Publications, Newspaper Cuttings, Photographs and Correspondence about Persia and the Persian Gulf [‎312v] (627/879)

MAY 14, 1910.]
THE TIMES OF INDIA MAIL EDITION.
15
Colonel and Mrs. Carter occupy Swinley Lodge.
Major and Mrs. Ashburner are at Midhurst,
and Mr and Mrs. La Touche are at “Garrick”
Cottage. There are also Major Lovatt, Major
Alexander, Major Birdwood, Captain Owen.
Captain Cole, Mr. and Mrs. Seddon and others.
In a short time there will be a further influx
of visitors for “the week.
OOTACAMUND.
May 2
The great attraction of the week has been
the Wellington races. The military authorities
of the Cantonment are striving to revive the
Wellington races of 30 years ago when all India
was attracted to the Nilgiris to witness them,
when professionals did not despise the meeting
and crack stables sent their best horses here to
compete for substantia', stakes. The Wellington
course, as first designed, was not quite safe
when the weather was wet as it invariably was
during the early days of the month of May,
but subsequently it was improved and became
one of the safest in the country and has con
tinued so ever since, being kept in admirable
order by the sporting officers of the Regulars
cantoned there and by those of the Depot who
come up to recruit. The events were mos”
small but were well contested r d brought to
gether a gay company both from Coonoor and
Ootacamund whose convenience was served by
spec:a. trains run for them by the enterprising
South Indian Railway.
I regret to have to tell you of a sad accident
to one of the oldest coffee planters of the Nil
giris. The late Mr. J. G. Findlay came to the
Hil s in the sixties when encouragement was
given to European planting enterprise by the
passing of the Waste Land Rules of 1863. These
rules were not particularly liberal, but they put
intending investors in coffee in possession with
out the harassing delay and uncertainty that
prevailed in earlier years and these advantages
caused a rush of capitalists, among whom was
the subject of my remarks. His eyes were not
strong latterly, and fancying one evening, when
walking out with his wife and daughter that he
heard the movements of some wild animal among
his coffee bushes, he ran into the house and
fetched his loaded gun. The next thing was
the sound of a shot, but how it occurred is not
known. It is surmised that the trigger of the
weapon caught in a branch and discharged ine
piece, the bullet passing through the body of
the deceased.
Another tragic event has been the death of a
native money lender who was inveigled into a
punchayet by his debtors and murder
ed by themin much the same style
as that in which they despatch their
buffaloes at a funeral ceremony. The Todas
are supposed to be the aborigines of the Nil
giris and c aimed to be the landlords of its
soil, giving the cultivating tribes, the Badagas,
the lease or ine .r lands on payment of a rent in
kind for the right of occupation. Their land-
lord-claims were, a ter much controversy ex
tinguished by Government finally in the settle
ment which occurred in 1886, and since trea
the Todas have had oniv restricted U is for
the grazing of their herds of buffaloes. ‘I hese
buffaloes are fine large animals, but only semi-
domestic and often ungovernable. They con
stitute the wealth of these people and apparently
have not deteriorated within the past fifty years.
They play an important part in their re igion
and the Todas belive that when slaughtered
at a funeral they nourish their owners with
their milk in the next world much as they do
in the present.
id
ias
load
was seen
here was an
d occurred,
ad announc-
y, the King-
lews was con-
instantly the
tning rapidity
ok of remorse,
on hearing the
Bhavnagar from
Mahuva.
Gazette Extraordi-
f and painful sur-
f the Sovereign and
J qualities of the au-
orld. His Highness re-
y’s gracious acts for
of loyal subjects, more
etic treatment of Native
i sustained by the demise
as once more felt to-day
of a worthy son of a worthy
jotsteps the late King closely
bar and people join in prayer
ted may rest in peace. Great
alt for the bereaved Queen, whose
ues are adored here and for the
Princess of Wales and the Royal
May 8.
The event of the week, which has overwhelmed
the station by its suddenness, is the death
of His Imperial Majesty, King Edward VII.
