and insubordination, wished to atone for his conduct before I left. + +Under the messenger's guidance, and attended by Gerome and a guard of +five men with loaded rifles, I set out. Both the Russian and myself +carried and prominently displayed a brace of revolvers. A walk of ten +minutes brought us to a cleared space by the river. In the centre +blazed a huge bonfire, round which, in a semicircle, were squatted +some two or three hundred natives, watching the twistings and +contortions of half a dozen grotesque creatures with painted faces, +and long, streaming hair, who, as they turned slowly round and round, +varied the performance with leaps and bounds, alternately groaning, +wailing, and screaming at the top of their voices. + +[Illustration: A "ZIGRI" IN GWARJAK] + +A horn, a lute, and half a dozen tom-toms accompanied the dance. Some +distance away, and surrounded by his grim-looking guard, sat Malak, +who, though he did not rise to receive me, beckoned me to his side +with more politeness than usual. It was a weird, strange sight. The +repulsive, half-naked figures leaping round the fire, the silent, +awestruck crowd of Baluchis, the wild barbaric music, and pillar of +flame flashing on the dark, sullen face of Malak and his followers, +was not a little impressive, especially as I was in a state of +pleasing uncertainty as to the object of my host's sudden change of +manner, and whether this might not be a little dramatic introduction +to an attack upon our party. This was, however, evidently not my sulky +friend's intention, for, as I rose to go, he actually stood up and +took my hand. "At Gajjar," he said, "you will be able to get all you +want, but take my advice, and get away from here early to-morrow +morning. They do not like you." + +Four hours after we were _en route_. The Zigri was still going on +as we rode out of the village. Malak and his guard still sat +motionless, the weird dancers and crowd of onlookers were still +there, the huge bonfire blazing as brightly as ever, though the +Eastern sky was lightening. As we passed within a hundred yards, I +waved my hand, but the compliment was not returned. Some of the crowd +looked up at the caravan; all must have seen it, but averted their +faces till we had passed. I was not, on the whole, sorry to leave +Gwarjak. + +But one European, Colonel M---- of the Indian service, had visited +Gwarjak for fifteen years prior to my visit. My road thither from +Noundra has never been traversed save by natives, and it was, +perhaps, more by good luck than good management that we came through +successfully. The inhabitants of Gwarjak are a tribe known as the +Nushirvanis, who claim to be of Persian descent. It was only at +Quetta that I learnt that my friend Malak was only Viceroy of this +inhospitable district. The head-quarters and residence of the Chief, +one Nimrood Khan, is at Kharan (a hundred and fifty miles north-west of +Gwarjak). Nimrood, who was fortunately absent, detests Europeans, and +would probably have made matters even worse for us. Intermixed freely +with the wild and lawless tribes of the Baluch-Afghan frontier (from +which Kharan is but a few miles distant), it is scarcely to be +wondered at that the Nushirvanis are inimical to Europeans, whom they +are taught by their chiefs and Afghan neighbours to look upon as +natural enemies. + +Although we had not as yet formed a very favourable idea of Baluch +hospitality, our reception at every village from here to the capital +amply atoned for the rough and uncivil behaviour of the wild +Nushirvanis. We were now once more on the beaten track, for though the +country south of Gwarjak was, previous to our crossing it, unexplored, +the journey from Kelat to Gajjar has frequently been made by Europeans +during the past few years. Our reception by the natives of Gajjar +(only twenty miles from Gwarjak) was a pleasant contrast to that given +us at the latter place. Camp was no sooner pitched than presents of +eggs, milk, rice, and tobacco were brought in, and I was cordially +welcomed by the chief of the village. + +Gajjar is a ramshackle, tumble-down place of about three hundred +inhabitants. On a small hillock to the right of the village stands +the fort, a square building of solid masonry, which, however, is now +roofless, and has only three walls standing. The garrison (of six men) +were lodged in a flimsy tent pitched in the centre of the ruins. +Half the houses were constructed of dried mud; the remainder, as at +Gwarjak, of palm leaves. The village stands in a grove of date palms, +and the swarms of flies were consequently almost unendurable. We +encamped close to the village well, to which, during the afternoon, +many of the female population came to draw water. Two of them, bright, +pleasant-featured girls of eighteen or twenty, were the best-looking +specimens of the Baluch woman that I met with throughout the journey. + +Towards sunset the corpse of a young man was borne past my tent +and interred in a little cemetery hard by. The burial rites of the +Baluchis are very similar to those of Persia. When a death occurs, +mourners are sent for, and food is prepared at the deceased's house +for such friends as desire to be present at the reading of prayers for +the dead, while "kairats," or charitable distributions of food, are +made for the benefit of the soul of the deceased. A wife, on the +decease of her husband, neglects washing, and is supposed to sit +lamenting by herself for not less than fifteen days. Long before this, +however, her female friends come to her house and beg her to +desist from weeping, bringing with them the powder of a plant +called "larra." With this the widow washes her head, and then +resumes her former life and occupations. If, however, by +thoughtlessness or malice, her friends defer their visit, she must +mourn for a much longer period alone. A curious Baluch custom is that +of digging a grave much deeper for a woman than a man. They argue that +woman is by nature so restless she would not remain quiet, even in +death, without a larger proportion of earth over her. + +[Illustration: NOMAD BALUCH TENT] + +In the matter of births and marriages the Baluchis, being of the +Mohammedan religion, regulate their ceremonies mainly according to the +Koran. Marriage is attended with great festivities. The first step +is the "zang," or betrothal, which is regarded as of a very sacred +nature, the final rite being known as "nikkar." On the wedding-day +the bridegroom, gorgeously arrayed, and mounted on his best horse or +camel, proceeds with his friends to a "ziarat," or shrine, there to +implore a blessing, after which the "winnis," or marriage, is gone +through by a moullah. On the birth of a child there is also much +feasting. The fourth day after birth a name is given to the infant, +and on the sixth an entertainment to friends. The following day the +rite of circumcision ("kattam") is performed, though not always, this +being sometimes postponed for a year or more. On this occasion (as at +a death) large distributions of food are made to the poor. + +The country between Gajjar and Jebri, which was reached next day, is +bare and sterile, notwithstanding that, at the latter place, water is +seldom scarce, even in the dryest seasons. The plain, which consists +of loose, drifting sand, with intervals of hard, stony ground, is +called Kandari. The cold here in the months of January and February +is intense. We passed some curious cave-dwellings in the side of the +caravan-track, in which the natives take refuge from the icy blasts +that sweep across here in winter. They are formed by digging holes +eight to ten feet deep. These are rudely thatched over with palm +leaves, bits of stick, and plaited straw, thus forming a warm and +comfortable shelter. + +The Chief of Jebri, one Chabas Khan, rode out to meet me, clad in +a long gown of golden thread, which, flashing in the sun, was +discernible a couple of miles off. Jebri contains about four hundred +inhabitants, and is a neatly built village, protected by a large mud +fort, and a garrison of twenty Baluchis armed with Snider rifles. +Chabas, who was very proud of his village, informed me that his +rule