552 A. Alcock & F. Finn — Afghan-Baluch BeptiUa. [No. 4, 



Two salt lakes were seen. The Gaud-i-Zirreh, some 60 by 20 miles 

 in size, is formed by overflow water from the Helmund river. The last 

 flood was in 1884, but the lake is still very large. The water is intensely 

 salt from evaporation. At its western end the lake receives the Shelag 

 river, which is now dry, except near Godar-i-Shah, where a small salt 

 lake still exists in the river bed. We dug wells near its banks and 

 obtained very brackish drinking water. At Robat II, where Baluchistan, 

 Afghanistan, and Persia meet, are the remains of extensive old copper 

 smelting furnaces, and the hills round are said to be rich in metals. 



The only inhabitants of the desert plains seemed to be wild asses 

 and lizards. In the different mountain ranges, Sultan Koh, Kacha 

 Koh, etc., were seen ibex, markhor and oorial, but a few ibex only were 

 obtained. The Sultan Koh are rich in assafoetida, sulphur and some 

 dyes. 



We experienced great variations in the way of climate. In Febru- 

 ary, while still among the Khwaja Amran and Sarlat mountains, the 

 cold was intense. The thermometer was 15"5'' below freezing point, 

 and frozen soda-water, bath water and bread were common occurrences. 

 Snow and hail fell frequently. Later on, in April and May, the heat 

 was equally intense. Shade temperatures read up to 115°, and the 

 solar radiation thermometer often registered 205°, the highest point to 

 which the instrument could rise. Violent dust and sand storms occurred 

 daily and "dust devils" literally swarmed. I have counted as many as 

 twenty-six in sight at one time. They varied in size from tiny ones 18 

 inches high by two or three inches in diameter up to real whirlwinds, a 

 hundred yards across and nearly a quarter of a mile in height, advancing 

 in a grand and destructive manner, whirling everything along with them. 



Even comparatively small ones were much dreaded and left a line 

 of fallen tents and scattered contents in their track whenever they 

 passed through the camp. They invariably revolved the reverse way to 

 watch hands and behaved generally as miniature cyclones. Mirages 

 were common, and some of the best were seen in the early chill 

 mornings before the sun had risen, or just as it rose. In the absolute 

 sandy desert a red haze was noticed round the moon : not a halo, but a 

 diffused redness, more intense near the moon, and fading away very 

 gradually into the surrounding sky. It was particularly well marked 

 after sandstorms. The dryness of the air in the desert was extreme, 

 the difference between the dry and wet bulb thermometers being fre- 

 quently 30° to 40°. Thanks to the unusual rain in February — there had 

 been none for two years previously — the hot weather was much delayed, 

 and this it was that enabled the Mission to stay as late as it did. When 

 leaving Robat I in the middle of May, the hot west winds were just 