Most ’ people here had not even heard that _
Majesty was indisposed, and were taken by sur
prise when posters announced his death, hi
Excellency the Governor received a telegram on
Saturday "morning at 7-30, informing him of the
sorrowful intelligence, and he immediate y wired
back as follows:—“I desire in the name of the
Madras Government and the people of this
Presidency The name given to each of the three divisions of the territory of the East India Company, and later the British Raj, on the Indian subcontinent. , to convey to Her Majesty Queen
Alexandra and to His Majesty the King
Emperor a expression of profound and res
pectful sympathy in the irreparable loss which
has befallen their Majesties and the nation,
by the death of His Majesty, King Edward
Local sympathy was expressed by the
cancellation of all public functions. The Races
which were to have come off on Saturday, were
stopped many shops draped their sign boards,
the flags on Government house were flying hal
mast high, and 101 guns from the Stonhouse
battery to d the public that the King had joined
the majority and that a nation was in pro
found grief over its loss. The pulpit of Saint
Stephens was the first to express the sorrow of
the Christian congregation and the Bishop of
Madras pathetically summed up the virtues of
a be oved sovereign.
The second days races at Wellington were,
of anything, more of a success than the first
and the attendance was better. The weather
too was propitious, which it seldom was in the
past history of this sporting event. The most
important event run was for the Mysore Cup—a
handicap for horses and won by Mr. Rahimtulla
sait’s horse. Harfish by three quarters of a
length, closely followed by Mr. Holmes’
Lady Hozle. The stewards and particularly
Major Clements, the Honorary Secretary, are to
be congratulated on the meeting which it is
hoped will become more popular in future and
re-establish the reputation of this once-great
Nilgiri function.
"The Ootacamund Races—on the first day were
not less successful. The Gymkhana Pavillion
was crowded with celebrities and the beauty and
fashion of the stations as the weatner was per
fect and all the events were well filled and
here too the Mysore Cup was the coveted trophy.
It was won by Kismet.
During the next few days there will be a
missionary convention both at Ootacamund and
at Coonoor to which may Missionaries, who have
come up for a holiday have been invited and
who will give us the resu t of their varied ex
periences in their respective • fields of labour.
On the 14th instant., theSouth Indian Mis
sionary Association ■ will hold a public meeting,
when papers on important subjects wi.l be read.
DIARY OF A TRAVELLER.
S hushter.
SHUSHTER, 14th January, 1910.
Mr. Reynolds, who is now in charge of the
field operations of the oil company, has been
connected with the enterprise from the very
beginning. He started the work near Kasr-i-
Shirin, and his account of the difficulties en
countered in transporting machinery from
Baghdad to the scene of action, the obstacles
put in his way by the natives, and the great
hardships endured, make up an entertaining
narrative. The author of it is an optimist, of
course, or he could hardly have persevered
with his task. There came a period, after
operat.ons had been transferred to the Bakh-
tiari country, when the syndicate appears to
have given up hope of success, and actually to
have contemplated the abandonment of the
work, a course which would have involved a
very heavy financial loss. The representative
on the spot, however, strenuously advocated a
policy of perseverance, with the result that the
oil was discovered in the nick of time. Mere
driblets were of no use from a commercial
point of view; what was wanted was a spout
ing fountain of oil. And one day it came, to
the huge delight of the camp; shooting high
into the air and drenching the rig from top to
bottom. The lie and depth of the strata once
located, drilling was undertaken at other points
with complete success, until the field was satis
factorily proved, not to be merely a place where
oil existed, but one where it was present in
such quantity as to justify the opinion that
the new Persian wells equalled in richness
those in any other part of the world. Analysis
of the oil showed it to be of high grade, and
rich in those numerous by-products which form
such an important feature of the oil industry.
Truly a beautiful commercial prospect.
But from other points of view Maidan-i-Naph-
thun is surely one of the ugliest places in the
world. The dirty grey and yellow hills that
surround it are desolate and forbidding to a
degree. Not a tree or a bush is to be found
within twenty miles, and when I was there
not a blade of grass to relieve the horrid
monotony. All the water is bad and none
sweet is to be found under a day’s march. The
temperature in summer goes up to 120 degrees
Fahrenheit in the shade. Fresh food is pro
cured from a distance with infinite difficulty.
The European employes live either in tents or
in most uncomfortably small squat buildings
that are furnaces in the hot-weather and ice-
boxes in winter. Those early on the scene had
no beds to sleep on and little even of the
ordinary camp conveniences. Even now there
is no machinery for making ice or soda-water
or for distilling water.
Scene on lilts Cii J Fields.
