‘Military report on south-west Persia, including the provinces of Khúzistán (Arabistan), Luristán and part of Fars.’ [‎182v] (369/470)

328
remains of an aqueduct over the river Tund-Ab. The rocks here belong to (he
older tertiary formation. Lions are said to be found about the Barm-i-Shur.
The Kuh-i-Sar-Tal is crossed at an elevation of 2,300 feet. The water of the
Beluk-Ab is bitter; the pass leading into the Taulah plain is very difficult, if
not impassable, to laden mules. The Sar-i-Tijuk is a small spring. The road
throughout is a difficult one to Joru, 17£ miles, a village of 70 reed houses
inhabited by the Janiki tribe, who here cultivate rice, wheat, and barley.
Stage 10, November 19th. —Gurgir is a wretched place in an open patch
Qunnr to the open amon £ st the gatch hills, and at the foot of the bare
valley at a place named Kuh-i-Asmari; its people are Saiyids, and consequently
Shakar- A.b, 14 miles, i of course inhospitable. The crops growing here and there
over level ground, i oyer j 00 j J q U jp e insufficient to support the population, who re-
gatch lulls, from which „ P ,, , ,, , , • 11 , u • r w . i
a bad zig-zag to Shakar- f use both to sel J and to S ive us anything. W e have felt
Ab. Direction south-east, the difference since leaving the Ilkhani’s territory. Our
No supplies ; water bad. present guide is a liar of the most exasperating type,
and people seem to have no respect for him or his master, whilst the long arm
of the Ilkhani The paramount chief of certain tribes in south west Iran. seems scarcely to reach the?e disagreeable sons of the prophet.
Shaking the dust off our feet we crossed a sulphurous stream, which, apparent
ly coming from the direction of Mal-f-Mir, passes to the north-east of Gurgir |
('ee page 327). Despite tl e nox : ous taste of the water, rice fields flourish on its
banks, which we follow to Tembi, where, not being Saiyids, the people are
civil, and at length supply us with a guide.
A small stream of fresh water falls into the sulphurous river, and by its
banks we had breakfast. There was some delay in getting a guide, as the
Khatkhuda's son and another young man were wounded, having shot one another
in a duel. There is some cultivated ground about Tembi, after leaving which
we see no cultivation till Shustar. Our road re-crossed the sulphur river, and
turned due south for two miles ; then quitting the neighbourhood of the river j
east by south, we are in gypsum hills for the remainder of the day’s inarch,
only descending at nightfall by a very bad zig-zag into a broad open valley,
through which a tributary of the Kanin flows. This is also brackish, but some
just drinkable water is reached at a spot named Shakar-Ab, “sweet water”—I
suppose with the idea of comparison, for, as I have said, the water is only
just drinkable and tastes of naptha. Before reaching the spring, the man
supplied from KaTa-i-Tul, seeing that his reputation was at a low ebb, tried
to enhance it by challenging in a tremendous voice some peaceable folk en
camped by the road, shouting “ If you don’t tell me who you are, you are all
dead men,” and letting off a gun. We slept in the open under a kuh-nar tree,
the night being warm and balmy. There were of course no supplies, but fire
wood was plentiful owing to the numerous kuh-nar trees dotted about in a most
picturesque manner.
10 (a). From Joru the road gees north, crosses the Ab-Shur-i-Joru, here ele
vated 1,050 feet above the sea, and then turinng north-west, traverses the table
land, across which flows the Ab-i-Shur-i-Mishwand, and along which run several
low parallel ridges of limestone. Wild pig inhabit the reedy country to the
north-east, and ruins of buildings occur here and there. Near the turning of
the road is the point from which the old caravan road to Kam-Hormuz
diverged. The waters of the Shur-i-Joni, Shur-i-Mishwand, and Talk-Ab-i-
Gaomesh are bitter and salt; those of the Barm-i-Gandu and Ab-i-Bulachi
are drinkable. At a distance of 7 miles from the Shakar-Ab, the Kuh-i-Khar-i- i
Shutar-Zar, elevation 600 feet over the plain, is skii'ted, and at 3 miles from it,
at the sweet spring of Kaluseg, the Lawari table land,is entered. From Joru,
a distance of 35 miles, the road is fair and presents no difficulties.