Chapter XII: Journey in the Desert of the Toorkmuns (4)

Begler! Give my respects to the Tukas. There is a place called
Urkuj.[15]
You have long enough enjoyed it.
You have sat in Urkuj for many a year. It is now time, Begler! that
you should decamp.
We shall now pitch our tents on the meadows of Nisaœ.[15]
We shall sound the trumpet of retreat as you flee.
Our horsemen will capture those who attempt to escape.
We shall trample under foot those who lag behind.
We shall gaze on your lovely daughters.
Our brave warriors, clad in their armour, shall gallop over your
plains.
Our soldiers will charge beyond your fort, Begler!
The walls of Akkul[15] will tremble at the report of our artillery.
I shall bring a powerful army along with me.
I shall pass beyond the plains of Kipchak.[16]
My advanced guard will dismount in the field of Maimuna.
Your people will be annihilated in the sands of the desert.
When you are driven among the sand hills,
Your feet will blister, and your mouths will be parched.
Wherever you may be, my guides will ferret you out.
When they have marked you down, we shall seize you and your
families.
Oh, Dooshkoon![17] I speak thus from myself:
That plain, now so beautiful, will shortly appear to you a bed of
thorns.

~Quit the country of the Toorkmuns.~

With these national lays closed my acquaintance with the Toorkmuns. I passed down upon Astrabad by the plain; avoiding, as much as possible, all intercourse with the Yamoods, who were not described as so pacific as the Goklans. I met several parties of them, and they offered me no incivility, though I had now left the suite of the Khan, and was travelling alone. A journey of eighty miles brought us to the town of Astrabad, from which the view is very imposing. At the base of mountains, one of which is the craggy fortress of Humawuran, the scene of Persian romance, lay the vast plain of the Toorkmuns. The Caspian could be but faintly distinguished, for it is upwards of twenty miles distant. On our route from the country of the Goklans, we passed a lofty cupola, the Goombuz Kaoos, supposed to stand on the ruins of the ancient Goorgan. It is said to have been once connected with the Caspian by a boundary line of forts styled the “Lanut Nooma,” or the “curse shower;” since every person was accursed who presumed to cross into the country of the Toorkmuns. The natives spoke of the wars and battles of by-gone years, when the rivers Goorgan and Atruk were dyed with blood; but I hope, as I believe, only in the metaphors of the poet.

~Arrival at Astrabad.~

~Plague.~

In Astrabad we alighted at a caravansary; and passed two gloomy days in this “City of the Plague.” That scourge had last year devastated this town; and I sauntered without pleasure through its deserted streets. Half the shops and houses were shut, literally from want of masters; and the whole population did not exceed 4000 souls. The disease raged here with fearful violence; and from some families of ten or twelve, two or three only remained. In every instance that the tumours of the patient burst, life was spared; but not till it had left the most horrid scars as marks of its virulence: they looked like gunshot wounds. One would have almost imagined that these people had become familiarised to death, though the disease had now disappeared. The bier used for interment lay by the road-side; and I saw them washing a dead body by one of the wells in the public street, near some fruit-shops. I moved quickly away from the spectacle; and the sound of my horses’ hoofs echoed as I trod these lonely streets.

~Astrabad.~

Astrabad is a place of no great note. A dry ditch, and a decayed mud wall about two miles in circumference, surround it; yet there are parts in the interior, which bear no resemblance to a city, and remind one of the country. It is the birthplace of the Kujurs, the reigning family of Persia. Hanway tells us, that in the beginning of last century, it was a considerable mart for trade; but its prosperity has declined, since it has now only four caravansaries, and there are but twelve shops for the sale of cloth. Its position is favourable, being but twenty miles from the Caspian. The magnificent causeway of Shah Abbas, which still exists, also keeps open its communication with the provinces south of that sea. Its trade with Orgunje, or Khiva, is comparatively trifling; there being but one or two annual caravans of eighty or a hundred camels. The intervening country is very disturbed; goods may be conveyed there with greater safety, by passing them up the eastern bank of the Caspian, and landing in the latitude of Khiva. There is hardly any trade between Astrabad and Russia. The climate of Astrabad is humid and disagreeable. It rains so much that it is difficult to keep a mud wall standing, and a very ingenious plan has been devised to effect it. A mat of reeds is placed on the top of the wall, covered with earth, and planted with lilies, or fleur-de-lis, which grow up luxuriantly, and thus protect it from the rain. Though Astrabad be in the same parallel as Koochan, the thermometer, which there fell below the freezing point at sunrise, now stood at 60° in October. The difference of elevation solves the problem. Astrabad produces oranges, figs, lemons, and the fruits of hot countries.