An inspection of the camp proved highly in
teresting though my untechnical eye failed to
understand much of what it saw. But there
was no mistaking the blackened earth sur
rounding the well-heads, or the pressure of the
oil on the screwed caps, evident in the shape
of continuous hissing and bubbling. Two
large tanks excavated in the ground were full
of the crude article, while horrid brown masses
of it floated undulating and wriggling on the
water of a small stream. The stench absolu
tely pervaded the atmosphere, most unpleasant
to me, but balm to those who lived in it and
worked upon it. People used to oil-fields are
said to go sick when they breathe untainted
air, and to require in their waistcoat pockets
a small phial of their precious oil to smell
from when they take a holiday. A large work
shop .n which mechanics of various nationalities
were busy is a feature of the camp. A power
ful oil-engine drives the machinery, and will
later on be employed to work a dynamo which
is to provide electricity for lighting and other
purposes. Belching black smoke from a dozen
chimneys indicates that the product of the
wells is used for cooking in the houses. Large
sheds and stabling accommodation are provided
for the transport establishment, which con-
sists of about 150 mules and a dozen carts of
the kind with two pairs of enormous broad-
tyred wheels joined by a heavy beam. To
draw these contrivances when loaded with the
cylinder lengths described, six pairs of mules
are required. One of the necessities of the
enterprise was a road fit for heavy transport,
for the existing mule tracks were useless for
the purpose. A road forty miles long was con
structed to a point on the Karun River, a
few miles below the head of navigation.
Road to Shushter.
Having been hospitably entertained by Mr.
Reynolds and his staff I left the next day with
the object of rejoining my caravan on the
Shushter Road. After a five hours’ ride I
arrived at dusk at a village where I expected
to find my camp established, but only to be
disappointed and to hear that the caravan had
gone on to Shushter that forenoon. It looked
as if I were to be stranded for the night with
out food or shelter, but luckily for me I now
encountered the transport train of the oil com
pany halted for the night. In charge were two
cld soldiers, one cavalry and the other artillery,
and very well they looked after me in this
moment of need. After an excellent dinner
they produced a camp-bed, and insisted upon
dividing up their stock of bedding, very much
to rny advantage, and I am afraid, to their
own discomfort. But the British soldier has
always been an obstinate fellow whether in
war or love or hospitality, and comfortable
they made me despite my protests. Service in
India and South Africa gave us plenty to
talk about, and a pleasanter evening I have
seldom spent. In the morning one of them
went on to the camp while the other returned
with the empty carts to the depot on the river
I accompanied the latter for several miles, and
witnessed the extraordinary damage done L
the road by the storm which I 'had experienced
at Shelil.
An Ab minable Place.
After a ride of six hours 1 arrived at Shush
ter to find my belongings comfortably installed
in the hospitable house of Mr. Solomon, thi
Agent of Messrs. Lynch Brothers. Here I ha
to wait for the small stern wheeler which plie,
between Ahwaz and a point seven miles below
Shushter, beyond which the river is not con
veniently navigable. But the comfort of <
proper house was very welcome after the rough
journey over the mountains, while my host
was most assiduous in showing me the local
sights, which were varied and interesting.
There are few stranger towns to be found than
Shushter, a blessed place in the eyes of the in
habitants, but one of the filthiest in the world
according to travellers. A local Mullah of
high repute who came to visit me explained
that the word Shush—the famous ruins of tin
city of Shushan where Daniel was given to the
lions is in the neighbourhood—means good, fine
beautiful, bountiful and all the rest of it, and
that Shushter is the superlative of the same
word. I like to see a man stick up for his
native place, but in the present case then
would seem to be little justification for mum
cipal pride. Epidemics of plague and cholera
eighty years ago ruined Shushter, and where
were 45,000 inhabitants and a large trade,
there are now only some 6,000, while trade is
stagnant. The - consequence is a large area ot
ruined and tumbledown houses, desolate
bazaars, and a prevailing air of forsakenness
There is another air, too, very prevalent and
truly abominable. Shushter streets are every
where so narrow that outstretched hands will
touch either wall. Despite which sanitary and
scavenging arrangements are such that every
house must discharge its superfluities into the
narrow lanes by which the people go up ant
down. Each house has a small cave openin
on to the street at the ground level. Down ;
tunnel into this cave is shot the householc
rubbish, morning, noon and night to the utter
empoisoning of the air. Nevertheless these
narrow streets and the curious architecture are
inexpressibly quaint, and quite unlike any
thing to be found elsewhere in Persia.
