'Seistan' [‎44r] (87/782)

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From Manzil the track leads almost south-west for two miles over sand-hillSi
round the south-east spur of a low range of hills called Ahinak ; 2 to 3 miles
over a sandy stony plain, studded with irregular mounds of sand, direction still
south-west; 3 5 m iles over soft sand, direction west north-west; 5 to 11 miles
sand becomes firmer; n to 16 miles, soil sand and some small stones ; 16 to 21
miles over sand with gravelly surface. At the 337th mile from Quetta is Sor Reg
camping ground, situated to the south of a large mound of sand of that name;
there is no water obtainable here, nor at any place between Manzil and Amir
Chah, 43 miles.
From Sor Reg the track leads west over sand for 5 miles; 5 t 0 12 so ^
c rtrP „„. A . ~ , becomes firmer; 12 to 17 miles through
sand ; 18th mile over firmer soil, sand mixed
with stones; at the 19th mile track crosses a kotal about 40 feet high, between 2
small hills, and then over a belt of soft sand for ^ mile ; 19 to 22 miles over stony
ground ; for the last mile to Amir Chah the track is in a dry nala bed, the average
width of which is about 50 yards. At the 359th mile from Quetta is Amir Chah
camping ground. There is a levy thana post here and the supply of water from
3 wells is good.
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o^. The following notes regarding “ marking out ” may be of use
Aiio.nm.nf ,nj 1 • . 17 „ t struction of the line is undertaken ; from
Quetta there will be no difficulty in fixing on
a suitable alignment as far as Kishingi, 84 miles; from Kishingi the course will be
almost due west as far as Nushki; about 4 miles west of Kishingi the line will
descend from the plateau on to the plain; it will be necessary to go carefully over
the ground here with a view to getting an easy descent, and one that will be
accessible to the line staff on maintenance patrol duty afterwards.
From the top of Kishingi plateau, overlooking the plain west, a good view
of the country over which the line will run is obtained. Mekh Mall, the small
hill north of Shakkar Chah can be seen, so that a fixed direction as far as this
can readily be followed. It might be well to keep to the south of the Kaisar
river at Nushki, but this will depend a good deal on the site selected for the
^^ cer J t ^ rom the hills immediately to the east. From Shakkar Chah the line
U1 follow closely the lower slopes of the hills to the south, and continue on
through the Nimik Pass as far as Kuchakki.
From Kuchakki the line can be taken over very good stiff soil, and within
easy sight of the camel track by skirting the lower slopes of the Raskoh-Kohi
bheik Hussein range of hills.
Padag, the next halting place west of Kuchakki, is situated just north
or a small isolated,h»ll called ‘ Padag Post’ ; this hill, about 200 feet high, can be
seen about 7 miles distant, and makes a good land mark ; it would perhaps be
advisable to keep the Telegraph line south of this, and continue it on for 5 or
6 miles in a south-west direction where firm soil is met with ; this will avoid
crossing Uie belt of sand-hills immediately west of Padag. The next halting
ground is \ adgar in the open plain, its prismatic compass A compass fitted with a sighting vane and magnifier to achieve additional accuracy. bearings with the
following hills are
Mekh-i-Rustam ... ... ... ... 32*
Chappir ... ... ... ... ... 388°
Raskoh ... ... ... ... ... Il0 0
the course will be almost due west, and will continue on so beyond Dalbandin
over a level plain, except where sand-hills are crossed ; the main object in mark
ing out along here will be to avoid sand ; it will be impossible to do this al
together ; from Dalbandin the course will be directed immediately to the south of
a low range of hills, about 5 miles distant, and will continue on almost due
west as far as Mirui ; between Dalbandin and Mirui are several dry nala beds
to be crossed, vtde Statement D ; the general alignment here will depend on the
sites selected for spans at these nalas. Prismatic compass A compass fitted with a sighting vane and magnifier to achieve additional accuracy. bearings of Mirui
from a hill close to the camping ground with the following hills are :—
... 3 2 4 °
... 35 o°
... 283°
Malik Naro
Malik Teznan
Malik Gat