Ahu-Gardam 103 



Persian figure, a "mine of ahu." The only water 

 in the district is the Shela, the deep tortuous 

 channel by which the Hamun water sometimes 

 finds an outlet. This happens rarely, but there 

 are always deep blue pools in the sandy bed, 

 their edges incrusted with salts, and so bitter 

 to taste that even camels will have nothing to 

 say to them. Gazelle, it seems, are less particular, 

 and during the hot weather they come down to 

 water here, and I have heard of a Baluch shepherd 

 bagging as many as seven in as many nights, 

 by concealing himself near the Shela. Captain 

 Daukes once found a live gazelle bogged in a 

 quicksand in this channel. Its thirst, I suppose, 

 must have been such as to cause it to forget for 

 once its instincts of caution. 



The habits of desert animals as regards water 

 are interesting, from the very difficulty of ob- 

 taining reliable data. As for these gazelle, Baluch 

 nomads say they drink once in fifteen days in 

 winter and every three or four days in summer. 

 Other accounts go to show that the same animals 

 come to the Shela from long distances every 

 night; but the salt -saturated condition of that 

 water may have necessitated more drinking than 

 when fresher water is obtainable. A pretty little 

 gourd is found on many of the dry plains of this 

 part of Persia ; and it is said that, in spite of 