~Arrival on the Caspian.~

From Astrabad I proceeded to the banks of the Caspian at Nokunda, a straggling village about thirty miles distant. We might have come on it sooner, but I had an introduction to the Khan of that place, and preferred seeing the Causeway of the great Shah Abbas. It is yet in tolerable repair, and appears to have been about twelve feet broad, and formed of round stones. It runs through a thick forest, where figs, vines, and pomegranates grow spontaneously. This road will, in all probability, remain, like that of the Cæsars, as the most lasting memorial of the munificent Abbas. Without it, the province of Mazenderan would be quite impervious for many months. The Khan of Nokunda received me very kindly, and was a communicative man. He was a relation of the Khan with whom I had travelled among the Toorkmuns. He gave me a Persian dinner, and many Persian compliments; and I assured him, in return, that the guest of a night was the friend of a hundred years.

~Adventures on the Caspian.~

The forests of Mazenderan had yet hid the Caspian; nor did I see it till the following morning, and within half a mile of its beach. What a noble sight it at length presented, after we had been so long looking for it, and travelled from Delhi to its shores. It now rolled before us like the ocean. Near us lay five or six small vessels, here called “_gummee_;” and the Khan and myself embarked in one of them, and sailed merrily out to sea, from which we viewed this beautiful coast. We boarded a small Russian vessel, and the whole voyage was repaid by the reception of the captain, who, on hearing I was a European, pulled off his fur cap, and had a bit of sturgeon broiled for my refreshment. I cannot say I relished it; but then, I had not had such a bow, and such society, for many a day. These vessels are all of Russian build; they carry two masts, and hoist square sails; their tackle is superior: but there were no vessels of any great tonnage then in the harbour. There is a prevalent belief, that the waters on the southern side of the Caspian have been receding; and during these twelve years they have retired about three hundred yards, of which I had ocular proof. Over the reef which forms the Bay of Astrabad, the natives informed me that the water of the Caspian is fresh, while in other places it is brackish; but as this is the embouchure of the rivers Atruk and Goorgan, it may be readily accounted for. I did not leave the Caspian without endeavouring to verify the opinions regarding its level, which is clearly below that of the ocean. A thermometer, which boils at the sea at 212-1/3°, here boiled at 213-2/3°, which, according to Humboldt, would give a depression of 800 feet, which is much too great. I did not, however, use proper water for the experiment, and we shall rest satisfied simply with its being a corroboration of received opinions of the depression of this inland sea.

~Gardens of Ushruff.~

I took leave of the Khan of Nokundu, and proceeded to Ushruff, which is in Mazenderan, and one of the favoured seats of Shah Abbas and Nadir, and which Jonas Hanway has so graphically described some ninety years ago. All the fine buildings which he mentions have been destroyed, though their architecture is such that they might have stood for centuries. There is yet enough to leave a very favourable impression of the taste of the Persian monarch; since it is evident that they have been light and chaste, and in that keeping which ought to characterise garden-houses. A superb basin, and all the aqueducts, are yet perfect, and the cypress trees have attained a great height in their advanced age. The situation of these gardens is beautiful; they command a noble view of the Caspian.

~Fortunate escape.~

At Ushruf we met a party of pilgrims from Bokhara and Khiva, who joined us at the caravansary. We learned from them, that the Russian caravan, which had proceeded to Mangusluk, had been plundered by the Kirgizzes, about ten days after leaving Khiva. But for the advice of the Vizier in Bokhara, we should have accompanied that caravan; and had we succeeded in passing through the town of Khiva, we should have met with the catastrophe to which I have alluded, between it and the Caspian. The pilgrims recounted the great hardships of their journey from Khiva to Astrabad, where they had experienced much oppression from the Toorkmun tribes. I had now to congratulate myself on having attended to the advice that had been given.

