'Report on the Preliminary Survey of the Route for the Central Persia Telegraph Line' [‎126r] (256/300)

Pahra to Absowaran.
Date.
No. of
Maich.
Route.
Intermediate
Miles.
Total
Miles.
28th February 1899 ...
1
Absowaran,
3,350 feet.
21-90
21-90
Leaving our camp a few yards south of Pahra Kaleh, we take a due
south-easterly direction towards the mountains, and, after crossing two small
streams running towards Bampur, we strike the first bed of the river at 75 miles.
Prom this point to 1*20 miles, there are two beds, each about 70 yards broad,
with no depth and gravelly bottom. These channels were dry, and only contain
water after heavy rain. We cross more channeds at T80 and at 3T8 miles,
while the sand drifts begin at the first-mentioned point, and we enter tamarisk
jungle at 2-15 miles, which becomes thinner at 4 miles and stops altogether at
5'85, giving place to a gravelly plain sparsely coverd with shrub. The back
bearing of Pahra at 8m0 miles was 313°, while Katakan was 15°, Ahmedaba 1
30°, and Aptar 36°, A cairn of stones, a few yards to the right, marks 8^ miles.
The first Poozeh Gnah, an old dry well, was passed close to our right at 9^
miles, while the second, a few yards to our left, occurred at 11-15 miles. We
had been gradually ascending a gravelly plain, which was getting stony as we
approached the lulls, which we entered at 15*30 miles. The back bearing to
Bampur Fort was 290°. The going to this point is good. Changing our bear
ing to south-south-east, we continue along a ridge and pass a graveyard to our
left at 15J miles, and at 15-80 miles enter the broad dry gravelly bed of the
Shahab. We keep in the bed of this nullah for the remainder of the march,
which averages 400 yards in width, with high precipitous mountains on the
right, kno\vn as Keseh Chand, while those on the left are rocky, and, though
not quite as high, are more cut up. The Aptar roa-i joins in at 10-95 miles on
the left. The guide pointed out a track branching olf to the right at 17miles,
which he said we^t to Ciieshmeh Takhshok, a spring of sweet water about a
mile distant. To the left, at 18 miles, a track leads to Manzan, where there
is water after rain. A second graveyard was passed at 18-10 miles, on the
right, and third, on the left, at 20 miles. An old broken down wall of
stones, through which the road now runs, was said to be the remains of a dam,
and there was cultivation here in former times. The Ah Dozan spring was
passed ^ a mile to the left at 21-20 miles, and we here left the road, which
bears 113°, and, taking a bearing of 102° for | a mile, and 210° for another f,
halt 300 yards short of the Absuwaran spring.
The road is open to artillery throughout, except after rain, when it is
impassable for 3 or 4 days.
Absowaran to Camp.
Date.
No. of
March.
Route.
Intermediate
Miles.
Total
Miles.
1st March 1899
2
Camp, 4,680 feet.
16-17
38-07
We retraced our steps, and at one mile again struck the nullah, whose
meanderings we followed throughout the march, avith 103° as our average
bearing; but it was extremely difficult to fix a correct hearing. The torrent
bed gradually narrows, and contains a rich growth of tamarisk and some dwarf