'Lord Curzon's Notes on Persia: About 1889-1890' [‎470v] (960/1486)

I
of what is found at Bahrein,* where a freshwater spring bubbles up
out of the salt sea, enabling men-of-war to fill their water-tanks
by merely dropping the hose overboard and pumping. The
Bakhtiari country is everywhere well supplied with salt, liquid
and solid.
Separating the bed of the Kurang from this Shorab valley is only
a low but long spur of the Kuh-i-Rang, very low and narrow, yet
bearing the historic name of Kar Kanun (Photo No. 52 ). At a point
where the real Kurang is fortified by the Sar-i-Chashma spring and
all its headwaters from the Kuh-i-Rang, and where it is already a
formidable stream, a work has years ago been commenced with the
/ intention of diverting these headwaters of the Kurang into the
Shorab valley, so that the Zainderud, often effete by the time it
l reaches Isfahan,f might be vigorously strengthened and thus for ever
atone for the shortcomings of the Persian river. The idea has been
described as a grand conception w r orthy of a mighty monarch;
in reality it is an illustration of the parable of the man who
royally neglected first to count the cost. Though many thousands
of workmen have been working for years, at the most advanta
geous appraising but yo of the necessary work can as yet have
been accomplished. And if the same cheap manual labor were to
be employed to finish this “ mighty conception,” probably -' o th
of the cost only has as yet been defrayed (see page ). The
levels are favourable, rnd in European hands the task could be ac
complished without difficulty, probably by tunnelling. But as to
the expected practical effect of such a contemplated diversion it
is well possible for divided opinions to exist. The Kurang can
spare the amount of water, without hurting an inhabitant on its
banks, for it may be safely assumed that such a diversion, if ever
accomplished, would not lower the water level at Shuster by the
thousandth part of an inch. On the other hand, it is open to
doubt whether, if left to itself in the dry bed of the Zainderud, a
drop of the acquired inflow would ever reach Isfahan.
To the north-west of the Kuh-i-Rang, as already noticed, the
water system is at right angles to that in the Bakhtiari country,
and for certain reasons will be named Upper Elam. The popula
tion here being less homogeneous makes it difficult to find a com
mon name, for the several rivers which, uniting at the southern
foot of the Inner range, flow into the plains of Arabistan in one
bed under the name of Ab-i-Diz, on which is Dizful (lit. Dizpul,
the bridge over the Diz). The Ab-i-Diz consists of two main
streams, one flowing from near Burujird, and draining Silakhor,
must be called the Ab-i-Burujird, though few of the people, Khans
• In the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .
t The river bed at julfa was absolutely waterless in September 1890 , on account of the
demands of irrig.tion.