~The plague.~

~Quit the Caspian.~

After we had proceeded a mile beyond Ushruf, we found the great causeway barricaded, and a villager seated with a stick, to prevent a trespass. This was the _board of health_ at Ushruf; for we now heard, for the first time, that the plague was raging at Saree, the capital of Mazenderan, and the town at which I had that day intended to halt. We prosecuted our journey; but rested at a village two miles from Saree, where our information of the existence of the disease was confirmed. I was now on my road to Balfurosh, and its port on the Caspian,--a place of some note, where I hoped to see more Russian vessels, and enlarge my acquaintance with this sea and that people; but I made an immediate alteration in my plans, and prepared for a precipitate retreat from the shores of the Caspian and Mazenderan. Next morning I took the high road to Tehran, and met with rather a staggering incident as we passed outside the walls of Saree. Our road brought us into a burying-ground, where two boys were digging a grave, as we passed, for two bodies that lay near them. Such a scene filled me with horror; for the people had died of the plague: but what was our astonishment to be addressed by the grave-diggers, and beseeched, as good Mahommedans, to assist in the usual ablutions of a corpse! “You shall have five ‘sahib kurans’ (about three rupees) for your trouble,” exclaimed they. There was a silence among us; no one gave an answer; and we soon found ourselves beyond Saree, having quickened the pace of our horses. This town suffered so severely from the plague in the preceding year, that there were not now more than three hundred people in it, and most of them were persons who had recovered from the disease; since the Persians bear an impression that the plague cannot be taken more than once. There were now too few people to admit of the disease spreading; but it no doubt lurked in Saree. They informed me that it had been introduced by Balfurosh from Astracan in the preceding year, and all my curiosity to see that place vanished with the information.

~Notice of the plague.~

In our march we were joined by a native of Astrabad, who was proceeding to Tehran; and he gave me some account of the plague, which had raged last year. He had lost a son, and both he and his wife had caught the disease. She was nursing a child at the time; and though she continued to suckle it, the infant escaped. The disease did not reach its height till the tenth day, and was invariably attended with delirium. This person assured me, that he had the horror to see his own child dragged to the door by eight or ten cats, whom he with difficulty scared away; and affirmed it as his belief, that more people were killed by dogs and cats, or died from hunger, under the disease itself. None would approach an infected house, and no patient would even assist another. The plague and human nature are the same in all countries, and the affections and passions are never brought sooner to the test than in that devastating disorder.

~Mazenderan.~

Our stay in Mazenderan was now soon to close. It is a disagreeable country; and has so moist a climate, that the inhabitants are subject to fevers, agues, dropsies, palsies, and many other diseases. The people are sallow, and the children weak and rickety. It is a land of snakes and frogs; but the snakes are not venomous, being of the water species. They are to be seen twisting and turning every where, and about the thickness of a good-sized whip. Almost at every pace your horse disturbs some frogs, who scramble in vain for concealment even in a country of bushes and shrubs. So great is the moisture, that the rice crops are not cut, as in other countries. They mow the grain down near the ear, and place it to dry on the stubble; for it would otherwise rot. Mazenderan is a rich province. The sugar cane thrives in it; but they do not appear to prepare it beyond the first stage, and sell it as molasses. Cotton also grows luxuriantly, and silkworms are educated every where. The fruit is good, and much of it grows wild. There are whole woods of pomegranate trees; and the people collect the fruit, and, after drying the seeds in the sun, export them as a rarity to other countries.

~Peasantry.~

The peasantry, with a sickly, have yet a comfortable appearance. They tie folds of cloth round their legs and fix them with a low shoe, and lacing cords. They wade through their muddy roads with these, and tell you they are superior to boots, since they may be dried in the evening! The men wear dark clothes, and the women dress generally in red,--the two colours which I suppose are easiest made. Many of the people wear caps of felt, instead of lambskin. The houses of the country are buried in vegetation; creepers, melons, and pumpkins are every where to be seen resting on the roofs. Every house has a garden, and is surrounded by a hedge of mulberries; most of them are elevated by wooden poles to a considerable height from the ground, to prevent the bad effects of moisture. The inhabitants pass the summer and autumnal months in the hills, where they cultivate rice. They live in huts, and call such a residence “yailak,” in distinction from “kishlak,” which they apply to their permanent habitations.

CHAP. XVI.

JOURNEY THROUGH PERSIA.--CONCLUSION OF THE NARRATIVE.

~Quit Mazenderan.~

At the village of Aliabad, which is twelve miles from Balfurosh, we quitted the Causeway of Shah Abbas, and proceeded south to the mountains, and entered the beautiful glen which is watered by the Tilar river. We had a sight of the lofty snow-clad mountain of Dumavend before leaving the low country. This valley extends for about sixty miles, and is the greatest of the passes into Mazenderan. Shah Abbas cut a road in the rock for about ten miles, which is yet passable, though it has not suited the policy of his successors to repair it. The horses frequently sunk girth deep into the mud; and if his present Majesty knew but half the curses and maledictions heaped upon his head and beard by the mule drivers, he would assuredly repair it for the peace of his own soul. The scenery of this valley is most romantic; the hills are covered with forest trees; and the rumbling noise of the water, which was many hundred feet below the road, had an effect that was most pleasing. About half way up the valley, we crossed the rivulet by a bridge, called the “pool i sufued”, and left the rich foliage of Mazenderan.

