"تقرير عسكري عن جنوب غرب بلاد فارس، يتضمن أقاليم خوزستان (عربستان)، لورستان، وجزءًا من فارس" [‎٣‎٠‎٢] (٤٦٦/٣٤٧)

302
R oute N o. ^—contd.
From hfahdn to Behbahdn and Banddr-Dildm, fyc, —contd.
a ^
as
f3 02
ft
Time.
Names of towns. Tillages, &c
Distaitcks iit
miles.
Interme
diate.
Total.
Be mark s.
ravine, and cascades are frequent.
11-15
a.m.
9-55 ... ... ... Descends a narrow, stony ravine by a
very steep and rocky descent; soil, a
shaly rock ; the rock, sandstone, is worn
deeply by the stream flowing down the
Crosses a neck ; barometer 24/ / (5,970')
Undulates alon^ the left side of the val
ley, out of which the road has been in
places cut, where the rock is a soft shale;
in places attempts have been made to revet the road by means of wooden piles. These feeble
attempts at road-making are the results of the energy of the Ihtisham-ul-Daulat, who ruled
the tribes from Behbahan in the years 1877 to 1880. Easy places have been made easier,
but the real difficulties of the road have been left untouched {see above).
Descends steeply into the valley leading to the Tang-i-Nali; this descent is next to im
passable, even to mules ; it winds considerably, and many of its steps are 2' to 3' high ; it is
narrrow ; in places the rock is sharp ; in others it is as slippery as glass from the passage of
flocks of goats, sheep, &c.
p.m.
12-30 ... ... ... Enters the Tang-i-Nali and descends with
the stream ; barometer 25" (4,840'). The
gorge is narrow and deep ; its bed is cover
ed with huge boulders, over and around
s have to work their way.
The passage of the iliyats has caused a track to be worn, but it is next to impassable [see
page 26).
whic
h the horses and baggage anima
14
1-55
Safar-i-ab (elevation
4,120 ).
22
309
The Tang opens out, and the valley is
cultivated.
Small village, now unoccupied, at the
head of the gorge; barometer 25 , 55 7
(4,120)'.
The huts are of stone with flat mud
roofs. The valley is fertile; its pas
ture is good, and wheat, barley, and rice
are grown. It is well watered by a
stream, 20 to 40'wide, flowing out of the Tang. • The village is the property of Abbas Khan,
whose tribe (Nowi) has moved to the summit of the neighbouring hills to secure better pasture
and a cooler climate ; this]valley, being considered to be qarmsir, is occupied only from October
to April.
This stage is the most difficult one traversed since leaving Isfahan, and would entail
the greatest work to render it passable.
Safar-i -Ab or Safano or Sarpono lies at the head of a valley, at the further extremity of
which lies the Tang-i-Nakhuda, a narrow and deep gorge, the duplicate of the Tang -i-Nali.
The steep and lofty mountains of the Bakhtiari ranges lie to its north; those to the south,
although many of them rise to considerable elevations, and are rocky and precipitous, yet are
of secondary importance as a mountain chain. Their slopes, as a rule, grow no brushwood,
and trees are found generally in the valleys only, and there they are rare.