1897.] 
R. Burn — The Bakhtidri Hills. 
171 
usual treeless plain of Persia. A little farther on, however, is a stream, 
and following it, we came to Kava Rukh, another village of considerable 
size, having a sarai in w*hich we got a room. A Lur who had travelled 
to both Teheran and Mashhad was staying in the sarai, and gave us his 
views on things in general. According to him the Zill-as-Sultan has 
now little influence, while Isfandiar Khan the present Ilbegi or junior 
ruler of the Bakhtiaris is gaining in strength and popularity. He 
asked many questions about India and England, and finally requested 
us to take him with us, and on our demurring said that a Russian had 
offered him a grove, land, and 4 tomans (= Rs. 15) a month if he would 
settle in Russian territory. 
November 1st. Starting at 9 A.M., we marched through a very 
large plain, which is well watered and highly cultivated. To the west 
were two ranges of considerable hills, and beyond them was the snowy 
summit of the Kuh-i-Rang, (12,500 feet). At 11-30 a.m., we reached 
the village of Dih-i-Khurd, which I may note is not on the regular 
route, the carvadar or muleteer having taken us there to pick up the 
rest of his caravan. Passing through the village to look for a lodging, 
we saw about 50 men taking leave of their friends before starting on 
their pilgrimage to Karbala, a long journey and not free from danger. 
Their friends kissed them on both cheeks, and then salamed, but 
touched shoulders and chest also as if crossing themselves. The village 
was extremely dirty, and the only public buildings it possessed, a mosque 
and Imamzada, were mean and squalid. It was here we first saw the 
cattle of which Chardin speaks. 1 They are a sturdy breed, short¬ 
horned, and considerably larger than those of southern Persia. We 
got a room in the house of a man who had been to Karachi with mules, 
and was called Haji in consequence, though he had never been to Mecca. 
The house was like an ordinary Indian house, with a porch, courtyard, 
and living houses round it. In the courtyard was a frame on which 
a pair of saddle-bags or khurjin were being woven. 
November 2nd. The night was extremely cold, and when we began 
our march at 9 A.M., the water-courses were still covered with ice. 
Crossing the plain to the south and passing an Armenian village, with 
the usual large cemetery by it, we reached the edge of the plain and 
climbed a low ridge. In the valley beyond lies the village of Shamsa- 
bad, in spring surrounded by standing corn, but at this season the only 
green thing to be seen was fields of lucerne. We marched straight 
down the valley and through the defile at the south end where the 
little river is crossed by a stone bridge. The road lay for a short 
1 Coronation of Solyman III King of Persia p. 147. “ This Province furnishes 
Isfahan and the neighbouring parts with cotton.” 