~Pass of Gudook.~

We finally cleared the valley by the pass of Gudook, which leads up to the table land of Persia. The word “Gudook,” in Toorkee, means a pass. Our ascent from the dell was continued and gradual; and at Feerozkoh we were again six thousand feet above the sea. On either side, as we approached the pass, the precipices rose in grand abruptness, and the narrowness of the road had led to its being fortified in former years. This is a scene of romance, and the strains of Furdoosee, the Persian Homer. The cave of the “Dev i sufued,” or white demon, was pointed out to us, as well as the spot where he was slain by the valiant Roostum. Some fellow travellers, whom we had picked up by the way, spouted verses from the Shahnamu, and I was more than once amused with their ruminations. They did not dream of the lively imagination of a national poet, but were regretting the degeneracy of the present age, which had no giants and Roostums, as in times that had gone. The top of the pass was very cold; and in winter this is said to prove sometimes fatal to the traveller. Shah Abbas has here erected a bath and a caravansary, but they are both in ruins.

~Gudook the “Pylæ Caspiæ.”~

It appears to me that the pass of Gudook may be identified with the “Pylæ Caspiæ,” or the Caspian gates, through which Alexander the Great pursued Darius. Their distance from Rhages or Rei, which lies near the modern city of Tehran, is said to have been a two days’ march, and the journey is ninety miles. I have before observed that this is the greatest of the passes into Mazenderan; and we have seen that it is hallowed by Persia’s greatest muse. By this road Alexander reached Hecatompylos, from which he advanced into Parthia. On the way he attacked the _Taburi_; and it is a very extraordinary fact, that, in the modern coinage of Mazenderan, that province is yet denominated _Taburistan_.

~Feerozkoh.~

From the pass of Gudook we journeyed in a cheerless valley pent in by bare hills; at the end of which stood the village of Feerozkoh, under a naked rock and fort about 300 feet high. This place put me in mind of Bameean, since many of the houses were excavated in the hills, where the inhabitants keep their flocks in winter. The climate is severe, and the snow lies for five months in the year. I observed a great change in the appearance of the inhabitants, who had now red and rosy cheeks. I know not whether our elevation from the lowlands of Mazenderan, might have an effect in the boiling of meat; but it took twice the usual time to cook my pilao at Feerozkoh; nay, the water was boiled up before the meat was ready. The flesh might have been tough, and an old sheep of the flock had, perhaps, fallen under the knife of the butcher.

~Cure for the taste of quinine.~

It is said that the natives of Mazenderan are the most simple of all the Persians, and we had some amusement at the expense of one of our fellow-travellers, who applied for medicine to arrest an intermittent fever. I gave him quinine, and afterwards took occasion to ask him how he liked its bitter taste. “It has no taste,” replied he; for he had swallowed it along with the paper in which it was packed up.

~A Koord.~

We made three marches to Tehran, a distance of ninety miles, halting by the way at the hovels of caravansarais, which the traveller finds in this part of Persia, where he alights in the same room with his horse. The country was arid, bleak, and miserable, and the number of villages most limited. We had no signs of approaching the metropolis of a country. An incident occurred near Baumein, the last stage, which should not be omitted: one of my “yaboos,” or ponies, had sunk under his load, and I went into a village to hire another; I succeeded in my suit, and paid the price of the animal to a Koord with whom I made the bargain, and was about to resume my journey:--“Will you not purchase my mule,” said he, “in exchange for your worn-out ‘yaboo,’ and give me the difference?” I entered into conversation, and found that the Koord took me for a native of Khorasan, and it was therefore useless to tell him I was an European. I certainly wished for his mule, and as I looked at it he said, with considerable solemnity,--“Now, as we are both _good_ Mahommedans, let us conclude a bargain and not cheat each other.” I added, “Be it so,” and after a little conversation we settled all matters. His mule had, as I afterwards found, a broken back, and my yaboo had an incurable disease; but then it was as apparent to the Koord as it was to myself. Such was the settlement of a bargain between two _good_ Mahommedans, who resolved to act fairly by each other; nor is Persia the only country where such arts are practised.

