‘Persia – especially Seistan’ [‎445r] (888/949)

cultivation round them These are to he met with even in the terrible " Lut ”
cultivation, W1 th Persia’s small rain fall, could not have existed without irn. a -
tnm, and apparently what has happened has been that owing to raids or inter-
nal stnfe, kanats became neglected and silted up. The people bavin- no time
to clean them had the choice of dying of thirst or of emigrating elsewhere
place of greater safety and more easily accessible water supply, so the desert
Kiew. iave never ceased regretting the absence of an engineer on the Mis
sion, as a layman I can see tlm immense possibilities for irrigation and road
making but also I am not sutliciently ™ fait with the technicalities of the
question to lay before you any scheme. Major Sykes showed his wisdom and
knowledge of the wants of the country when he asked for, or rather sug
gested, that an engineer should accompany ; when one travels through hundreds
ot square miles of mountains, all absolutely devoid of vegetation of any kind
and realises the enormous amount of water that must rush down their precipit.
ous sides going no one knows, or apparently cares whither, when one marches
hiougli dieary miles of river beds, most drv, some carrying a fair supply of
water and emerges on to the plain strewn with black broken stones, or with
oose rock sand cobbles a sand and dreary desert, one cannot help but exclaim
water is the key stone of the problem.” In a land that is nearly all desert,
v her ever there is water the desert, as in Egypt changes its aspect and becomes
a smiling garden. I must crave your forgiveness for having wandered from
pure y business subjects, but when one thinks that water means cultivation,
winch means population, which again means trade, I am sure you will a-ree
with me regarding the importance of what I have written.
. These bare mountains and sandy deserts mean an enormous amount of silt
which chokes up the peoples kanats, and all I can say is, that if with their
faulty levels and crude methods they can cultivate as much as they do, with
skilled irrigation they could do infinitely more.
The country is now free from Afghan and Baluch raids, the Nomads no
longer burn slay and loot as they used to, so that if we could give Persia
increased cultivation through improved irrigation I think we may safely hope
for the rest to follow. L
Since our arrival in Bam we have had several interviews with local not
ables, including the Governor, Adal-u-Dovla, who also dined with us, and with
the merchants, these last are as 1 have remarked, a distinct improvement on
the Kevmanis in intelligence and energy. Erom them I was able to extract
some useful and interesting information.
filie population of the town of Bam is from ten thousand to twelve thou
sand that of Bam district being about c0,C00. Geographically Bam is of great
importance as it is the natural distributing centre for the whole of Persian
Baluchistan as well as being the last tow n of importance between Kerman and
India, the next being Quetta 700 miles to the East. Eor further information
regarding Bam, its trade, and the British Consular Agent lately appointed to it,
Khan Bahadur Ashgar Ali, I would refer you to my letter of date to the Indian
Tea Cess Committee, a copy of winch is being sent to you. I look upon the
appointment of the Khan Bahadur to Bam as of great importance to Indian
trade and would suggest full range of samples clearly marked in Persian, being
placed at his disposal. He will be at Bam by the end of May and parcels sent
care of Consul Kerman w ill be forwarded to him.
Caravan Routes.
Bam is served by three main caravan tracks :—
One runs from Bunder Abbas via Jiruft, a good road but troubled at times,
mostly in the spring, by Bashikirdi Arab nomads. Caravans using this road
take from 15 to 20 days for the journey, the cost of carriage ranging from 7 to
12 tomans 10,000 Persian dinars, or a gold coin of that value. per Kharvar of 100 maunds, Tabreez (6J lbs).
The other two roads mn from Kerman to Bam, one r?a Naibid, the other
via Bain. These roads bifurcate a day’s march out of Kerman and reunite a
day’s march out of Bam. The telegraph has been laid along the Naibid road,
3