'Military Report on Persian Seistan' [‎64r] (132/188)

117
HEL-HEL
The present channels of the Helnand near the end of dts course are an
interesting study, and though perhaps of no great military importance are of
great political significance. An extract from Sykes's “ A Fourth Journey in
Persia ” is appended.
“ Seistan depends upon the Helmand, but hardly in the same way as
Egypt depends on the Nile, as not only does the Helmand, or Hirmand, as
the Persians call it, pass through Seistan, but that district receives the entire
discharge of its waters.
“ Accordingly I propose to give a summary of the various routes taken by
the Helmand in historical times, as without some consideration of this
question much ip Saistan remains obscure.
“ To begin our survey with the fourteenth century, there was a great dam
known as the Band-i Akwa (evidently a corruption of Afghan), whence a
canal or canals were drawn fertilizing the district now covered with ruins to
the south of Seistan. The main stream ran north and was known as the
Rud-i-Nasru, Shahristan and Zahidan being cities on its banks. These condi
tions were changed when Timur destroyed the dam, which is said to have
been built of stone and cement.
“As a result, the Haozdar District to the south gradually went out of culti
vation, and the Helmand, while still keeping to the Rud-i-Nasru, created a
channel for its superfluous waters, which encircled the three hills of Sehkuha,
hitherto not inhabited. The river approximately followed this course until
early in the nineteenth century, when the whole volume of water carved out
a new channel to the west of Nad-i-Ali.
“As this left cultivated Seistan high and dry, the Rud-i-Seistan was cut
a little to the north of Sehkuha—a task of great magnitude which was more
than once abandoned before being finally completed."
This was the state of affairs at the time of the Goldsmid Mission and until
recently, “when the Helmand began to forsake the Nad-i-Ali channel,
breaking across Miankangi in various places, and in 1896 a regular channel,
known as the Rud-i-Perian, was formed, destroying Jahanabad, Ibrahimabad,
and Jalalabad. A glance at the sketches will show that this new course is
not far from the ancient Rud i-Nasru, to which it is expected the wayward
river will finally return, although perhaps with a smaller stream, the volume
oF water decreasing decade by decade." This changing of the bed of the
river has led to constant disputes between the Afghans and Persians, the
former claiming up to the present main channel, whereas the latter claim
the channel which was the main one at the time of the Goldsmid award.
During the autumn, winter, and early spring, the river flows in a well-
defined course with a uniform current of about three to four miles an
hour, the depth at the fords, which are numerous, being 3' to 8' 6." The
river is in flood from about the middle or end of March to the middle or
end of June with a rise of about 6 feet and a current of probably 5 or
6 miles an hour.
As to the navigability of the river, there seems to be no doubt that the
river is navigable from Giriskh to the Seistan Band, (and if that were
removed right down to the Hamun, which will carry at least 10 feet of water,
to Lash Fort or at least to Takht-i-Rustum), for craft drawing 2' to 2' 6.‘’
Colonel Peacocke, however, doubts the possibility of obtaining fuel for the
steamers, as there is no timber worth mentioning near the river.
Between Giriskh and Khwaja Ali there are reported to be the following