~Vexations of a traveller.~

~Arrival at Tehran.~

On the 21st of October I was astir a little after midnight, to proceed with as little delay as possible to the capital of the King of kings, but what did my speed avail me? We had not got many yards from the caravansary before one of the loads tumbled from the mule, and while putting it right another was kicked off by a horse. We had repaired these disasters in a night as dark as Tartarus, and were about to advance, when it was discovered that one of the other ponies had strayed, and, what was more alarming, the very one, on which all my notes, maps, and papers had been packed. My tongue clove to the roof of my mouth, at the announcement of such a piece of information, among thieving Koords, after all the difficulties of the journey had apparently terminated. A search of half an hour recovered the strayed animal, and I trotted on with all speed to the gate of Tehran, which I reached at noon. I proceeded to the mansion of the British mission and presented myself at the outer door, as a “Firingee.” I was soon met by Sir John Campbell, the envoy at this court, and spent with him and his agreeable family a few happy and pleasant days, marked by the utmost hospitality and kindness.

~Presentation to the Shah.~

After being introduced by the Envoy to the “pillars of the state” the cabinet ministers of Persia, I had the honour of being presented to his Majesty, on the 26th of October. Having seen the Great Mogul himself, and the monarchs of Cabool and Bokhara, with many other exalted personages, I was gratified to find myself in the court of Persia. The “kibleh alum,” or attraction of the world, (so the king is styled,) sat in a hall of mirrors, and when yet beyond the light of his countenance, we drew up and saluted. We then advanced, and again saluted; and his Majesty returned it by calling aloud, “Khoosh amudeed,” you are welcome. We now ascended a few steps, and found ourselves in the presence of royalty. “_Dumagh i shooma chak ust_, are your brains clear?” exclaimed his Majesty with a sonorous voice; on this we drew up in a corner opposite to where the Shah sat, and returned the compliment by a salute. Sir John Campbell, Captain MʻDonald and myself composed the party, and the ministers stood on each side of us. The Shah sat at a distance of about forty feet, and a display of crystal, arranged with as little taste as in a shop, separated us from the King of kings. The chandeliers hung so thickly from the roof, that they completed the resemblance, and before any conversation had passed we were instructed to hold our swords, lest they might fracture the mirrors let into the wall behind us. “Does he understand Persian?” said his Majesty, to one of his ministers. “_Bele, bele_, yes, yes,” was the reply “he speaks Toorkee, Afghanee, Hindee, Persian, &c. &c.;” though I should have been soon at fault, had the Shah selected his dialect. “You have made a long and difficult journey,” commenced his Majesty; and such was the affability and engaging manner of this illustrious personage, that I felt myself at once free from embarrassment, and in the closest conversation with the “Asylum of the World.” He desired me to enumerate the cities which I had visited, and I ended the long list by saying, that the favour of God had at last brought me to his august capital. He exclaimed in a tone of surprise, “Why, a _Persian_ could not have done so much. But what led you to undergo the dangers and fatigues of such a journey?” I replied, that it had been curiosity. “Did you travel as an European?” I told him I did so. “It must have cost you much money;” but his Majesty had a hearty laugh when I told him that we owed our release among the Toorkmuns to two gold ducats and a little tea. “Have you taken notes of your journey?” said the Shah. “Yes,” replied I, “I have measured the mountains, examined the roads, and sounded the rivers.” “These people are lions,” exclaimed the astonished monarch. “_Bele, bele_,” echoed his ministers, “they are tigers, they are Roostums.” “Give me a sketch of the affairs of Cabool,” continued the King, “tell me the power of the chief and his brothers;”--with all of which I complied, adding, as a courtier, that the ruler owed his power to the Persians he retained in his interests. He made enquiries as to their tribe and number, on which points I satisfied his Majesty. The Shah then put like questions on the power of all the chiefs between India and Persia, questioned me about the road over the Hindoo Koosh, and particularly on the capability of the Oxus, which he called the Jihoon, and seemed to consider the greatest river in the world: he mentioned the deserts which it passed, asking if they could be traversed by an army. His Majesty next spoke of the people of Bokhara, and asked if they were alarmed at the approach of Abbas Meerza to their frontiers. Need I give the answer: I told the King that they trembled. He smiled at my account of the Priests or Moollahs, and gave a look of contempt, as I mouthed the name of the King, the “Ameer ool Momineen,” the Commander of the faithful. “Did you try horse-flesh while among the Uzbeks?” was the next question. I replied that I did so, and it was not unpalatable. “But how got you from among the Toorkmuns?” said his Majesty once more. “I threw the dog a bit of meat, and escaped his jaws.”