extended over a considerable extent of country, containing a +population of over 20,000. Many of his subjects were natives of +Seistan, Kharan, and Shotrawak, all Afghan border districts, and gave +him at times no little trouble. The Jebri fort had been attacked only +a year previous to my visit, but Chabas (who I afterwards heard at +Kelat is a renowned fire-eater) gave the rebels such a warm reception +that there has been no outbreak since. My genial old host had himself +given a good deal of trouble to the Kelat Government in his younger +days, and told me with evident pride that he had led many a chupao in +the good old days. The savage and predatory character of the Baluchi +was formerly well exemplified in these lawless incursions, when large +tracts of country were pillaged and devastated and the most unheard-of +cruelties practised. Chupaos are now a thing of the past. Pottinger, +who traversed this country in the last century, and had more than one +unpleasant _rencontre_ with these armed bands, thus describes one of +these plundering expeditions-- + +"The depredators are usually mounted on camels, and furnished, +according to the distance they have to go, with food, consisting of +dates, goat's milk, and cheese. They also carry water in a small +skin-bag, if requisite, which is often the case if the expedition +is prolonged. When all is prepared the band sets off and marches +incessantly till within a few miles of where the chupao is to +commence, and then halts in some unfrequented spot to rest their +camels. On the approach of night they mount again, and, as soon as the +inhabitants of a village have retired to rest, begin their attack by +burning, destroying, and carrying off whatever comes in their way. +They never think of resting for one moment during the chupao, but ride +on over the territory on which it is made at the rate of eighty or +ninety miles a day, until they have loaded their camels with as much +pillage as they can possibly remove; and as they are very expert in +the management of their animals, each man on an average will have +charge of ten or twelve. If practicable, they make a circuit which +enables them to return by a different route. This affords a double +prospect of plunder and also misleads those who pursue the robbers--a +step generally taken, though with little effect, when a sufficient +body of men can be collected for that purpose." + +"In these desperate undertakings the predatory robbers are not always +successful, and when any of them chance to fall into the hands of +exasperated villagers, they are mutilated and put mercilessly +to death. The fact," concludes Pottinger, "of these plundering +expeditions being an institution in Baluchistan must serve to show how +slight is the power wielded by the paramount rulers, and what risks to +the safety of both person and property must be run by those engaged in +the business of trade in such a country." + +Chabas visited me towards evening, accompanied by his son, a +clever-looking, bright-eyed lad about fifteen years old. Noticing that +he wore a belt and buckle of the 66th Regiment, I inquired where +he had procured it, and was told that it had been purchased from a +Gwarjak man, who brought it down from Kharan shortly after the fatal +disaster to the regiment at Maiwand. The kindly old chief now pressed +my acceptance of a fine fat goat--a very acceptable gift, considering +the impoverished condition of the camp larder. We then visited the +fort and village, under his guidance. + +Jebri and its neighbourhood are well cultivated. The system of +agriculture practised in this part of Baluchistan is simple, but +effective, the fields being divided off by ridges of earth and raised +embankments to an accurate level. They are then further subdivided +longitudinally by ridges thrown up about seven or eight paces apart. +This is done for purposes of irrigation. The soil is then ploughed and +manured, the former operation being generally carried on by means +of bullocks. Tracts of land not irrigated by streams, but which are +dependent on rain and the rivulets which come down from the hillsides +after it, are called "kash-kawa," and are found scattered about the +valleys here and there near the tent-encampments of the nomad tribes, +who plough a piece of land, sow it, and return to gather in the crop +when it is matured. The implements of husbandry in general use are +a light wooden plough of primitive construction, consisting of a +vertical piece bent forward at the bottom and tipped with an iron +point, and a long horizontal beam, which passes forward between the +pair of bullocks that draw it, and is fastened to the yoke. A harrow, +consisting of a wooden board about six feet long by two wide, is also +used, being dragged over the ploughed land attached to the yoke by +iron chains. If found not sufficiently heavy, the driver stands upon +it. A spade or shovel, exactly like its English counterpart, and a +reaping-hook, or sickle, having its cutting edge furnished with minute +teeth, complete the list of a Baluchi's agricultural tools. + +Jebri Fort stands on a steep hillock about fifty feet in height. +From here a good view was obtainable of the surrounding country. +Immediately below were pretty gardens or enclosed spaces, sown in the +centre with maize, wheat, and tobacco, and surrounded by plum and +pomegranate trees and date palms. There is a considerable trade in the +latter between here and Beila, which perhaps accounted for the myriads +of flies which here, as at Gajjar, proved a source of great annoyance. +In Chabas's garden were roses and other flowers, some remarkably fine +vines, and a number of mulberry trees. The grounds were well and +neatly laid out with paths, grass plots, and artificial streams, upon +which I complimented the old man; but he would talk of nothing but his +fort, which was, indeed, the only structure worthy of the name met +with between Quetta and the sea. In the evening his son brought +me a delicious dish of preserved apricots and cream, for which +I presented him with three rupees, one of which he instantly +returned. It is considered, by Baluchis, extremely unlucky to give +or accept an odd number of coins. + +[Illustration: JEBRI] + +At Jebri, for the first time, we suffered severely from cold at night, +the thermometer dropping to 42 deg. Fahr. just before sunrise. The climate +of Baluchistan presents extraordinary varieties, and is extremely +trying to Europeans. Although at Kelat the natives suffer considerably +more from cold in winter than summer heats, the hot season in the +low-lying valleys and on the coast, which lasts from April till +October, may be almost said to be the most severe in the world. At +Kej, in Mekram, the thermometer sometimes registers 125 deg. Fahr. in the +shade as early as April, while the heat in the same district during +the "Khurma-Paz," or "Date-ripening," is so intense that the natives +themselves dare not venture abroad in the daytime. + +Notwithstanding this, even the south of Baluchistan has its cold +season. Near Beila, in the month of January, the temperature +frequently falls as low as 35 deg. Fahr. in the mornings, rising no higher +than 65 deg. at any portion of the day. At Kelat, on the other hand, which +stands 6800 feet above sea-level, the extreme maximum heat as yet +recorded during the months of July and August is only 103 deg. Fahr., +while the extreme minimum during the same months is as low as 48 deg. +Fahr. In winter the cold is intense. Pottinger, the traveller, relates +that on the 7th of February, 1810, when at Baghivana, five marches +from Kelat, his water-skins were frozen into masses of ice, and seven +days afterwards, at Kelat, he found the frost so intense that water +froze instantly when thrown upon the ground. Bellew, a more recent +traveller, in the month of January found the temperature even lower, +as when at Rodinjo, thirteen miles south of Kelat, the thermometer at +7 a.m. stood at 14 deg. Fahr., while the next night, at Kelat, it fell +to 8 deg. Fahr. The weather was at the time clear, sharp, and cold, the +ground frozen hard all day, while snow-wreaths lay in the shelter of +the walls. A detailed