BEL 



2i M 



BEL 



to Rat Kutcherie, where it terminates on the shores of the 

 hay of Sonmeany. On this chain n Hindoo pagoda, railed 

 Hinglatz, atand*, from which it receives the name of Hing- 

 lati Mountain!. Two passes lead over this range, one at 

 the temple, railed the Hinglatz Pan, and the other farther 

 to the north near Bela, railed Bela Pass. Two passes like- 

 wise traverse the Hala Mountains, one not far from the 

 coast leads to Kurachee, and the other farther to the north 

 to Hyderabad. There is one pass to the upland, which is 

 called Kohun Wat, or ' the mountain road.' 



The whole coast of this province lies on the bay of Son- 

 mrany. which is formed on the east by Ras Mooaree and 

 Chilnejr Island, the Bibacta of Nearrhus, and on the west 

 by Cape Arubah, or Oremarnih in Mukran. It is a lame 

 sheet of wmter, said to be free from rocks or shoals, and 

 contains a good port, named by Nearchus Port Alexander. 

 This bay receives the river P'oornlly, the Arabis of Near- 

 chus, which rises north-east of Bela, runs along the base 

 of the Jhalawan Mountains, and afterwards turns to the 

 south, in which direction it traverses the plain and reaches 

 the sea about two miles S.W. of the village of Sonnie.mv. 

 At Lyaree, twenty miles N.N.E. of Sonmeany, it becomes 

 navigable for small boats. At Bela it is only from fifteen to 

 twenty yards wide, and a foot or two deep in the dry season, 

 but during the rains it is a quarter of a mile across and 

 unfordable. The bar at the mouth of the river has only 

 two fathoms of water on it nt low water, but near the vil- 

 lage of Sonmeany the river is from six to seven fathoms 

 deep. Bela, on the northern bank of the Poorally, has 

 2000 houses, and in its vicinity the sugar-cane is much 

 cultivated. Lyareo has between 1GUO and 1800 houses. 



The countries which we have described are under the 

 immediate or mediate sway of the khan of Kelat, and pay 

 him obedience. In the remainder of Bcloochistan his au- 

 thority is only nominal. 



The province of Meckran, or Mukran, called Gedrosia by 

 the .inn, 'iit geographers, extends from the western boundary 

 of Lus and Jhalawan, to the borders of Persia, and from 

 the shores of the sea to the desert of Bolooohistan. It is 

 divided from this desert by a range of mountains, called the 

 Wushutee, or Much Mountains, which run E. and W., and 

 on the east are connected with the mountains of Jhalitwan, 

 on the west decline to the N.W. and join the mountain- 

 region of Kohistan. Another range of mountains runs 

 near))' parallel with the Wushutec Mountains, at a distance 

 of from twenty to fifty miles from the sea, being on the east 

 connected with the Hinglatz range, and on the west with the 

 mountain-region called Bushkurd. None of these ranges 

 seems to attain any great height. The southern range di- 

 vides Mukran into two parts, the upland and coast, but both 

 arc very little known. 



The upland of Mukran soems to consist of a succession 

 of plains, divided from one another by ridges of hills or 

 mountains, which, commonly running N. and S., connect (lie 

 two mountain-ranges which form its boundary. The soil of 

 these plains generally consists of bare roe.k, and large tracts, 

 according to Arrian, are covered by sand. (An.tl>. Alr.r. vi. 

 24, &C.) It is observed, th.it whenever these plains exceed ten 

 or twelve miles in width, they are found to be little hcticr 

 than complete deserts, except at the immediate base of the 

 hills which bound them, where they arc cultivated. Most of 

 these plains, however, do not seem to be at a great elevation 

 above the level of the sea, because nearly in all of them the 

 date-palm grows, and produces such excellent fruit, that 

 Mukran is noted for it. The best are those of the valley of 

 Punjgoor, situated nearly in the centre of the province. 



The sea-coast consists of flat bare plains, very little ele- 

 vated above high water-mark, which contain many salt- 

 marshes, and extend to the bane of the nearest mountains. 

 They frequently show no trace of vegetation : Nearchus 

 says (Imlikf, chap. 26) that the sheep which were supplied 

 by the natives to the ships of Alexander had a fishy taste 

 from being fed on fish, there being no gross in the country. 

 The wretched mode of life of the inhabitants of this coast, to 

 whom the Greeks gave the general name of Ichthyophagi, 

 or Fish-eaters, is described by Nearchus (chap. 2U). 