After a little break in the conversation, the Shah, with some interest in what he said, enquired for the greatest wonder which I had seen in my travels. The opportunity was too favourable in so vain a court, and I replied in a loud voice, “Centre of the universe, what sight has equalled that which I now behold, the light of your Majesty’s countenance, O attraction of the world!” The Shah gave a nod of applause, which was taken up in a buzz of approbation by the pillars of the state, and evinced the royal and ministerial gratification. “But,” continued the King, “what city did you most admire?” I required a precise answer after such adulation. I told him that Cabool was the paradise of our travels. He asked particularly for Balkh, and the modern condition of that “Am ool bulad,” or mother of cities.

“You were presented to the Prince-royal,” said the King; “And I received much condescension at his Royal Highness’s hands,” replied I; “he sent me with a Khan through the country of the Toorkmuns.” “Tell me what you say of Koochan;”--which gave me an opportunity of delighting the old monarch with the detail of his son’s success, heightened by the formidable account which I gave of the strength of the fallen fortress. “Will the ‘Naib Sultanut,’” so he called Abbas Meerza, “be able to take Shurukhs, and reduce the Toorkmuns in that neighbourhood?” “Certainly,” replied I, “they will fall at his feet.” “Will the place support his army?” I then enumerated its resources. One of the ministers, by way of adding to the information desiderated by his Majesty, stated that Shurukhs was the garden of Adam, who used to come from Ceylon (Serendib) and till it daily! I had heard the tradition, but it had not entered into my statistical details for his Majesty’s information. “What is your opinion of my son’s army,--is it efficient?” I assured his Majesty that it was so. “But tell me your most candid opinion of its merits.” I added, that the clothes and accoutrements of the troops were worn out, but that no Asiatic power could in these days resist such an armament, and that they were now flushed with success. His Majesty again returned to my own affairs, and asked whither I was now proceeding. I told him, to India. He made no further enquiries into my objects for travelling. “How did you travel in Toorkistan?” asked the Shah. I told him that my conveyance was a camel, at which he smiled. After some desultory conversation and complimentary speeches between the Shah and the Envoy, we left the presence of the King of kings with the same bows and ceremonies that we had approached it.

Futtih Ali Shah has by no means the appearance of an old man, though his age must be upwards of seventy. His voice is full and sonorous, and he sits erect, with much dignity. His dress was remarkably plain, and of black cloth, which was not becoming, nor did it show off to advantage his beard, that wonder of the East. I should not be surprized that this monarch outlived his son Abbas.[18] It is said, that he has recourse to _the essence of pearls_ and precious stones, which he uses as tonics, to support his declining strength, and in which the Oriental faculty have great faith. The moderns apply these gems to other purposes; and the Shah of Persia deserves some credit as being one of the only persons I have heard of who turns them to a useful purpose.

~Return to India.~

I now found myself poised between Europe and Asia; and though I had informed his Majesty that I purposed returning to India, I had every inclination to prosecute my way to Constantinople, now distant but twenty days’ journey. Would that I had followed the bent of my inclinations; since I afterwards found that I had been summoned to Europe from that city. I felt, however, that the objects of the journey had been accomplished, and it only remained for me to return to India, and arrange the materials which I had gathered. I therefore quitted Tehran on the 1st of November, and freely admit that I did so with regret, after a ten days’ enjoyment of the friendly society which I had met.

~Route to the coast.~

On my way to the coast, I took the route of Isfahan and Shiraz to Bushire, and viewed by the way the tomb of Cyrus, and those imperishable remnants of antiquity, the ruins of Persepolis. This route and country have been too often described to require even a passing remark; nor do I offer to present my views and picture of the inhabitants, after the inimitable sketches that have appeared in Hajee Baba, which, with a due deduction for the thread of the tale, appeared to me both just and correct. I have since perused Mr. Fraser’s Travels in this country, and venture to record, as far as I am able to judge, that they contain the most faithful account of Persia which has been published in modern times. Were the facts and opinions which have been recorded by that able and intelligent traveller more generally received, we should have ere this come to more correct notions of the weak state and tottering condition of this empire, and a juster appreciation of its weight and influence in the scale of nations.

