I 7 6 



XII. The Bujnurd Sheep. 



" Thou hast shot a hundred arrows, and each one a miss ; 

 Shoot rather one arrow and let that go to the mark." 



SAADI. 



THE range called Elburz stretches across the 

 northern part of Persia, shutting off the Caspian 

 provinces from the main plateau. One can see 

 the mountains from the sea as a purple line, 

 dark from the forests with which they are clothed. 

 The northern slopes form the habitat of a race of 

 deer called Cervus maral, which was reputed to 

 range eastward as far as the small chiefship of 

 Bujnurd. The matter, however, being evidently 

 one requiring investigation, it was not long after 

 coming to Meshed before I found myself en route 

 for this place. 



The first part of the journey was in what is 

 known as a kaliska, a sort of " victoria," over what 



