SHIRAZ TO BUSHIRE. 35 



was, must have necessitated constant riding by night 

 and by day. The remaining four of us were bound 

 to Bushire, and being anxious to see as much of the 

 country between us as was possible, we separated. 

 Two took the lower road by Feriman, which turns 

 the stupendous mountain-passes of the Kotul-e-Doktur 

 and the Pier-e-zun. There remained then the Swede 

 and myself. We proposed taking the direct road 

 through the above-mentioned denies, which lead down 

 from the high table-lands of Persia to the low-lying 

 country around the shores of the Persian Gulf. As 

 our journey was the shorter one of the two, we 

 allowed the others the start of a day, and so arranged 

 our marches as to arrive, if possible, on the same day 

 at Bushire. The day fixed for our leaving was the 

 25th May. By eight o'clock on that morning carpets 

 were rolled up and stowed away, saddle-bags were 

 packed, and the tea-kettle the most indispensable 

 of your travelling-kit in Persia, always the last thing 

 left out, and the first thing unpacked was finally 

 tied upon the last mule-load. The gholaum, solemnly 

 muttering a Bismillah, led the way through the gate ; 

 we followed in a cloud of dust, the servants on their 

 horses, and the mules with their muleteers clattering 

 after us. You might have seen that every horse's tail 

 was ornamented with a small turquoise-coloured bead. 

 I observed that my own especial favourite riding- 

 horse carried one also in his mane. Some dozen or so 

 of hairs were passed through the bead, then turned 