~Quit Persia.~

At Bushire, I found that Mr. Blane, the resident in the Gulf of Persia, had kindly delayed the departure of the Honourable Company’s ship of war the Clive, till I arrived. I lost no time in embarkation, and finally quitted Persia on the 10th of December. Our voyage to India was pleasant, and Capt. Macdonald, the commander of the Clive, took every opportunity of making it varied and agreeable. If we found that “Oman’s dark blue sea,” and its barren shores, have been the theme of exaggerated praise in the imagination of the poet, we had yet gratification in a glimpse at the far-famed emporium of Ormuz, and the rugged rocky coast of Arabia, with the romantic cove of Muscat and the dreary shores of Mekran. We anchored in the harbour of Bombay on the 18th of January, and passed the rest of that month in quarantine; after which I proceeded without delay to Calcutta, to lay the result of my travels before the Governor General, Lord William Bentinck.

~Conclusion.~

I shall not pause to reflect on the feelings with which I again set foot in India after so long and weary a journey. In the outset, I saw every thing, both ancient and modern, to excite the interest and inflame the imagination,--Bactria, Transoxiana, Scythia, and Parthia, Kharasm, Khorasan, and Iran. We had now visited all these countries; we had retraced the greater part of the route of the Macedonians; trodden the kingdoms of Porus and Taxiles; sailed on the Hydaspes; crossed the Indian Caucasus, and resided in the celebrated city of Balkh, from which Greek monarchs, far removed from the academics of Corinth and Athens, had once disseminated among mankind a knowledge of the arts and sciences, of their own history, and the world. We had beheld the scenes, of Alexander’s wars, of the rude and savage inroads of Jengis and Timour, as well as of the campaigns and revelries of Baber, as given in the delightful and glowing language of his commentaries. In the journey to the coast, we had marched on the very line of route by which Alexander had pursued Darius; while the voyage to India took us on the coast of Mekran and the track of his admiral Nearchus.

A

GENERAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL

MEMOIR

ON PART OF

CENTRAL ASIA.

The Personal Narrative of the journey has closed, and I now proceed to describe the objects, both general and geographical, that appear to deserve notice. It will be seen that the line of route has traversed a portion of India, Cabool, Tartary (Toorkistan), and Persia; and I might appropriately follow the same arrangement in my descriptions. It is not, however, my intention to recapitulate the labours of others, not to dwell upon what is already before the world; I have therefore confined myself to that which is new and inviting. My maps will rectify many positions in these countries, and even remove various and vast ranges of hills; but the general account of each province in the kingdom of Cabool has been graphically given in Mr. Elphinstone’s valuable work on that country. My field lies in the untrodden paths beyond Hindoo Koosh, among roaming Tartars and deserts, cheered, as they certainly are, by many smiling and fertile oäses. If my reader will place the maps of the journey before him, he will perceive that I only treat of countries which I have visited: there is an exception in the fifth and sixth chapters of the first Book, regarding the sources of the Indus and the foreign communications of China, which the interest of the subject will, I believe, justify. In the last two Books, I present the report, nearly in the same state that I submitted it to the Supreme Government of India. The form may not be best adapted to convey information to the public; but in such a shape the authenticity will, perhaps, entitle it to greater notice. For reasons, which it is not necessary to explain, I have had to abridge this and other portions of my work.

NOTICE

REGARDING

THE MAP OF CENTRAL ASIA.

The results of my survey of the countries between India and the Caspian Sea are exhibited on the face of the map: the data on which these results rest require to be stated, that others may be enabled to judge of the authenticity of the document.

The instruments used were, a sextant, of nine inches radius, by Gilbert, and the patent surveying compass of Schmalcalder, divided into 360 degrees. With the sextant the parallels of latitude were determined, when practicable, either by a meridian altitude of the sun, or the elevation of the pole star; with the compass the bearings or angles of the country were observed. The time of travelling was noted on the spot, from a valuable chronometer watch by Arnold.

The rate of marching, after various trials by astronomical observation, was found to be as follows:--

1st. On horseback, over a level country, such as the Punjab, or regions eastward of the Caspian, _without a caravan_, 30 furlongs, or 3-3/4 miles per hour.

2d. On horseback, over a broken or mountainous country, such as lies between the Indus and Cabool, and accompanied by mules lightly laden, 3 miles per hour.

3d. On camels, over a flat country, such as Toorkistan, about 3800 yards, or 2 miles 300 yards per hour; protracting in every instance the great inflexions of the road, and correcting them by peaks or notable land-marks in front or rear.

