'Lord Curzon's Notes on Persia' [‎390r] (780/1386)

The Persians say that many
years ago a sea rolled its waves over toe whole of the depression where
I am now travelling, and that it was navigated by ships which used to
sail from Semnan to Kashan. My guide told me the following legend -
‘ One day, many years ago, long before the time of the Prophet, a holy
man arrived at Kashan, took a boat, and ordered the man to sail him
across to some point or other. The boatman, being of a supicious turn
of mind, insisted on payment of the fare before landing. This condition
was accepted, but the amount offered was held insufficient, and a pour
boire demanded in addition. After a dispute the point was yielded, and
the old man said nothing more until he reached the shore, when, taking
up a handful of earth from the ground, he threw it into the sea, uttering
these words, ‘ Avaricious boatmen shall here ply their trade no more.’
The sea instantly disappeared, and in its place came the desert as it
now stands; while the fish became turned into stones, the boatman
who tried to swindle was struck with blindness, and the holy man went
on his way rejoicing.
“ I suggested to my guide that this was rather a severe punishment
for such a small fault, and that an earthquake, or a severe storm which
would have sent all the boatmen to the bottom of the sea, might have
been sufficient to meet the requirements of the case. He said he didn’t
know about that; anyhow, this was the story as he had heard it
recounted by his tribe who had lived on the borders of the desert for
ages.
“ After breakfasting in front of this wounderful marsh, which was
several miles off, I climbed to the top of the nearest hill to see if I could
mark its limit; but no, there it was, stretching away without any
termination until it and the sky appeared to meet.
“ Resuming the march we reached Chashma Bulazoon, a small spring
of fresh water, and halted there for the night (elevation 4200 feet).
Here we saw the tracts of a large panther ; so, lighting several fires, we
brought the baggage animals inside them and lay down ourselves
close by.
“ The next few marches were in the neighbourhood of the swamp,
towards the centre of which the wind blew unceasingly day and night.
On the second evening, at Chah Shur (elevation 3700 feet), it blew a
perfect gale, so much so that all our fires were blown away, and it
became almost impossible to cook anything. Then, to add to the
general discomfort, the rain began to descend in torrents, and we had to
shift from the stream-bed, in which we had camped for shelter, on to
higher ground. I lay during the night with a waterproof sheet over
me, and my boxes and saddle piled up on the windy side. Needless to say
that I always slept in my clothes and boots.”
On the 16th April he passed over a Small neck of Jeavir at an
elevation of about 2700 feet. Otherwise, up to the 20th, he but
skirted or overlooked the salt swamp, according as his route fell or rose.
On the date last mentioned he reports, “ a march across the kavir, which
consists here of a swollen, puffed-up, glazed crust, with a powdery soil
beneath, of a Naples yellow colour.” I quote his description further:—
«As we progress, the animals’ feet break through its surface with a
crackling sound ; all vegetation ceases. At the fourth mile we reach a
salt stream, called by the natives the Shatt, flowing from west to east at
a mile-and-a-half an hour. This river probably drains the low kavir
north of the Siah Kuh into the Great Kavir, and receives also the
drainage from the hills north of Semnan. In flood it must be about 150
yards in breadth, with an average depth of six feet, though at present
the section of the actual stream flowing is not more than eight square
feet. A few white birds are visible here and there, which resembled
the Indian paddy bird; also a few ravens. After crossing the stream