JOURNEY FEOM HEEAT TO ORENBURG. 251 



the whole number which came with me, every one, 

 horse, yaboo, or mule, except the horse I rode, of 

 whom more anon, arrived dreadfully pulled down, 

 and there was only one baggage -pony out of the 

 whole of the cattle that had not a sore back ; some 

 of the saddle - horses in particular were dreadfully 

 galled. But if the Afghans have the knack of caus- 

 ing sores, they certainly know how to cure them. 

 One poor beast in particular, a saddle-horse (the one 

 ridden by the Wolf from Herat to Merv), had on the 

 march an enormous wound on his back, from which 

 a most offensive smell exhaled. I had little hope of 

 this beast surviving, but they brought him to me to- 

 day in almost tolerable condition, his wounds had 

 healed up, and he looked healthy. They never 

 poultice to extract matter, but stuff loose cotton into 

 the sores, and change this cotton frequently. When 

 the sore has filled up, they rub henna over the part, 

 which they believe makes the hair grow and hardens 

 the skin. We have heard much of Turkoman horses 

 and Turkoman horsemanship I confess my opinion 

 of both is, that they are alike contemptible. I had 

 for my own riding a horse called Choorlie, which had 

 been bought of the Turka Turkomans by the chief of 

 the tribe of Hazarah Demauks, by whom it was pre- 

 sented to Government. This horse's speed and powers 

 of endurance were so famous amongst the Turkomans 

 that every man I met had heard of him, and the im- 

 portance of my mission was considerably enhanced by 