The rate of a camel’s march requires some further notice, since I took much pains to ascertain it, and am not without a hope that it may prove useful to others. Twenty-two camels in “kittar,” or string, that is, following and tied to each other, cover a space of 115 paces of 2-1/2 feet, or 94 yards. They march over this space in 90 seconds of time; that is to say, they travel at the rate of 76-2/3 paces per minute, or 3833 yards per hour, thus:--

76-2/3 paces a minute.
60 minutes.
----
4560
40
----
4600 paces.
2-1/2 feet.
------
3)11,500 feet.
------
3833 yards.
------

Camels move quickest at night, or in the cool of the morning, and flag after a march of twenty-five miles. I have, therefore, taken the even number of 3800 yards as my standard of protraction. I cannot agree with Mr. Macartney, that camels move at the rate of 2-1/2 or 2-3/4 miles an hour. Volney informs us that the Syrian camel travels at the rate of only 3600 yards, or even lower than the standard which I have assigned; and that great traveller cannot be far from the truth. In a _sandy country_ I used the following expedient to ascertain the rate of the camel, and the result presents a satisfactory approximation.

A string of 7 camels moves over its own } 26 seconds.
ground in }
10 42
7 28
8 35
8 37
12 50
-- ---
52 218
-- ---

Each camel in string occupies about 13 feet; so that 52 camels cover 676 feet, which gives a rate of about 3700 yards an hour _in soft ground_; thus:--

sec. feet. sec.
If 218 : 676 : 3600. Ans. 3700.

That the rates of marching now recorded approximate closely to the truth, is undeniably established by my protraction to the city of Bokhara, which fell within 30 miles west of the meridian of 64° 55′ east longitude, the position assigned to it by the Russian mission. In Macartney’s map it stands in 69° 10′, and was altered by Mr. Elphinstone to 62° 45′; though that gentleman observes he was not satisfied with its position. The latitude of Bokhara I found to be 39° 43′ 41″ north; but its position, according to others, is somewhat different.

By L^t. Macartney 37° 45′ North.
By Mr. Elphinstone 39 27
By Major Rennell 39 25
By Anthony Jenkinson 39 10

I also found a remarkable coincidence with the correct longitude, in my protraction through the Toorkmun country, from Meshid to the Caspian Sea. Setting out also from Lodiana in India, which stands in 75° 54′ east longitude, and 30° 55′ 30″ north latitude, the protraction to Peshawar was nearly coincident with the position of that city as determined by the Cabool mission. They assigned to it the longitude of 71° 45′: I have placed it 71° 33′: it stands in 34° 9′ 30″ north latitude. The relative position of Cabool from Peshawur has been altered, as well as the ranges of the mountains; but it is unnecessary to detail the various changes which an inspection and comparison of the map will readily point out. With the assistance of Mr. John Arrowsmith, whose maps have already secured to him a just approbation[19], the materials of my survey have been incorporated with the latest geographical information: this will greatly enhance the value of the maps, which have been drawn by Mr. Arrowsmith himself, and carefully engraved under his own superintendence for this work; nor will it in any way conceal the later information, since my own line of route has been particularly marked and distinguished from that of other travellers.

The following original observations of latitude it seems advisable to record. The asterisk marks those which were observed at night.

Lodiana, on the Sutledge Lat. 30° 55′ 30″
Junction of the rivers Sutledge and Beas,
at Huree 31 9 50
City of Lahore (south gate) 31 34 52
Ramnugguron, the Chenab 32 19 33
Pind Dadun Khan, on the Jelum 32 34 53
Rotas, in the Punjab 32 58 2
Jane ka Sung, in the Punjab 33 41 8
Attok, on the Indus 33 54 46
Peshawur (of Macartney) 34 9 30
Cabool (south quarter) *34 24 5
Balkh (obs. 17 miles west) *36 48 0
Oxus, at Khoju Salu *37 27 45
Kurshee, in Toorkistan *38 51 50
Bokhara (centre and mean of 3 obs.) *39 43 41
Meerabad, near Karakool 39 21 51
Charjooee (south bank of the Oxus) 39 0 30
Bulghooee, in the desert *38 39 21
Khoju Abdoola, on the Moorghab *37 36 15
Shurukhs (by the sun) 36 31 0
Shurukhs (by the pole star) *36 32 10
Meshid (west quarter) 36 15 44
Camp among Goklan Toorkmuns 37 21 57
Koord mulla, on the Caspian 36 46 25
Tehran (capital of Persia) 35 40 0

GENERAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL

MEMOIR.