SIAH DEHAN. 
205 
On the 2d of June we pitched at Siah Dehan, having travelled five 
fursungs, on a road so good by nature, that a coach might have been 
driven upon it with as much safety as upon a turnpike road. Persia 
in general is a country well adapted for wheeled carriages, and with 
very little trouble excellent roads might be made, except in the pas¬ 
sages from one plain to another, where the ruggedness of the moun¬ 
tains would present serious difficulties. This seems to have been the 
case when wheeled carriages were in use; for Darius, after the battle 
of Issus, kept to his car as long as he was in the plain, but was obliged 
to descend from it and mount his horse, when he came to the moun¬ 
tain passes.* 
I was lodged in the house of a peasant, which consisted of three 
rooms, one of which was 24 feet long and 10 broad, was clean, well 
white-washed, and superior to a peasant’s habitation in general. It 
was roofed by transverse beams, over which were branches of trees, 
covered by a thick layer of mud plaster, which formed the terrace 
to the house. Opposite the door, was deposited the peasant’s pro¬ 
vision of corn in a bin built of mud bricks, which is perforated at 
the bottom, when the corn is brought into use. This same mode of 
keeping corn I remarked throughout the village. 
The next day we pitched at the village of Farsinjeen, and the day 
after at Abhar: during this part of our march, we strayed from the 
road, with our greyhounds and fowling pieces in search of game. 
This tract, including the plain and mountains of Sultanieh is in fact 
the Shikar Gah^ or hunting place of the King of Persia, where ante¬ 
lopes, partridges, and bustards are found in abundance. On both days 
we saw herds of antelopes, and one of our dogs, a strong hound, suc¬ 
ceeded in catching a female that was big with young. Had it not been 
for this circumstance, I doubt whether we should have ever been suc¬ 
cessful ; for although we frequently afterwards gave chace to them in 
great numbers, yet we never came up with one; such is the great speed 
of this beautiful animal. 
* Arrian, Exp. of Alex. lib. ii. c. 5. 
