1844.] Itinerary from Yezd to Herat. 831 



bis, the Heeroonees, the Yakoobees, and the Elabousails ; all these 

 tribes are of Arabic origin. A great many are colonies settled by Shah- 

 Abbas, others of the time of Tamerlane, who, on his return from his 

 conquests, established them in this country. These Arabs have neither 

 preserved the customs or manners of their ancestors, except that of liv- 

 ing in tents ; they have even forgotten all traces of the language ; all their 

 wealth consists in cattle. They possess a greater mildness of manner 

 than the inhabitants of the villages ; the latter give themselves up with- 

 out exertion to their miserable lot, cultivating only a few acres of land, 

 the produce of which hardly suffices to exist upon. 



In place of cultivating much, the inhabitants pass their time in spin- 

 ning wool, consequently they are often subject to famine ; besides be- 

 ing plundered by the Turkoman and Beloochees. Their fields produce 

 wheat, barley, radishes, beet, and oil of sesamum. From a want of grain, 

 forage and water, it would be impossible for an army to march through 

 this country : consequently, from time immemorial, there are only two 

 instances of this having been done. Shah-Abbas was the first who had 

 the hardihood to do so, with a portion of his troops on his return 

 from the conquest of Candahar. This great monarch astonished at the 

 sterility of the sandy mountains, and the dangers which travellers were 

 put to, halted and directed wells to be sunk, besides building small py- 

 ramids at certain distances as guides across this country of moving 

 sand, the passage of which is so dangerous. The inhabitants of Robad 

 still point out an elevated spot where this restorer of his country 

 pitched his tent, and from whence he was delighted to watch the pro- 

 gress of his works. Most of the wells and caravanseries from Yezd to 

 Toon, owe their existence to him. The sand hills are formed by vio- 

 lent gales, which blow in this country at certain periods, and which 

 continually heap up the sand of the desert against the sides of these low 

 ranges. They extend from N.W. to S.E. This route is a point of 

 communication between the great salt desert and that of Kobis, and by 

 which Meer Mahommed ventured in 1722, with a horde of AfFghans, 

 when he dethroned Shah Sultan Hussein, king of Persia. 



This route since 1812, has become very dangerous for caravans, on 

 account of the gangs of Beloochees that lay wait to plunder them. 

 Since that time, the pillage collected by these marauders, has amounted 

 to immense sums : often, on finding nothing to capture on this route, 



