'Report on the Preliminary Survey of the Route for the Central Persia Telegraph Line' [‎56r] (116/300)

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General Sum mart.
It should be rememoered that the general run of the mountains in Persia
is from noi th-west to south-east, and that between each of these parallel ranges
lies a valley. It is along such a valley that the Kashan-Yezd-Heruian road
runs. Again, by remembering that Kashan, the lowest place in the valley,
has an altitude of 3,014 teet with Yezd 4,175 feet and Kerman 5,700 feet,
while the intermediate villages and towns have an altitude somewhat between
these figures, and that the watershed The boundary between adjacent drainage basins. or highest point in this total distance
is only 0,987 teet, it will be seen that the country must be almost level, with
a fanly salutary and uniform climate throughout. r l he Persian Government
have constructed and maintained a wooden standard line from Ispahan to
Kerman, through \ezd, and it must therefore be concluded that we should
not experience any serious engineering difficulty, nor would the subsequent
maintenance of the line be either expensive or arduous. In fact, on the
contrary, the nature of the country, which strongly resembles that between
Koomishah and Abadeh on the Bushire-Teheran road, leads me to state that
it would be difficult to find so great a distance which offers as many facili
ties as the 447 miles from Kasban to Kerman. However, referring in detail
to the second section from Yezd to Kerman, ue reached the confines of the
province of Kerman at the village of Sar-i-Yezd, which signifies the “ Boun
dary of Yezd, ” in two easy stages. The usual Caravan and Post road from
Sar-i-Yezd to Anar via Zain-ed-Deen, Kermanshahan and Shems, being so
strongly reported against by all former travellers, but especially by Capt.
Sykes, as “ desert stages, ” where the watqr is brackish and supplies unobtain
able, it was decided to tnbo the route he recommended via Gird-Kuh. This
route has certainly superior claims, as supplies are procurable at Gird-Kuh
and also at Banderoon. The water, too, is all that could be desired at both
villages. As to the extra distance involved by making the Gird-Kuh detour,
the actual measurement fiom Sar-i-Yezd via Gird-Kuh to Shems is 5P11
miles, while Colonel Smith makes the distance via Zain-eu-Deen 46 75 miles,
or a difference of 5 miles ; but I do not think it is quite as much. 1 might
mention that the Persians formerly had a Telegraph Office at Keimanshaitau.
The office is, however, now ch sed, owing to the bad water and scarcity of
supplies. These desolate stages oft times are the scene ol highway robbery,
the lawless nomads of Pars being invariably the culpiits. Such an attack
had been perpetrated on Zain-ed-Deen by a band of 12 men cn the night we
were at Banderoon, and during the fray one of the Per>ian Government sowar In the East India Company army and later Indian Army, an ordinary native cavalryman or mounted cavalryman. *
or mounted men was shot in the thigh. These depredators seldom, if ever,
carry their incursions as far as Banderoon or GirH-Kuh. At Shems, we could
not avoid camping near the bleak and lonely caravanserai A roadside inn providing accommodation for caravans (groups of travellers). and Post House,
but we had taken the precaution of carrying sweet water and .«u|)plies from
Banderoon. Our horses, however, suffered slightly from the brackish spring
that they were forced to drink. Anar, a townlet, is of impor anee as being
the first inhabited spot on the confines of the desert which has just been
described, and here we stopped a day in a recently constructed garden, which
appeared as if made to suit our requirements. Por any further information
on the garden, a reference to Section II C is solicited. We have now arrived
at the last section of our journey to Kerman, and follow the Caravan and
Chappar road throughout, the Persian Telegraph line being practically adjacent
to the track in every part. The first two stages present no difficulties of any
sort, but on the third stage, 3 miles after leaving Kush-Kuh, which is a more
important village contiguous to Golnabad* the country for 3 miles is subject
to floods. Although the Persian Telegraph line runs through the track*
and from all accounts sustains little or no damage, I am of opinion that it
would be safer to avoid any risk, and that a slight detour, to the south
of, say, 3 miles should be made. The line would thus run along the foot of
the hills on the south-west side of the valley and cross the nullah at its narrow
est point, where it debouches on to the plain, the rejoining with the road
being made near Dafeh, a small village, 6*75 miles from Golnabad. Durin? th®
rainy season, camel caravans travelling between Bahramabad and Kush-Kuh
follow the Dafeh course. Bahramabad, a flourishing town, is the centre of
many large villages in the Rafsanjan district, which is the emporium of the
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