account of the eight days' journey from Gajjar +to Kelat would weary the reader. A description of one village will +suffice for all, while the country between these two places is nothing +but bare, stony desert, varied by occasional ranges of low rocky +hills, and considerable tracts of cultivated land surrounding the +villages of Gidar, Sohrab, and Rodingo, at each of which we were well +received by the natives. With the exception of a strike among our +camel-drivers, which fortunately lasted only a few hours, and a +dust-storm encountered a few miles from Sohrab, nothing worthy of +mention occurred to break the monotony of the voyage till, on the +morning of the _9th of_ April, we sighted the flat-roofed houses, mud +ramparts, and towering citadel of the capital of Baluchistan. + + +[Footnote A: Cossack whips.] + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +KELAT--QUETTA--BOMBAY. + + +We encamped in the suburbs of the city, about a couple of miles from +the northern or Mastung Gate, and near the telegraph office, a small +brick bungalow in charge of an English-speaking native. There is a +single wire laid to Quetta, a distance, roughly speaking, of ninety +miles. A terrific hurricane, accompanied by thunder, vivid lightning, +and dense clouds of black dust, sprang up about sunset the day of our +arrival. Both tents were instantly blown down, and in a few moments +reduced to shapeless rags of torn canvas. So great was the force of +the wind that it snapped the tent-poles short off, and, tearing them +from the ropes, sent the tents flying over the plain as if they had +been shreds of tissue paper. We managed, however, to find quarters in +the telegraph office, and remained there till our departure, two days +later, for Quetta. During the storm the thermometer sank to 50 deg. Fahr., +although a few moments before it had marked 78 deg.. + +Kelat contains--with its suburbs, which are of considerable +extent--about 15,000 inhabitants, and is picturesquely situated on the +edge of a fertile plain thickly cultivated with wheat, barley, and +tobacco. The city is built in terraces, on the sides and summit of a +limestone cliff, about a hundred and fifty feet high. This is called +the "Shah Mirdan," and is surrounded at the base of the hill by high +mud ramparts, with bastions at intervals, loopholed for musketry. +The "Mir," [A] or palace of the Khan, overhangs the town, and is made +up of a confused mass of buildings, which, though imposing at a +distance, I found on closer inspection to consist chiefly of mud, which +in many places had crumbled away, leaving great gaping holes in the +walls. The Mir mounts a few primitive, muzzle-loading cannon, and the +citadel is garrisoned by a thousand men, chiefly Afghans, deserters from +Cabul, Kandahar, and other parts of the Ameer's dominions. They are a +ragged, undisciplined lot. The Khan himself has a wholesome dread of +his soldiery, who break out at times, and commit great depredations +among the villages surrounding the capital, robbing and murdering the +peasants with impunity, for few dare resist them. The remainder of the +troops, three thousand in number, are quartered in barracks, or rather +mud hovels, at some distance from the palace. Each man is supposed to +receive three rupees a month and a lump sum of forty-eight rupees at +the end of each year, but pay is uncertain and mutiny frequent. When +not engaged on military duties the Khan's Baluch soldiers are put to +agricultural work on his estates, while the Afghans pass their time +in pillaging and plundering their neighbours. As we entered Kelat we +passed a regiment at drill on a sandy plain outside the walls. With +the exception of a conical fur cap, there is no attempt at uniform. +The men, fine strapping fellows, are armed with rusty flint-locks. +Though there appeared to be no officers, European or otherwise, I +was rather surprised to hear the word of command given in +English, and to see this band of ragamuffins march off parade to +the strains of "Home, sweet Home," played by a very fair fife-and-drum +band. + +The morning following my arrival, I was startled by the apparition at +my bedside of a swarthy, wild-looking Afghan sowar--a messenger +from the Wazir, to say that his Highness the Khan wished to make my +acquaintance, and would receive me, if convenient, at three o'clock +that afternoon. It had not been my intention to solicit an interview, +for, from all accounts, the Khan is anything but friendly towards +Europeans, Englishmen in particular. To refuse, however, was out of +the question. The morning was therefore devoted to cleaning up, and +getting out a decent suit of wearing-apparel; while my Beila escort, +who evidently had uncomfortable forebodings as to the appearance +of the Beila uniform in the streets of Kelat, polished up arms and +accoutrements till they shone like silver, and paid, I noticed, +particular attention to the loading of their rifles and revolvers. + +About midday the Wazir made his appearance to conduct me to the +palace. He was a fat, paunchy old man, with beady black eyes and a +shy, shifty expression, very unlike my cheery little friend at Beila. +After the usual preliminary questions as to who I was, my age, +business, etc., he anxiously inquired after the health of Mr. +Gladstone, and somewhat astonished me by asking whether I was a +Liberal or Conservative. "You have some Beila men with you, I see," +said the Khan's adviser, who spoke English perfectly. "Don't let +his Highness see them." I could not, after such a speech, allow my +faithful escort to enter the city without warning. But it had little +effect. "Let the dogs do what they like," was the reply. "We shall not +let the sahib go alone." + +Tea and cigarettes discussed, a start was made for the palace. The +Wazir, on a wiry, good looking bay horse, and attended by half a dozen +mounted Afghans, led the way, and I followed on a pony borrowed of +the telegraph clerk. My costume was, if not becoming, at any rate +original: high boots, flannel trousers, and shirt, an evening +dress-coat, and astrakhan cap. Gerome's wardrobe being even less +presentable, I deemed it prudent to leave him behind. The Beila men +brought up the rear of the procession some distance from the Afghans, +who, to my anxiety, never ceased scoffing and jeering at them the +whole way. Every moment I expected to hear the crack of a pistol-shot, +followed by a general _melee_. Arrived at the Mastung Gate, we +dismounted, and, leaving our horses in charge of the guard, slowly +proceeded up the steep narrow streets to the citadel. + +The entrance to Kelat is not imposing. There had been a good deal +of rain, and the streets of the lower part of the town were perfect +quagmires of mud nearly knee-deep. It was more like crawling into +a dark passage than entering a city. Many of the thoroughfares are +entirely covered over with wooden beams plastered with mud, which +entirely exclude light, and give them more the appearance of +subterranean passages than streets. The upper part of the town is the +cleanest, for the simple reason that all filth and sewage runs down +open gutters cut in the centre of the steep alleys, until it reaches +the level of the plain. There is no provision made for its escape. +It is allowed to collect in great pools, which in long-continued wet +weather often flood the houses and drive their wretched inhabitants +into the open, to live as best they may, further up the hill. + +Kelat is, for this reason only, very unhealthy. Small-pox, typhoid, and +typhus are never absent, though, curiously enough, cholera visitations +are rare. The filthy habits of the inhabitants have, apparently, a +good deal to do with the high death rate. I saw, while walking up +the hill, a native fill a cup from an open drain and drink it off, +although the smell was unbearable, the liquid of a dark-brown colour. +A very common and--in the absence of medical treatment--fatal disease +among the inhabitants of the suburbs (chiefly Afghans) is stone in +the bladder, the water here, though pure and clear in the suburbs, +containing a large quantity of lime. + +The bazaar, through which we passed on our way to the Mir, does