The climate of Mukran and of Lus approaches to that of 

 the intcrtropical countries : both provinces have four sea- 

 sons, twu wet, one hot and one cold. The first wet season 

 begins in February or March, and lasts only two or three 

 weeks; the wind blows from N.W. The second wet season 

 comes on with the south-west monsoon, and continues 

 through June, July, and August These wet seasons are 



particularly favourable to the growth of grass, and change 

 many tracts into pasture ground. The not season begins 

 after the rain in spriiii;. :md < ontinucs till October, those 

 months excepted in which the south-west monsoon blows. 

 The heat is sometimes to excessive, as to prevent even the 

 natives from venturing abroad durum the days called the 

 Khoorma Pui, or 'date ripening,' which takes place in 

 August The cold season lasts from December to February, 

 but even then the air is warmer than at any tune in the 

 upper parts of Jhdlawan and Sarawan. Dunne the hot 

 season the winds blow continually from the sea inland, and 

 though they are seldom known to be fatal to animal life, 

 they destroy vegetation. 



No part of Bcloochistan suffers more from scarcity of 

 water than Mukran, except the desert. Owing to the 

 paratively small elevation of the mountains, the hard nature 

 of the rocks of which they consist, their bareness of vegetal in, 

 ami the stony and sandy surface of the plains, the abundant 

 rain which descends is not absorbed, and no permanent 

 streams arc formed. During the rain the water-c<iur>es are 

 changed in a few hours into rapid torrents, frequentlv several 

 miles wide, but a few days afterwards they dwindle down 

 to insignificant brooks, and in the dry season thc\ entirely 

 cease to How, and water is found only in a few plx 

 their beds. These beds are usually overgrown with thick and 

 impervious jungle, which supply food lor camels and 

 and harbour many different descriptions of wild beasts. 



The river Suduek forms a small harbour at its mouth, a 

 mile from which is the village- Pusuncc, a place of some trade. 



The river Dust, or Dustee Nuddee, or Bhugwur, is a 

 small river at its mouth, but it is supposed that it runs a 

 distance of six or seven degrees of latitude in a direct line 

 to the coast, and that the water from its northern extremity 

 traverses little less than a thousand miles. It seems (o be 

 the same river, which, under the name of Boodoor, \r,:-- 

 the desert of Bcloochistan, and in Sarawan is called Bale. 



Kedge, which is considered the principal town of Mukian, 

 is a little place on the Dust river, with a small fortress on a 

 lush rock. 



At the* western extremity of Mukran stands an extensi\e 

 moss of mountain-ridges, which seem to rise to a consider- 

 able elevation, and to enclose high and cold valleys. They 

 are not fit for agriculture, and are inhabited mil) In herds- 

 men. This mountain-district is called Bushkurd. 



The mountains of Kohistan, which occupy the northern 

 corner of Bcloochistan, are connected with those, of Bush- 

 kurd by a range, which attains a considerable height and 

 divides the plain of Mukran (more especially that of Kus- 

 surkund, which is twenty-live miles long and nearly as 

 broad), from that of Lushar and Bunpoor, which form the 

 plain (or Mygadee) of Kohistan. These plains are similar 

 to those of Mukran, and produce dates in abundance. The 

 sandy desert of Bunpoor, which extends westward, di\ides 

 these plains and the mountains of Bushkurd from the Per- 

 sian province of Kirman, 



The northern half of the province of Kohistan and the 

 contiguous districts of Mukran constitute another moun- 

 tain-system, called the Surhud Mountains (or cold moun- 

 tains), on account of their elevation. Between 29'' and 30 

 N. laL, they are visible at the distance of eighty or ninety 

 miles. Their declivities and lateral branches towards the 

 desert of Beloochistan are covered with trees, and contain 

 many fertile districts and valleys, with a black loamy .soil : 

 and even some of the loftiest mountains have line earth to 

 their very summits. But the western declivities and 

 branches arc commonly nothing but a black rock destitute 

 of verdure. These mountains ore rich in mineral produc- 

 tions. There are several brooks of brine, and some 

 of water are covered with a scum similar to naphtha. 

 Iron, copper, and other metals are plentiful, ami 

 enough to supply the consumption of the inhabitants. 

 ammoniac is the native product of a mountain called Koh 

 i-Noushadir (or the hill of sal-ammoniac), and found in the 

 fissures of the rock. Brimstone is plentiful. 



The climate of this mountain-tract resembles in some 

 measure that of Sarawan and Jhalawun, but is much milder. 

 It partakes of the rains of the south-west monsoon, but these 

 rains, which in Mukran are always regular, are here often 

 partial, and at other times so heavy as to destrov the ci 

 in either case they are followed by a famine. The Kolmkee, 

 or hilly part of Kohistan, contains no place of note. In the 

 Mvdanee or plain, the town of Puhra, which contains 400 

 houses, is the largest. 



