'MILITARY REPORT ON PERSIA. VOL. IV, PART II.' [‎63r] (130/212)

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short, and subsequent.ones average about 20 miles >30—35 miles
j s not an unusual distance for a long marck.
For equipment an ample supply of ropes should be brought
yitli -a force. The supply could probably be kept up with
|, jack c/oat-hair ropes in the country. S. T. €. gunny packs are
on lv obtainable in small numbers ; the Persian sack is much
too heavy. Jhools could be made up in large quantities in any ,
Persian town. Yaikdans of the Indian pattern are most suitable
for camel and mule transport.
Caravan men dislike any article weighing over 100 lb.
For waterii\g purposes provision must be made for drawing
water from 'wells, sometimes very deep. Picks, shovels, crow*
liars and galvanised iron buckets are necessary for clearing out
existing wells: For use in Persia the S. 1 T. C. galvanised iron
water tank is'most satisfactory.
Persian pack mulcS are a very fine form .of transport, the Mules,
animals being as good material as the mea who drive them.
The mules stand front 13-2 to 14-2 and look even bigger owing
to the jjffeftliai’-high, two pointed saddle. They are always* in
very good condition, although they work under far ..harder con
ditions'than would be considered possible in India- the recog
nized load being 40 mum 1 ? or 290 lb. , The normaldaily ration
is about T-lb. of barley miked up with 15 lb. of bhyosa.
The Persian donkey is an exceptionally bardy-animal and very Donkeys,
much superior to the Indian donkey both in ■size; and strength.
The Persian thinks nothing of giving a donkey a load of 215 ib.
Though slower than the mule they are nevertheless capable
»t doing equally long marches. Donkeys receive the same
ieed as horses, barley 7 lb. daily, or on the road with loads 10
li). and one Shah man of bhoosa daily.
The number of camels in and around Pars is not so great Camels>
as formerly, and their quality is not very high. Mpst of them
arc.weak and weedy, with poor carrying power, their maximum
average load being only 320 lb.
In Bushire and Shiraz there are a few carts, (half a dozen, carts,
but not more) chiefly of the four-wheeled fourgom type. There'
are, however, few opportunities ordinarily for the use of
wheeled vehicles owing to thb badness- of the roads. During
the Busilire operations in 1018, when a certain amount of im
provement had-, been made to the roads to the north of Bu
shire, a special light-draught single mule cart, made specially
mcthcgs' ' <a