not +seem a very busy one. Although not a public or religious holiday, +many of the stalls were closed. Kelat was once the great channel for +merchandise from Kandahar and Cabul to India, but the caravan trade is +now insignificant. There is in the season a considerable traffic in +dates, but that is all, for the roads to Persia and Afghanistan are +very unsafe. Only a few weeks previous to my visit, a Kelat merchant, +proceeding with a large caravan to Kerman, in Persia, was robbed and +murdered in the frontier district west of Kharan. Few now attempt the +journey, most of the goods being sent to Quetta, and thence by rail to +various parts of India, by sea to Persia. + +Art and industry are, as well as trade, practically at a standstill in +the Khan's city, though a handsome embroidery, peculiar to Kelat, is +made by the women, and fetches high prices in India, while some of the +natives are clever at brass work and ironmongery. Noticing a Russian +samovar in one of the shops, I entered and inquired of the owner +(through the Wazir) how it had reached Kelat. "From Russia," was +the reply, "_via_ Meshed, Herat, and Kandahar. There is a good +caravan-road the whole way," added the Baluchi, taking down a small +brass shield from a peg in the wall. "This came from Bokhara, _via_ +Cabul, only ten days, ago; but trade is not what it was." "Would there +be any difficulty in making that journey?" I asked. "For you--an +Englishman--yes," said the man, with a queer smile, and was +continuing, when "The Khan will be growing impatient," broke in the +Wazir, taking my hand and leading me hurriedly into the street. + +An Afghan guard of honour was drawn up at the entrance of the palace, +wearing the nearest approach to a uniform I had yet seen--dark-green +tunics, light-blue trousers, and white turbans, clean, well fitting, +and evidently kept for state occasions. Each man carried a Berdan +rifle and cavalry sabre. It struck me as a curious coincidence that +the former rifle is in general use throughout the Russian army. +Leaving my escort with strict injunctions to keep their tempers, and +under no circumstances to allow themselves to be drawn into a quarrel, +I followed the Wazir and his attendants into the Mir. The entrance is +through an underground passage about forty yards long by seven wide, +ill-smelling and in total darkness. Arrived at the end, we again +emerged into daylight, and, ascending a flight of rickety wooden +steps, found ourselves in the durbar-room--a spacious apartment, its +walls decorated with green, gold, and crimson panels, alternating with +large looking-glasses. Costly rugs and carpets from Persia and Bokhara +strewed the grimy floor of the chamber, which is about sixty feet +long, and commands a splendid view of the city and fertile plains +beyond. Awaiting me upon the balcony was the Khan, surrounded by +his suite and another guard of Afghans. A couple of dilapidated +cane-bottomed chairs were then brought and set one on each side of the +crimson velvet divan occupied by his Highness. Having made my bow, +which was acknowledged by a curt nod, I was conducted to the seat on +the right hand of the Khan by Azim Khan, his son, who seated himself +upon his father's left hand The Wazir, suite, soldiers, and attendants +then squatted round us in a semicircle, and the interview commenced. + +A long silence followed, broken only by the whish of the fly-brush +as a white-clad Baluchi whisked it lazily to and fro over the Khan's +head. The balcony on which we were received is poised at a dizzy +height over the beehive-looking dwellings and narrow, tortuous streets +of the brown city, which to-day were bathed in sunshine. The Khan's +residence is well chosen. The pestilent stenches of his capital cannot +ascend to this height, only the sweet scent of hay and clover-fields, +and the distant murmur of a large population, while a glorious +panorama of emerald-green plain stretches away to a rocky, picturesque +range of hills on the horizon. + +His Highness Mir Khudadad, Khan of Kelat, is about sixty years old. He +would be tall were it not for a decided stoop, which, together with a +toothless lower jaw, gives him the appearance of being considerably +more than his age. His complexion is very dark, even for a Baluch, and +he wears a rusty black beard and moustaches, presumably dyed, from +the streaks of red and white that run through them, and long, coarse +pepper-and-salt locks streaming far below his shoulders. His personal +appearance gave me anything but a favourable impression. The Khan has +a scowling expression, keen, piercing black eyes, and a sharp hooked +nose that reminded one forcibly of Cruikshank's picture of Fagin the +Jew in "Oliver Twist." + +The Khan was dressed in a long, loose, white garment, with red silk +embroidery of beautiful workmanship. A thin white Cashmere shawl was +thrown carelessly over his shoulders, and he wore a conical violet +silk cap, trimmed with gold lace, and a pair of pointed green morocco +slippers, turned up at the toes, and ornamented with the same +material. A massive gold necklace, or collar, thickly studded with +diamonds, rubies, and sapphires, hung round his neck. The stones, some +of them of great size, were set indiscriminately without any regard +to pattern or design. Mir Khudadad wore no other jewels, with the +exception of three small torquoise rings, all worn on the little +finger of the left hand. He carried no arms, but held in his right +hand a large and very dirty pocket-handkerchief of a bright yellow +hue with large red spots, which somewhat detracted from his regal +appearance. The Khan is a great snuff-taker, and during the audience +continually refreshed himself from the contents of a small gold box +carried by his son. Prince Azim, who was dressed in a green silk +jacket and loose magenta-coloured trousers, is a pleasant-mannered lad +of about twenty. He is of much lighter complexion than his father and +has a strong Jewish cast of feature. A huge cabochon emerald of great +value, suspended from the neck, was Azim's sole ornament. + +[Illustration: PALACE OF THE KHAN. KELAT.] + +A conversation now commenced, carried on through the medium +of the Wazir and my interpreter. The Khan has a fidgety, uneasy +manner that must be intensely exasperating to his court. More +than once during the audience, having asked a question with +much apparent earnestness, he would suddenly break in, in the +middle of a reply, and hum a tune, or start off on a totally different +subject from the one under discussion. At other times he would repeat +a question twice or thrice, and, his eyes fixed on vacancy, utterly +ignore the answers of the Wazir, who evidently stood in great awe of +his eccentric sovereign. Though the following colloquy may appear +brief to the reader, it took nearly an hour to get through. + +"Where do you come from, and what are you?" was the Khan's first +question. + +"From Russia, your Highness." + +"From Russia!" returned the Khan, quickly. "But you are English, are +you not?" + +"Certainly I am." + +"How strong is Russia's army?" continued the Khan, after an +application to the gold snuff box, and a trumpet-blast on the yellow +bandanna. + +"Nominally about three millions." + +"And England?" + +"About two hundred thousand, not counting the reserves." + +"Humph!" grunted the Khan. "Tell me, do the English imagine that Abdur +Raman [B] is their friend?" + +"I believe so." + +"Then tell them from me," cried the Khan, excitedly, half rising from +his seat, "tell Queen Victoria from me that it is not so. Tell her to +beware of Abdur Raman. He is her enemy." + +"Is England afraid of Russia?" continued the Khan after a long pause. + +"No; the English fear no one." + +"Will England reach Kandahar before Russia takes Herat?" + +"I really cannot say," was my answer to this somewhat puzzling +question. + +Mir Khudadad then turned away to converse with the Wazir in a low +tone. About ten minutes elapsed, during which a long confabulation +was held, in which many of the suite, including the Afghan soldiers, +joined. Prince Azim meanwhile invited me to inspect his sword and +pistols. The former, a splendid Damascus blade, and