Valerian’s Bridge.
Shushter is unique in another respect. A
mile upstream from it a canal takes off th
Karun and flows past the eastern side of the
town, leaving the river to skirt the western
side, the town itself being built upon a low
eminence between. Level with the town a
magnificent bridge spans the river by means
of thirty arches, several of which were swep
away by floods eighteen years ago, thus sever
ing connection with the other bank. The pecu
liarity of this bridge, attributed to Valerian
is that it is built on a cement embankment
evidently constructed with a view to raising
the level of the water for the purposes of irri
gation. Whether or no the embankment oi
barrage was part of the canal scheme and con
structed so as to force water into the canal
is learnedly discussed by Lord Curzon. Wha:
interests the visitor is to find that the canal
known as the Ab-i-Gerger, on reaching the town,
is confronted by a heavy masonry wall at eac!
side of which are curious tunnels through
which the stream pours violently. Emergin’
on the other side the water is diverted into a
number of different channels cut out of th
solid rock. Over these channels are built mill
houses, and through them the water courses
turning the mills on the way. Having don
its work, in some cases two or three times over,
the water then plunges into a deep seething
pool on the lower side of the embankment
The latter is used as a bridge and from' it ’ th
visitor first catches sight of the remarkable
scene below; spell-bound he halts to examine
so Moses-like a phenomenon. Out of nearly
twenty tunnels piercing the rock at different
levels the water gushes, pouring with a noise
like thunder into the boiling pool. The mills
being covered the why and wherefore of this
strange arrangement is mysterious until under-
stood. The explanation is that the rock is
soft sandstone which lends itself easily to
cutting, and that the townspeople, at one time
or another, have ingeniously availed themselves
of the natural advantages. It is, however, not
absolutely established that the Ab-i-Gerger is
artificial, though the embankment, of course,
is, as well as two bunds projecting into it up
stream of the embankment. It would be in
teresting to determine whether the canal was
made with a view to milling facilities or
whether the idea of milling was evolved from
the proximity of the water to the soft rock. In
any case the result is most picturesque, and
supposed to be without parallel elsewhere in
the world.
Relics of Enterprise.
The pleasantest place in Shushter is the fort,
a walled erection occupying a sandstone bluff
overlooking the Karun. The heat in Shushter
in summer is terrific, but if five
is any coolneS to come in the
evenings, it will surely be found in the
pleasant topmost storey of the house in the
fort, a many windowed-chamber commanding a
fine , view both up and down the river. Vale-
nan S. great bridge, broken towards the western
end, is clearly seen in the south, while to the
north the offtake of the Ab-i-Gerger is backed
by the mountains out of which the Karun
emerges, seemingly thankful after its tempes
tuous career in the hills to stretch itself pla
cidly on the easy mud of the plains. From
the walls of the fort my guide takes me down
to the water’s edge and we skirt the continua
tion of the bluff in the direction of the bridge.
For absolute curiousness this deserted part of
Shushter would be hard to rival. The great
sandstone cliff, about fifty feet high, is carved
into shelves that are supported by pillars left
unhewn by the masons. Great chambers ex-
end far back into the hill, some of them with
mailer caves leading off by means of well-cut
oorways. Windows there are too, and niches
or holding things, and mangers for horses and
upboards for housewives. Evidently space
-as precious here once, for in some places a
action between the shelves has been built up
ith sides and front. Here and there the arti-
cial work has disappeared, leaving an interior
pen to the day, in that garish manner fires
nd earthquakes have of dealing with human
residences. In one place a long tunnel dis-
Appears into the cliff, its sides overlooked by
galleries. This is the Ab-i-Khurd, an under-
round canal that used to serve the double
purpose of giving an internal supply of water
or the fort, and of irrigating the fields in the
outh of the town. Houses situated over its
ubtei ranean course also drew their water
upply from it by means of wells. The great
ridge with its embankment which raised the
evel of the river being now broken, water no
longer flows along this useful canal, to the
’.reat inconvenience of a part of the town and
o the ruin of the cultivation which it used to
vater. How much of the extraordinary cut-
ing in the face of the bluff is due to the action
f the water and how much to human hands
would be difficult to say ; it is at least obvious
hat the cliff was once largely inhabited,
hough now deserted and given over to the owl
and the jackal.
Jueer Folk.
