TO BULHATOO. 109 



and the escort followed, for until the time that the 

 Kafilah was safe below, I could see that an attack 

 was apprehended from the Bursane people, even 

 after all the ceremonial of the last night's treaty. 



Rah Issah is the dry bed of a torrent which 

 only runs along it during the very uncertain season 

 of the rains. It extends in a nearly direct line to 

 Goobat ul Khhrab, where it expands into a broad 

 open space, surrounded, except towards the gulf, by 

 nearly perpendicular precipices of a crumbling 

 greyish porphritic rock. In the Rah Issah, the 

 over-hanging cliffs threaten continually to roll down 

 a torrent of loose stones upon the traveller below, 

 and that they are thus constantly slipping, is proved 

 by the immense quantity of loose debris scattered 

 along the road. Our halt took place in the ex- 

 panded termination of this ravine called Bulhatoo. 

 Although we had been nearly four hours on the 

 march, I do not think we travelled more than six 

 miles. Here my shielding of boxes stood upon 

 some exceedingly fine volcanic sand, so hot from 

 the direct rays of the sun, that I can readily believe 

 that the eggs of many birds which make their nests 

 upon the ground in this country, are aided mate- 

 rially in incubation, if not altogether hatched by the 

 heat of the sand alone, upon which the eggs are laid. 



The water we obtained .here was exactly similar 

 to the celebrated chalybeate of Harrowgate, being 

 strongly impregnated with sulphurated hydrogen. 

 Ohmed Mahomed took me to a spot, wishing to 



