Correspondence and Papers on Persia [‎158r] (69/245)

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Geo.—Sykes'—First Proof.
For the remaining 90 miles I hired a waggon, its owner agreeing
to reach Meshed on the third day; and so we started off with the
pleasant feeling that this section of the journey was an accomplished
fact.
Unfortunately, at about 5 miles from Kuchan one of the horses
had a violent attack of colic; so we had to halt for the night, as the
poor beast was quite unfit to proceed, and it was not until February 28
that I drew up at the consulate-general at Meshed, where I was warmly
welcomed by Mr. Ney Elias, whose untimely death this Society is now
deploring. In his obituary notice, mention was made of the kindness
he showed to all his juniors, and of this I have received innumerable
proofs during the five years that have elapsed since I was first his
guest.
Meshed, as is well known, contains the famous shrine of the holy
Keza, the last of the twelve Imams, and is the religious centre of Persia.
The mosque is of great magnificence, and I hope to give a fair repre
sentation of its exterior on the screen. I was much tempted to linger
at Meshed, but, as every week’s delay meant more heat in the Dasht-i-
Lut, I had to htirry through with my preparations, and after a week’s
stay I continued my southward journey. As far as Turbat I was on a
well-known road, which had been travelled over by Dr. Bellew in the
seventies; but between Turbat and Jumain I found that several villages
shown on the map were in ruins or unknown, while the river, termed
the Kal Salah, which is shown as flowing east, actually trends to west,
and is lost in the swamps to the north of Bajistan.
At Tun I was on the northern edge of the great Dasht-i-Lut, which
lay between us and Kerman, and which has not been traversed, in this
particular portion, since the illustrious Marco Polo crossed it, in the
opposite direction, when travelling from Kerman to Tonoca via Cobinan.
As the great Venetian was not only a most accurate observer, but also
wielded a graphic pen, I feel sure that I cannot do better than give his
words, when describing the Dasht-i-Lut, which signifies the “Naked
Icsart ”—a most appropriate name.
He says, “ When you depart from this city of Cobinan, you find
yourself in a desert of surpassing aridity. There are neither fruits nor
trees to be seen, and what water there is is bitter and bad, so that you
have to carry both food and water. The cattle must needs drink the
bad water, will they nill they, because of their great thirst.”
Friar Odoricus, in the succeeding century, who was apparently
struck by another phase of the desert, describes it in the following lines,
as if he were referring to a sea. He says, “ Now, that sea is a wondrous
thing, and right perilous. For it is all of dry sand, without any
moisture, and it shifteth, as the sea doth when in storm, now hither,
now thither; and as it shifteth it maketh waves, so that countless
people travelling thereon have been overwhelmed and drowned, and
buried in those sands.”
Our chief preparation consisted in engaging a few donkeys to carry
forage for our mules, and, as there were said to be tanks with water on
the way, we expected very little trouble. We soon left the Tun oasis
behind, and entered the silent desert, where not even a crow is to be
At the fourth mile was a tank of sweet water, where I insisted upon
filling up my private water-skin, and at night we halted near the well
of Khushab," which means sweet water. However, it was much too sa t
for me, so I was very glad indeed that I had taken the precaution to
fill my “ mussuck.” , . ,
On the following morning, after drinking tea, only a pint remained;
but we were promised excellent water at the evening’s stage of Ghahar
Gunbaz, and so commenced the march in hope.
Throughout the day we approached a snow-clad range, whic a PPf a ^®
on no map, and, as we were at the end of March, I estimated its height
at 7000 or 8000 feet. „
The heat and thirst were very trying and, to add to our iscom or ,
the water at the stage was simply green with salt. I attempted to drl “
it with lime-juice tablets dissolved in it, but in vain, and so I could only
envy the others, who were able to swallow it with apparently no ill
results.