The people of Shushter are about as queer as
heir town. They claim to be pure Persian,
ut in reality they are as much Arab as Per-
ian. I hey are a type by themselves, dress in
manner peculiarly their own, and have cus-
ms that distinguish them from. both Persian
nd Arab- The town has the reputation of
eing the most fanatical in Persia. Some years
go Messrs. Lynch’s agent had a very unfor-
unate experience, being attacked by his own
:rvant while in bed. One arm was cut off
iltogether by a sword while his face was slashed
cross from forehead to chin. Not a soul in
he town would help the unhappy man, despite
which he managed to get down to the steamer,
whence he reached Ahwaz, Mohammerah, and
ventually Basrah and medical attention, an
xhibition of fortitude under suffering that
vould be hard to rival.
Jity of Strife.
W hile at Shushter I had the pleasure of
neeting a doctor and his wife from Isfahan
nd one day while I was walking through the
treets with the lady, we had rather an un-
leasant adventure. Turning into an open
pace we found ourselves confronted by a small
. rowd of young men, one or two of whom has
aved in the most insulting manner. Active
esentment must have made matters worse,
Ise I would have been sorely tempted to pro-
uce my pistol. Apart from this incident,
hich took place on the critical day in Mohur-
um, I had nothing to complain of, even from
he children whose impudence in outlying Per-
an towns is usually indicative of the attitude
f the inhabitants towards unbelievers. Among
hemselves the people of Shushter, as likewise
hose of Dizful, forty miles to the north, are
lways at war. The town is divided into quar-
ers occupied by different factions in perpetual
eud with each other. The slightest cause sets
he town in a blaze, when street-fighting lasts
or days. Two months before my arrival there
tad been a serious outbreak, when seven were
filled and about twenty wounded. The Shah
ppears always to have been powerless to pre-
ent these outbursts of lagalessness and in the
resent condition of the country the new gov-
rnment is not likely to have more control,
ly friend the Mullah, mentioned at the be-
inning of this letter, brought the Member of
Parliament for Dizful and Shushter to call
ipon me. It appears that “His Excellency”
vas ready to start but that the patriotism' of
tis constituents would not stand the strain of
tis travelling expenses to Teheran.
DAVID FRASER.
PRIZE ESSAY COMPETITION.
Essays are being invited from all over the
world by Mr. Yusuf C. Arif, 5, Amrato la Lane.
Ca cutta, on “The Blessings of British rule in
India.” They are to be written in English or
Urdu, and sent in by August 31. The best in
each language is to receive a prize of a gold
medal and a purse of Rs. 100. Among the rules
are the following:—
The essays must be in simple and easy lan
guage.
There is no limit as to space.
Essays should be in an impressive. style and
not in the nature of a discourse or reasoning.
Each and every blessing to be placed under
separate headings.
Statistics and quotations are to be avoided as
far as possible.
Historical references are permitted from stan
dard original works only.
Translations wil. be rejected.
Educational qualifications of the competitor
may be added. •
MATRIMONIAL TIMES.
The cheapest, best, and quickest introductory
medium of all wishing to get married, having a
large and more influential clientele than any
Matrimonial Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. in the world.
Price 6d. in sealed envelope
The Editor Room R. A Featherstone Buildings,
London
810'1/ ‘ ' _ 4311 -
F INDIA MAIL EDITION.
15
Colonel and Mrs. Carter occupy Swinley Lodge.
Major and Mrs. Ashburner are at Midhurst,
and Mr and Mrs. La Touche are at “Garrick”
Cottage. There are also Major Lovatt, Major
Alexander, Major Birdwood, Captain Owen.
Captain Cole, Mr. and Mrs. Seddon and others.
In a short time there will be a further influx
of visitors for “the week.”
OOTACAMUND.
May 2
The great attraction of the week has been
the Wellington races. The military authorities
of the Cantonment are striving to revive the
Wellington races of 30 years ago when all India
was attracted to the Nilgiris to witness them,
when professionals did not despise the meeting
and crack stables sent their best horses here to
compete for substantia- stakes. The Wellington
course, as first designed, was not quite safe
when the weather was wet as it invariably was
during the early days of the month of May,
but subsequently it was improved and became
one of the safest in the country and has con
tinued so ever since, being kept in admirable
order by the sporting officers of the Regulars
cantoned there and by those of the Depot who
come up to recruit.The events were mos”
small but were well contested r d brought to
gether a gay company both from Coonoor and
Ootacamund whose convenience was served by
specia. trains run for them by the enterprising
South Indian Railway.