hilt encrusted +with jewels, I especially admired. Had I known the use to which it +had been put that morning, I should not, perhaps, have been so +enthusiastic. + +Again the Khan addressed me. + +"Do you know Russia well?" + +"Pretty well." + +"Is it true that the Russians do not allow Mohammedans to worship in +Central Asia?" + +"I believe that is untrue." + +"It is a lie?" + +"Most certainly it is." + +"Your own countrymen told me so." At this there was a roar of +laughter, in which the Khan joined. + +The durbar-room of Kelat reminded me of an English court of justice. +When the Khan laughed his courtiers did, and _vice versa_. After an +interval of more snuff-taking and whispering, the Khan drew forth and +examined my watch. Taking this for a polite hint that the interview +had lasted long enough, I rose to go, but was at once thrust back into +my chair by Azim. "You are not to go," said the Wazir. "The Khan is +much interested by you." + +"Dhuleep Singh is in Russia, is he not?" then asked the Khan. + +"Yes." + +"What does Russia pay him a year?" + +"I do not know." + +"More than England did?" + +"I do not know." + +"You English never do know anything," muttered the Khan, impatiently; +adding, "Do you know the Czar of Russia?" + +"I have seen him." + +"Is he a good man?" + +"I believe him to be so." + +"Then why do his people try to kill him?" + +"Some of them are Socialists." + +"Socialists!" repeated the Khan, slowly. "What is that?" + +I then explained with some difficulty the meaning of the word. + +"Humph!" was the rejoinder. Then, with a whisk of the yellow bandanna: +"I am glad I have none in Kelat!" + +A mark of great favour was then shown me, the Khan presenting me with +his photograph, with the request that I would show it to "Parliament" +when I got home. I think he was under the impression that the latter +is a human being. An incident that occurred but two years since is +typical of the intelligence of the ruler of Kelat and his court. It +was at Quetta, on the occasion of the presentation of Mir Khudadad +to the Viceroy of India. Previous to a grand _dejeuner_ given in his +honour, the Khan and his suite were shown into a dressing-room for the +purpose of washing their hands. On entering to announce that luncheon +was ready, the aide-de-camp found that the distinguished guests had +already commenced operations, and were greedily devouring the cakes +of Pears' soap that had been placed there for a somewhat different +purpose. That none of the party felt any after ill effects speaks well +for the purity of the wares of the mammoth advertiser--or the Baluch +digestion! + +The Khan shook my hand cordially at parting, and again begged me not +to forget his warnings anent the Ameer of Afghanistan, with whom he is +apparently not on the best of terms. I found, with some relief, that +my Beila men had made friends with the Afghans, and, surrounded by an +admiring crowd, were hobnobbing over a hissing samovar. One of the +Afghans handed me a glass of tea, which, not to offend him, I drank +and found delicious. It had come from China _via_ Siberia, Samarcand, +and Cabul. "Russki!" said the man with a grin, as I handed back the +cup. + +The Khan of Kelat very rarely leaves his palace, and is seldom seen +abroad in the streets of Kelat except on Fridays, when he goes to the +mosque on foot, attended by an escort armed to the teeth. He is said +to live in constant dread of assassination, for his cruel, rapacious +character has made him universally detested in and around the capital. +His one thought in life is money and the increase of his income, +which, with the yearly sum allowed him by the British Government, may +be put down at considerably over L30,000 per annum. A thorough miser, +the Khan does not, like most Eastern potentates, pass the hours of +night surrounded by the beauties of the harem, but securely locked in +with his money-bags in a small, comfortless room on the roof of his +palace. + +[Illustration: THE KHAN OF KELAT] + +There is not the smallest doubt in my mind that Russian influence +is, indirectly, being brought to bear on the Court of Kelat. But Mir +Khudadad may be said to have no policy. As the French say, "Il change +sa nationalite comme je change de chemise," and is to be bought by the +highest bidder. + +Although the Khan's subjects are heavily taxed, there is no protection +whatsoever of life or property in or around Kelat. Theft is, according +to the penal code, punished by fine and imprisonment, murder and +adultery by death; but the law is subject to great modifications. In a +word, the Khan is the law, and so long as a man can afford to pay or +bribe him handsomely, he may commit the most heinous offences with +impunity. + +Two instances of the way in which justice is carried out happened just +before I arrived at Kelat. In the one, a young Baluch woman was found +by her husband, a soldier, under circumstances which admitted no doubt +of her infidelity. Upon discovery, which took place at night, the +infuriated husband rushed off to the guard-house for his weapon. +During his absence the woman urged her lover, who was well armed, to +meet and slay him in the darkness. Under pretence of so doing the gay +Lothario left his paramour, but, fearful of consequences, made off to +Quetta. + +On his return home the husband used no violence, simply handing his +wife over to the guard to be dealt with according to law. Brought +before the Khan the next day, she was lucky enough to find that +monarch in a good temper. Her beauty probably obtained the free pardon +accorded her, and an order that her husband was also to condone her +offence. The latter said not a word, took her quietly home in the +evening, and cut her throat from ear to ear. The Khan, on hearing +of the murder next day, made no remonstrance, nor was the offender +punished. He was an Afghan. + +The second case is even more disgraceful. One of the Khan's own suite, +a well-known libertine and drunkard, contracted an alliance with +a young girl of eighteen. He had endeavoured in vain to marry her +younger sister, almost a child, and so beautiful that she was known +for many miles round the city as the "Pearl of Kelat." + +Six weeks after marriage this ruffian, in a fit of drunken frenzy +caused by jealousy, almost decapitated his wife with a tulwar, and +afterwards mutilated her body past recognition. The shrieks of the +poor woman having summoned the neighbours, he was seized, bound, and +led before the Khan, who at once sentenced him to death. The execution +was fixed for sunrise the following day. At midnight, however, +a messenger appeared at the gates of the Mir with a canvas bag +containing two thousand rupees. "Tell him he is free," said the ruler +of Kelat. "And if he sends in another thousand, I will _order_ the +younger sister to marry him." The money was paid, and the poor child +handed over to the tender mercies of the human devil who had so +ruthlessly butchered her sister. + +I have mentioned that Azim Khan showed me a sword of beautiful +workmanship. It had, the very morning of my visit to the palace, cut +down and hacked to pieces a waiting-maid, not sixteen years old, in +the Khan's harem. I myself saw the corpse of the poor girl the same +evening, as it was being carried outside the walls for interment. [C] + +This, then, is the state of things existing at Kelat, not a hundred +miles from the British outposts; this the enlightened sovereign who +has been made "Companion of the Star of India," an order which, among +his own people, he affects to look upon with the greatest contempt. + +The few women I saw at Kelat were distinctly good looking, far more so +than those further south. Most of them have an Italian type of face, +olive complexion, and large dark eyes, with sweeping lashes. But very +few wore the hideous nose-rings so common at Beila and Sonmiani. +Morality is at a discount in the capital, and prostitution common. + + +The Wazir sent me a bag of dates the morning of my departure, with +a short note, written in English, begging that I would send him in +return the best gold watch and rifle "that could be bought for gold" +in London. The note ended jocosely, "Exchange