PERSIAN CARAVAN SKETCHES 



453 



up to 300 pounds ; so a great bulk of 

 fodder sacks and baggage is first piled 

 on, with bedding thrown on top to mold 

 these into a less irregular and hence more 

 slippery saddle. These are strapped to 

 the beast's pack with a single cord. You 

 then get enthroned by means of stepping 

 on a bent Persian shoulder, with one cord 

 to the animal's head to rule your destiny. 



If the cord holding the load does not 

 slip, if the faithful animal never exceeds 

 a dignified walk or does not stumble, or 

 if in the drowsiness of the long little 

 hours before dawn you do not relax 

 vigilance and irretrievably slip to the 

 ground, all is well, unless, unless — as my 

 docile "Maude" did one day — upon com- 

 ing to a nice, murky stream, your mount 

 decides it would be refreshing to take a 

 bath. 



The main problem, once you are de- 

 posed, is to remount unassisted. My 

 companion, Donald B. Watt, in his first 

 day of ignorance, tried it from a rear 

 attack, got half-way seated on the ledge 

 of the mule projecting beyond the bag- 

 gage, when she, disapproving, went tear- 

 ing down the hill, with tremendous kicks 

 at each leap, until all my friend had to 

 restrain his unruly subject from absolute 

 freedom was the bitter end of the tail. 



So we often preferred to walk part of 

 the twenty-odd miles which was the usual 

 length of a day's journey. Furthermore, 

 it was often penetratingly chilly at night, 

 even though it was too hot for the ani- 

 mals to travel regularly in the daytime. 



PROTECTION AND HOSPITALITY FROM 

 LOCAL CHIEFTAINS 



We had letters to the principal chief- 

 tains along the route and were provided 

 by them with road-guards to protect us 

 from the attacks of stray bands of rob- 

 bers. 



The trip from Ispahan to Shiraz took 

 about three weeks, and every day brought 

 new experiences. Space will allow me 

 to relate only a few typical experiences, 

 while the reader's imagination is given 

 free scope to deck the rest of the way 

 with more vivid incidents yet untold. 



It was on the third night of travel, our 

 mules being loaded and ready to leave by 

 sunset. We walked ahead of our cara- 

 van, telling our road-guards to follow 

 with the baggage. 



We were crossing an uninteresting 

 plain with parallel mountain ranges some 

 five miles away on either side. The 

 route was only distinguishable by dim 

 white streaks, paths trodden by years of 

 caravans. A few hours later the half 

 moon sank. We were alone. Something 

 seemed to have delayed our guards and 

 caravan. We walked slowly on until 

 about 2 a. m., when, all traces of a cara- 

 van track giving out, we realized we were 

 lost. 



We tried to find our way back and 

 wandered about aimlessly among the 

 strangely quiet hills for a time, until — 

 dull at first, then sharper and sharper — 

 came the pound of horses' feet across the 

 distant plateau. We thought we heard 

 our road-guards out searching for us, 

 and I was just about to fire my revolver 

 to attract their attention, when I realized 

 that shots would probably be the answer. 

 I happened to have a pocket flashlight. 

 I signaled with this. The pound of the 

 hoofs stopped as we stumbled across a 

 dried water-course toward them. 



SAVED BY A FLASH 



Suddenly there was a shout in Persian 

 to halt. It was a chill moment. By the 

 wavering light of my electric torch we 

 could see the supposed guards standing 

 with rifles lowered at us. We feared 

 they were robber Bakhtiari, for they were 

 the wildest-looking gang of ruffians I 

 have ever seen. 



We tried to explain who we were and 

 the chieftains to whom we were going ; 

 that we were lost, but that our guards 

 would surely be back any minute looking 

 for us. 



Some of them apparently wanted to 

 strip us and leave without further cere- 

 mony. Others seemed to have acquired 

 a curious reverence for my flashlight, 

 which I kept turning on and off. to their 

 terror. They thought it would explode 

 and blow them out into the distant gar- 

 dens of eternity. 



The fears of this group fortunately 

 triumphed and we were set in the right 

 direction, as they hastened oft" into the 

 silence and safety of the night. 



Toward dawn we met our road-guards 

 frantically galloping across the plain. 

 with our poor servant breathlessly run- 

 ning after them. There followed much 