I regret to have to tell you of a sad accident
to one of the oldest coffee' planters of the Nil
giris. The late Mr. J. G. Findlay came to the
Hil s in the sixties when encouragement was
given to European planting enterprise by the
passing of the Waste Land Rules of 1863. These
rules were not particularly liberal, but they put
intending investors in coffee in possession with
out the harassing delay and uncertainty that
prevailed in earlier years and these advantages
caused a rush of capitalists, among whom was
the subject of my remarks. His eyes were not
strong latter y, and fancying one evening, when
walking out with his wife and daughter that he
heard the movements of some wild animal among
his coffee bushes, he ran into the house and
fetched his loaded gun. The next thing was
the sound of a shot, but how it occurred is not
known. It is surmised that the trigger of the
weapon caught in a branch and discharged me
piece, the bullet passing through the body of
the deceased.
Another tragic event has been the death of a
native money .ender who was inveigled into a
punchayet by his debtors and murder
ed by them in much the same style
as that in which they despatch their
buffaloes at a funeral ceremony. The Todas
are supposed to be the aborigines of the Nil-
girls and c aimed to be the landlords of its
soil, giving the cultivating tribes, the Badagas,
the lease of me r lands on payment of a rent in
kind for the right of occupation. Their land
lord-claims were, a ter much controversy ex
tinguished by Government finally in the settle
ment which occurred in 1886, and since inea
DIARY OF A TRAVELLER.
S hushter.
SHUSHTER, 14th January, 1910.
Mr. Reynolds, who is now in charge of the
field operations of the oil company, has been
connected with the enterprise from the very
beginning. He started the work near Kasr-i-
Shirin, and his account of the difficulties en
countered in transporting machinery from
Baghdad to the scene of action, the obstacles
put in his way by the natives, and the great
hardships endured, make up an entertaining
narrative. The author of it is an optimist, of
course, or he could hardly have persevered
with his task. There came a period, after
operations had been transferred to the Bakh-
tiari country, when the syndicate appears to
have given up hope of success, and actually to
have contemplated the abandonment of the
work, a course which would have involved a
very heavy financial loss. The representative
on the spot, however, strenuously advocated a
policy of perseverance, with the result that the
oil was discovered in the nick of time. Mere
driblets were of no use from a commercial
point of view; what was wanted was a spout
ing fountain of oil. And one day it came, to
the huge delight of the camp; shooting high
into the air and drenching the rig from top to
bottom. The lie and depth of the strata once
located, drilling was undertaken at other points
with complete success, until the field was satis
factorily proved, not to be merely a place where
oil existed, but one where it was present in
such quantity as to justify the opinion that
the new Persian wells equalled in richness
those in any other part of the world. Analysis
of the oil showed it to be of high grade, and
rich in those numerous by-products which form
such an important feature of the oil industry.
Truly a beautiful commercial prospect.
But from other points of view Maidan-i-Naph-
thun is surely one of the ugliest places in the
world. The dirty grey and yellow hills that
surround it are desolate and forbidding to a
degree. Not a tree or a bush is to be found
within twenty miles, and when I was there
not a blade of grass to relieve the horrid
monotony. All the water is bad and none
sweet is to be found under a day’s march. The
temperature in summer goes up to 120 degrees
Fahrenheit in the shade. Fresh food is pro
cured from a distance with infinite difficulty.
The European employes live either in tents or
in most uncomfortably small squat buildings
that are furnaces in the hot-weather and ice-
boxes in winter. Those early on the scene had
no beds to sleep on and little even of the
ordinary camp conveniences. Even now there
is no machinery for mai ing ice or soda-water
or for distilling water.
went on to the camp while the other returned
with the empty carts to the depot on the river
I accompanied the latter for several miles, and
witnessed the extraordinary damage done t
the road by the storm which I 'had experienced
at Shelil.
An Ab minable Place.
After a ride of six hours 1 arrived at Shush
ter to find my belongings comfortably install
in the hospitable house of Mr. Solomon, th
Agent of Messrs. Lynch Brothers. Here I ha
to wait for the small stern wheeler which plie,
between Ahwaz and a point seven miles below
Shushter, beyond which the river is not con
veniently navigable. But the comfort of <
proper house was very welcome after the rough
journey over the mountains, while my host
was most assiduous in showing me the local
sights, which were varied and interesting.