is no robbery!" The old +man seemed well _au fait_ with Central Asian affairs. On my mentioning +the day before that I had intended entering India _via_ Cabul, he at +once said, "Ah! I supposed Alikhanoff stopped you. He is very shy of +strangers." + +We left Kelat at 6 a.m. on the 12th of April. The camels and heavy +baggage had been sent on four or five hours previously to Mangachar, +the first station. Our caravan now consisted of only eight camels, +which we found reduced to seven on arrival. Just before daylight a +couple of panthers had appeared close to the caravan and caused a +regular stampede, the beasts flying right and left. On order being +restored, two were found to be missing, one laden with the only small +remaining tent and some native luggage, the other with a couple of +cases of whisky (nearly empty) and my camp-stool. The former was +traced and brought in after a search of over two hours, but the latter +is still, for aught I know, careering over the boundless desert, an +unconscious advertiser of "Jameson and Co." I afterwards heard that +this plain is noted for panther and wolf, also an animal called the +"peshkori," somewhat larger than a cat, with a reddish-coloured hide. +It moves about the country in packs, carrying off deer and sheep. Its +method of descending precipices and steep hillsides is curious, each +animal fixing its teeth in the tail of another, thus forming a kind of +chain. + +The plain of Mangachar is situated nearly 6000 feet above sea-level, +and is well cultivated with wheat, lucerne, and tobacco. The +village itself is neatly laid out, and contains about three hundred +inhabitants. The different aspects of the country north and south of +Kelat are striking. We had now done with deserts for good, for at +night lights were seen twinkling all over the plain, while in the +daytime large tracts of well-cultivated land continually met the eye. + +Between Mangachar and Mastung a hot wind arose, which made the eyes +smart, and dried up the skin like a blast from a furnace. One's hair +felt as it does in the hottest room of a Turkish bath, with the +unpleasant addition of being filled with fine gritty sand. "I hope +this may not end in a juloh," said Kamoo, anxiously. This, my +interpreter proceeded to explain, is a hot poisonous wind peculiar to +these districts, and perhaps the greatest danger run by travellers in +Baluchistan. The warm breeze, as Kamoo called it, that we experienced +was, though almost unbearable, not dangerous, while the dreaded juloh +has slain its hundreds of victims. Cook, the traveller, who has given +this subject much attention, has come to the conclusion that it is +caused by the generation in the atmosphere of a highly concentrated +form of ozone, by some intensely marked electrical condition. As +evidence of its effect in destroying every green thing on its course, +and in being frequently fatal to human life, he cites the following +well-authenticated cases, which, not having encountered the +death-dealing blast myself, I place before the reader:-- + +(1) In the year 1851, during one of the hot months, certain officers +of the Sind Horse were sleeping at night on the roof of General +Jacob's house at Jacobabad. They were awakened by a sensation of +suffocation and an exceedingly hot and oppressive feeling in the air, +while at the same time a very powerful smell of sulphur was noticed. +On the following morning a number of trees in the garden were found to +be withered in a very remarkable manner. It looked as if a current of +fire, about two yards in breadth, had passed through the garden in a +perfectly straight line, singeing and destroying every green thing in +its course. Entering on one side, and passing out at the other, its +tract was as clearly defined as the course of a river. + +(2) At the close of 1856 a party of five men were crossing the desert +of Shikarpur, being on their way from Kandahar to that city, when +the blast crossed their path, killing three of them instantly and +seriously disabling the other two. + +(3) A "moonshi" with two companions was travelling about seven miles +south-east of Bagh, in Kachi (not far distant from Mangachar). About +two o'clock the blast struck them. They were sensible of a scorching +sensation in the air, accompanied by a peculiar sulphurous smell, but +remembered nothing further, as all three were immediately struck to +the ground. They were afterwards found and carried to Bagh, where, +every attention being afforded them, they ultimately, after many days +of sickness, recovered. + +As regards the strength of the juloh, Pottinger writes that, so +searching is its nature, it has been known to kill camels and other +hardy animals, and its effects on the human frame are said by +eye-witnesses to be the most agonizing and repulsive imaginable. +Shortly after contact with the wind the muscles of the sufferer become +rigid and contracted, the skin shrivels, a terrible sensation as if +the skin were on fire pervades the whole frame, while, in the last +stage, the skin cracks into deep gashes, producing haemorrhage, +quickly followed by death. It is curious to note that the juloh is +peculiar to the northern districts of Sarawan and Kach-Gandava, +and does not exist in the southern provinces of Baluchistan. + +The road from Mangachar to Mastung is good, though slightly +undulating, and intersected by deep "nullahs." The estimated area of +the Mastung district is two hundred and eighty miles. It is aptly +named "The Garden of Baluchistan," for considerably more than +two-thirds of its area are under cultivation. Water at Mastung is +never-failing, and the pretty town, nestling in a valley of vineyards +and fruit-gardens, fig and olive trees, reminded one more of some +secluded town in the Pyrenees or south of France than a Baluch +settlement. The soil hereabouts is light and sandy and particularly +favourable to the cultivation of grapes, of which there are no less +than five kinds. Apricots, peaches, plums, and pomegranates are also +grown, and supply the markets of Quetta and Kelat. Madder and tobacco +are also exported in large quantities from Mastung, which possesses a +neatly built and busy bazaar. + +The plain of Dasht-bi-Dowlat, or "The Unpropitious Plain," lies +between Mastung and Quetta. The name, however, only applies after the +harvest has been gathered, for next to Mastung this is one of the most +fertile spots in Baluchistan. Dasht-bi-Dowlat is mainly cultivated +by wandering tribes. The inhabitants of Mastung were enthusiastic in +their description of the plain in summer. Then, they told us, the +surface is covered with verdure and flowers of all kinds, especially +the "lala," or tulip, which they averred cover it for miles with a +carpet of crimson and gold, and load the air with sweet intoxicating +perfume. The cultivation of this plain is mostly dependent on rain and +heavy dews. + +To the west of Dasht-bi-Dowlat is Chehel-Tan, a steep, rocky mountain, +13,000 feet high, in the ravines and valleys of which snow still lay +deeply. Only two Europeans, Masson the traveller, and Sir Henry Green, +have ever succeeded in reaching the summit, on which is a "Zariat," or +shrine. The ascent is difficult and dangerous, as, the mountain +being said to be haunted, no native guides are procurable. The word +"Chehel-Tan" signifies in Baluch "Forty Bodies," and is derived from +the following legend. + +A frugal pair, many years married, were unblest with offspring. They +therefore sought the advice of a holy man, who rebuked the wife, +saying that he had not the power to grant her what Heaven had denied. +The priest's son, however (also a moullah), felt convinced he could +satisfy her wishes, and cast forty pebbles into her lap, at the same +time praying that she might bear children. In process of time she was +delivered of forty babes--rather more than she wished or knew how +to provide for. The poor husband, at his wits' end, ascended to the +summit of Chehel-Tan with thirty-nine, and left them there, trusting +to the mercy of the Deity to provide for them, while the fortieth babe +was brought up under the paternal roof. + +One day, however, touched by remorse, the wife, unknown