There are few stranger towns to be found than
Shushter, a blessed place in the eyes of the in
habitants, but one of the filthiest in the world
according to travellers. A local Mullah of
high repute who came to visit me explainer
that the word Shush—the famous ruins of tin
city of Shushan where Daniel was given to th.
lions is in the neighbourhood—means good, fine
beautiful, bountiful and all the rest of it, and
that Shushter is the superlative of the same
word. I like to see a man stick up for his
native place, but in the present case then
would seem to be little justification for mum
cipal pride. Epidemics of plague and cholera
eighty years ago ruined Shushter, and when
were 45,000 inhabitants and a large trade
there are now only some 6,000, while trade i:
stagnant. The consequence is a large area o!
ruined and tumbledown houses, desolate
bazaars, and a prevailing air of forsakenness
There is another air, too, very prevalent and
truly abominable. Shushter streets are every
where so narrow that outstretched hands will
touch either wall. Despite which sanitary anc
scavenging arrangements are such that ever
house must discharge its superfluities into the
narrow lanes by which the people go up ant
down. Each house has a small cave openin
on to the street at the ground level. Down <
tunnel into this cave is shot the househole
rubbish, morning, noon and night to the utte:
empoisoning of the air. Nevertheless these
narrow streets and the curious architecture art
inexpressibly quaint, and quite unlike any
thing to be found elsewhere in Persia.
Valerian's Bridge.
Shushter is unique in another respect. A
mile upstream from it a canal takes off th
Karun and flows past the eastern side of the
town, leaving the river to skirt the western,
side, the town itself being built upon a low
eminence between. Level with the town a
magnificent bridge spans the river by means
of thirty arches, several of which were swept
away by floods eighteen years ago, thus sever
I ing -connection with the other bank.The Decu
I For absolute curiousness this deserted part of
Shushter would be hard to rival. The great
sandstone cliff, about fifty feet high, is carved
nto shelves that are supported by pillars left
anhewn by the masons. Great chambers ex-
end far back into the hill, some of them with
mailer caves leading off by means of well-cut
loorways. Windows there are too, and niches
or holding things, and mangers for horses and
upboards for housewives. Evidently space
-as precious here once, for in some places a
action between the shelves has been built up
ith sides and front. Here and there the arti-
cial work has disappeared, leaving an interior
pen to the day, in that garish manner fires
nd earthquakes have of dealing with human
esidences. In one place a long tunnel dis-
ippears into the cliff, its sides overlooked by
alleries. This is the Ab-i-Khurd, an under
ground canal that used to serve the double
purpose of giving an internal supply of water
or the fort, and of irrigating the fields in the
outh of the town. Houses situated over its
ubterranean course also drew their water
upply from it by means of wells. The great
ridge with its embankment which raised the
evel of the river being now broken, water no
longer flows along this useful canal, to the
•reat inconvenience of a part of the town and
o the ruin of the cultivation which it used to
.vater. How much of the extraordinary cut-
ing in the face of the bluff is due to the action
f the water and how much to human hands
vould be difficult to say ; it is at least obvious
hat the cliff was once largely inhabited,
hough now deserted and given over to the owl
nd the jackal.
ueer Folk.
The people of Shushter are about as queer as
heir town. They claim to be pure Persian,
ut in reality they are as much Arab as Per-
ian. They are a type by themselves, drese in
manner peculiarly their own, and have cus-
ms that distinguish them from both Persian
nd Arab. The town has the reputation of
eing the most fanatical in Persia. Some years
go Messrs. Lynch’s agent had a very unfor-
unate experience, being attacked by his own
ervant while in bed. One arm was cut off
altogether by a sword while his face was slashed
cross from forehead to chin. Not a soul in
he town would help the unhappy man, despite
vhich he managed to get down to the steamer,
hence he reached Ahwaz, Mohammerah, and
ventually Basrah and medical attention, an
xhibition of fortitude under suffering that
vould be hard to rival.
City of Strife.
While at Shushter I had the pleasure of
neeting a doctor and his wife from Isfahan
nd one day while I was walking through the
treets with the lady, we had rather an un-
■ -feasant adventure. Turning into an open
. pace we found ourselves confronted by a small
— rowd of young men.one or two of whom he