to her +husband, explored the mountain with the object of collecting the bones +of her children and burying them. To her surprise, they were all +living and gambolling among the trees and rocks. Wild with joy, she +ran back to her dwelling, brought out the fortieth babe, and, placing +it on the summit of the mountain, left it there for a night to allure +back its brothers, but, on returning in the morning, she found that +the latter had carried it off, and it was never seen again. It is +by the spirits of these forty babes that Chehel-Tan is said to be +haunted. + +At 8 a.m. on the 14th of April we sighted, afar off, an oasis on +the dead green plain, of long barrack-like buildings, garden-girt +bungalows, and white tents. We had reached our journey's end. The +church-bells were ringing as I rode into Quetta, for it was Sunday, +and, unfortunately, a bright, fine morning. Had it been otherwise, +I might have been spared the ordeal of riding, on a very dirty and +attenuated camel, past a crowd of well-dressed women and frock-coated +men on their way to church. As we passed a neat victoria, glistening +with varnish, and drawn by a pair of good-looking, high-stepping +ponies, containing a general in full uniform and a pretty, smartly +dressed lady, I cast a glance behind me. Gerome, who brought up the +rear of the caravan, had (for coolness) divested himself of boots and +socks, and, sublimely unconscious, was refreshing himself from the +contents of a large wicker flask. One cannot, unfortunately, urge on +a camel or quicken his pace at these awkward moments, and I passed +a very uncomfortable quarter of an hour before reaching the Dak +bungalow. But a glance at a looking-glass reassured me. No one would +ever have taken the brick-coloured, ragged-looking ruffians we had +become for Europeans. + +I accepted a kind and courteous invitation from Mr. L----, of the +Indo-European Telegraph, with pleasure, for the Dak bungalow was dirty +and comfortless. Although my host and charming hostess would have made +any place agreeable, Quetta is, from everything but a strategical +point of view, dull and uninteresting. It is an English garrison town, +and all is said. The usual nucleus of scandal, surrounded by dances, +theatricals, polo, flirtation, drink, and--divorce. Are they not all +alike from Gibraltar to Hong Kong? + +Under the guidance of my host, however, a pleasant trip was made to +the Khojak tunnel. When one considers the comparatively short time +it has been in hand, it is almost incredible that, with so many +difficulties (water, hard rock, etc.), this work should have +progressed as it has. The tunnel, which runs due east and west, is, +or will be, two miles and a half in length and three hundred and +sixty-five feet in depth at the deepest part from the earth's surface. +From the eastern end only sixty-five miles over a firm and level plain +separates it from Kandahar. Even when I was there, [D] a light line +could have been laid to that city in six weeks without difficulty. The +plant, rails, and sleepers were on the spot, having been carried over +the hill, and a railway-carriage could then run from Calcutta to the +eastern extremity of the tunnel without break of gauge. The tunnel, +when completed, will be thirty-four feet broad, and twenty-five feet +in height. + +A curious incident happened at one of the railway-stations between +Quetta and Karachi. At the buffet of the one in question, I found +Gerome conversing volubly in Russian with a total stranger, a native. +On inquiry I found he was a very old friend, a Russian subject and +native of Samarcand. "He has just come through from Cabul," said my +companion. "He often does this journey"--ostensibly for purposes of +trade. + +The 20th of April saw us in Bombay. An Italian steamer, the _Venezia_, +was leaving for the Black Sea direct, and in her I secured a passage +for Gerome, who was not impressed with our Eastern possessions. The +crowd of curious natives who persistently followed him everywhere +may have had something to do with it, for a fur-clad Esquimaux +in Piccadilly would not have created a greater sensation than my +companion in high boots, black velvet breeches, and red caftan in +the busy streets of the great Indian city. Only a Russian could have +existed in that blazing sun with no other protection to the head than +the astrachan bonnet, which he obstinately refused to discard. I saw +him safely on board, and something very like a tear came into my +trusty little friend's eyes, as we shook hands and parted, to meet, +perhaps, never again. For a better companion no man could wish. +Plucky, honest as the day, and tender-hearted as a woman was Gerome +Realini; and it was with a feeling of loneliness and sincere regret +that I watched the grey smoke of the _Venezia_ sink below the blue +waters, which were soon to bear me, also, back to England and European +civilization. + +Has the journey been worth it? Has the result repaid one for the cold, +dirt, and privation of Persia, the torrid heat and long desert marches +through Baluchistan? Perhaps not. There are some pleasant hours, +however, to look back upon. Kashan, a vision of golden domes and dim, +picturesque caravanserais; Ispahan, with its stately Madrassa and blue +Zandarood, winding lazily through miles on miles of white and scarlet +poppyland; Shiraz, a dream of fair women, poetry, and roses, in its +setting of emerald plain, sweet-scented gardens, and cypress trees. +These, at any rate, are bright oases in that somewhat dreary ride from +Teheran to the sea. And then--nearing India--the quiet midday siesta +after the hot dusty march; the _al fresco_ repast by the light of a +glorious sunset, and the welcome rest and fragrant pipe in the cool +night air of the silent, starlit desert. + + +[Footnote A: Parts of this palace are of great antiquity, as it +owes its foundation to the Hindu kings who preceded the Mohammedan +dynasty.] + +[Footnote B: The Ameer of Afghanistan.] + +[Footnote C: I am not at liberty to give the name of my authority for +these facts. The reader may rely on their authenticity.] + +[Footnote D: April, 1889. The boring of the tunnel is now +accomplished.] + + + + +APPENDIX A. + + +LIST OF STATIONS AND DISTANCES FROM RESHT TO + BUSHIRE, PERSIA. + + + + English + Miles. + + Resht --- + Koudoum----------- 20 + Rustemabad------- 20 + Menjil--------------- 12 + Patchinar----------- 8 + Kharzan------------- 16 + Kazvin--------------- 24 + Kavarek------------- 16 + Kishlak------------- 16 + Yengi-Imam------- 16 + Hessarek---------- 16 + Shahabad---------- 16 + _Teheran_---------- 16 + Rabat Kerim------- 28 + Pitche----------- 24 + Kushku Baira------ 16 + Mahometabad------ 28 + _Koom_--------------- 16 + Pasingan------------- 16 + Sin-sin--------------- 28 + _Kashan_------------ 24 + Khurood------------ 28 + Bideshk-------------- 24 + Murchakhar-------- 24 + _Gez_----------------- 24 + _Ispahan_------------ 12 + Djulfa----------------- 3 + + Carried forward------------------ 491 + Brought forward----------------- 491 + + Marg------------------ 12 + Mayar----------------- 24 + Koomishah---------- 20 + Magsogh-Beg------- 16 + Yezdi-Ghazt--------- 24 + Shoulgistan--------- 24 + Abadeh--------------- 20 + Sourmah------------- 16 + Khina-Khoreh------ 28 + Deybid--------------- 20 + Mourghab------------ 28 + Kawamabad---------- 24 + Sivand-------------- 8 + Poozeh-------------- 16 + Zergoon------------ 20 + Shiraz-------------- 20 + Chinar-Rada----- 8 + Khaneh Zinian--- 24 + Dashti Arjin------- 12 + Meyun Kotal------ 12 + Kazeroon---------- 20 + Kamarij------------ 24 + Konar Takta------ 12 + Dalaki-------------- 12 + Borazjun------- 16 + Sheif-------------- 28 + ----------- + 979 + + From Sheif to Bushire by sea 7 + + Total English miles 986 + + + + +APPENDIX B. + + ROUTE--SONMIANI TO QUETTA. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------- +Halting-place. English Remarks. + Miles. +------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +Sonmiani.... | | Small sea-port town. + Water abundant, + but brackish. + Fodder and + supplies + procurable. + +Shekh-Raj.... | 18 | Road fairly good. + Water sweet and + plentiful. + +Outhal...... | 14 | Road stony and undulating; + crossed dry bed + of river Purali. + Well of brackish + water. + +Shekron-ka-Got | 22 | Road sandy. Passed several + salt marshes. + No water. + +Beila....... | 24 | Road good through rich + alluvial land + irrigated by + river Purali. + Road near to + Beila intersected + by deep nullahs + distressing to + camels. Water + plentiful; supplies + procurable. + +Lakh........ | 18 | Road good and level + till Pass of Lakh, + which is steep + and extremely + difficult. Water + usually procurable, + though very + brackish. + Forage for horse + and camel a + mile distant. + +Natchi...... | 19 | Road stony and + difficult, through + country irrigated + (in wet season) + by river Lakh. A + small grazing + ground midway, + frequented by + nomads. Water + uncertain. Forage + (for camel only) + plentiful. + +Lar-Anderi ... | 20 | Road along dry river + bed about three + hundred yards wide + (name unknown), for + about five miles. Then + over Plain of Arrah, + sparsely cultivated. + At end of stage + crossed river + Lar-Anderi, a + broad but shallow + stream about sixty + yards wide, seldom + dry. Good water + from river, but + brackish from + wells, of which + there are three. + Forage for horse + and camel. + + Jhow........ | 14 | Crossed Jhow and + Seridab rivers, + both dry. No + cultivation to + be seen. Water + plentiful and + sweet. Forage + for horse and + camel. + +Noundra..... | 20 | U { No road. Travelling + { fairly easy. + n { Water brackish. + +Kanero...... |about| e {Road rough and + | 20 | { in parts with scrub. + x { stony, overgrown + { A very narrow track + p { extends from + { Noundra to Kanero, + l { which we followed. + { No water or forage. + +Dhaira...... |about| o { No road, but struck + | 20 | { several narrow + r { paths leading in + { all directions. + e { Water plentiful and + { good. Forage for + d { horse and camel. + +Gwarjak..... |about| {Road level and + | 20 | { good. Water + { abundant, also + { forage for horse + { and camel, but + { natives unfriendly. + +Gajjar...... | 13 | Road good, through + cultivated country. + Water good and + plentiful. Forage + for horse and camel + procurable, also + supplies. + +Jebri....... | 20 | Road good, though + deep and marshy + in places. Water + good and + plentiful, + also horse and + camel forage. + +Greshak..... | 26 | Road leads over + the Barida Pass. + Gradual and + easy ascent + and descent. + Water good + and plentiful. + Forage for + camel only. + +Loch........ | 18 | Road very narrow + and much + overgrown (lost + in places) with + scrub. Water + scarce. Forage + scarce for camel, + none for horse. + +Gidar........ | 32 | Good and level road. + Water procurable + from river only. + Forage for camel + only. + +Sohrab | 26 | Road difficult. + Passed several + steep, but not + lofty, ranges of + hills. Water + plentiful, but + brackish. No + forage for horse + or camel. + +Rodingo | 36 | Road level and + easy. Much + camelthorn, + wild thyme, + and (English) + furze on either + side of track. + Water good, but + scarce. No forage + for horse or camel. + +Kelat.... | 14 | Road well defined, + and level. Water + good and abundant. + Forage for horse + and camel. Supplies + of all kinds + procurable. + +Mangachar | 26 | Road well defined + and level. Leads + through a fertile + country. Water + good. Forage for + horse and camel, + and supplies + procurable. + +Mastung | 32 | Road level and good, + but intersected + by deep nullahs, + rendering it + difficult for heavily + laden camels. + Water good and + plentiful. Forage + for horse and camel, + and supplies + procurable. + +Quetta..... | 32 | Road excellent, and + in parts macadamized. + A garrison town, + and railway to all + parts of India. +Total English + miles | 504 | + + + + +APPENDIX C. + +TABLE OF LANGUAGES OF NORTH AND SOUTH BALUCHISTAN. +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + Makran (South). Kalati (North). +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + Ant Mor Khar + Ashes P[=u]r Hiss + Barley O S[=a]r + Boy Bachak M[=a]r + Cold Sara Yakt + Copper Rod Miss + Day Roch D[=e]h + Dog Kuchak Kuchik + Earth Duniah Daghar + Fire Ach Kh[=a]ka + Flower P[=u]l P[=u]l + Gold Tila Kisun + Heavy Giran Kolui + To eat Waraga Kuning + To kill Kushaja Kasfing + To bring Araga Atning + To see Guidaga Khanning + + + + +APPENDIX D + +TEMPERATURE (FAHRENHEIT) BETWEEN +SONMIANI AND QUETTA, BALUCHISTAN. + +---------------------------------------------------------------------- + Remarks Mid day +---------------------------------------------------------------------- + Shade | Sun +---------------------------------------------------------------------- + March + + 16 Sonmiani. Fine, north + west breeze 79 deg. 83 deg. + + 17 Sonmiani. Fine, no + breeze 73 deg. 88 deg. + 18 Sonmiani. Fine, no + breeze 72 deg. 105 deg. + 19 Sonmiani. Fine, + strong + north-east + breeze 80 deg. 98 deg. + 20 Shekh-Raj. Fine, light + north-east + breeze 91 deg. 118 deg. + 21 Outhal. Fine, light + north-west + breeze 92 deg. 114 deg. + 22 Shekron-ka-Got + Fine, + south west + breeze 93 deg. 109 deg. + 23 Beila Rain and + thunder, + light south + breeze 88 deg. 92 deg. + 24 Beila Rain, no wind 83 deg. 87 deg. + 25 Lakh Fine, + west wind 84 deg. 103 deg. + 26 Natchi Fine, light + south-east + breeze 91 deg. 115 deg. + 27 Lar-Anden Dull, no + breeze 93 deg. 108 deg. + 28 Jhow. Fine, hot wind + (north east) 94 deg. 110 deg. + 29 Noundra Fine, hot + south-west + wind 96 deg. 123 deg. + 30 Kanero Fine, south + west breeze 90 deg. 120 deg. + 31 Dhaira Fine, light + north + breeze 95 deg. 123 deg. + April + + 1 Gwarjak. Fine, light + south-east + breeze 91 deg. 111 deg. + 2 Gajjar. Fine, south + wind 93 deg. 110 deg. + 3 Jebri. Fine, strong + north west + wind 91 deg. 110 deg. + 4 Greshak Fine, strong + north-west + wind 85 deg. 88 deg. + 5 Loch. Fine, strong + north wind 76 deg. 89 deg. + 6 Gidar. Fine, light + south-east + breeze 81 deg. 86 deg. + April + + 7 Sohrab. Fine; light + west breeze. 77 deg. 86 deg. + 8 Dam. Rain; + south-west + wind 77 deg. 78 deg. + 9 Kelat. Rain and + dust storm 73 deg. 75 deg. + 10 Kelat. Fine; west + wind 59 deg. 87 deg. + 11 Kelat. Fine; no + breeze. 58 deg. 74 deg. + 12 Mangachar. Fine; no + breeze 80 deg. 95 deg. + 13 Mastung. Fine; + hot wind. 89 deg. 116 deg. + 14 Quetta. Dull; + no breeze 64 deg. 80 deg. + 15 Quetta. Fine; + no breeze 61 deg. 83 deg. + 16 Quetta. Fine; + south-west + breeze 63 deg. 68 deg. + 17 Quetta. Fine; no + breeze 65 deg. 67 deg. + 18 Sukkur, Sind. A hot wind + blowing 99 deg. 117 deg. + -------------------------------------------------------------------- + + + + +APPENDIX E. + +GENEALOGY OF THE KHANS OF KELAT. + + + Kambar Khan. + | + Sambar. + | + Mahammad Khan. + | + Abdulla Khan. + | + ------------------------------------------------ + | | | + Mobat Khan, Eltarz Khan, Nazir Khan, originally + reigned some slain a hostage at Kandahar; + time at Kelat; accidentally superseded his brother, + superseded by by his brother, Mobat Khan, and + his brother, Nazir Khan. reigned forty years. + Nazir Khan, | + and died a | + hostage at | + Kandahar. | + | | + | ------------------------------------ + | | | | + Haji Khan, Mahmud Mohamed Mustapha Khan, + died a Khan, Rehim Khan, slain by his + hostage at reigned slain by sister brother, Mohamed + Kandahar. at Kelat. of Mustapha Rehim Khan + | Khan. | + Baram Khan, | + died at Kelat | | + | |------------------- + Ahmad Yar | | | + Khan, Mehrab Khan, Azem Khan. + slain by slain by the | + Mehrab British troops. Sarafrez Khan, + Khan. slain by + | Mehrab Khan. + ------------------------------------ + | | + Hassan Khan Khudadad Khan, + (poisoned). present Ruler. + + +[Illustration] + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Ride to India across Persia and +Baluchistan, by Harry De Windt + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RIDE TO INDIA *** + +***** This file should be named 10974.txt or 10974.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/0/9/7/10974/ + +Produced by Jayam Subramanian and PG Distributed Proofreaders + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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