strange to say, nearly all
Persian pestilences arise, we dropped suddenly into the Kasveen plain, a
portion of that triangular, dried-up basin of the Persian Mediterranean,
now for the most part a sandy, saline desert. The argillaceous dust
accumulated on the Kasveen plain by the weathering of the surrounding
uplands resembles in appearance the "yellow earth" of the Hoang Ho
district in China, but remains sterile for the lack of water. Even the
little moisture that obtains beneath the surface is sapped by the
_kanots_, or underground canals, which bring to the fevered lips of the
desert oases the fresh, cool springs of the Elburz. These are dug with
unerring instinct, and preserved with jealous care by means of shafts or
slanting wells dug at regular intervals across the plain. Into these we
would occasionally descend to relieve our reflection-burned--or, as a
Persian would say, "snow-burned"--faces, while the thermometer above stood
at 120 deg. in the shade.

Over the level ninety-mile stretch between Kasveen and the capital a
so-called carriage-road has recently been constructed close to the base of
the mountain. A sudden turn round a mountain-spur, and before us was
presented to view Mount Demavend and Teheran. Soon the paved streets,
sidewalks, lamp-posts, street-railways, and even steam-tramway, of the
half modern capital were as much of a surprise to us as our "wind horses"
were to the curious crowds that escorted us to the French Hotel.

[Illustration: A PERSIAN REPAIRING THE WHEELS OF HIS WAGON.]

From Persia it was our plan to enter Russian central Asia, and thence to
proceed to China or Siberia. To enter the Transcaspian territory, the
border-province of the Russian possessions, the sanction of its governor,
General Kuropatkine, would be quite sufficient; but for the rest of the
journey through Turkestan the Russian minister in Teheran said we would
have to await a general permission from St. Petersburg. Six weeks were
spent with our English and American acquaintances, and still no answer was
received. Winter was coming on, and something had to be done at once. If
we were to be debarred from a northern route, we would have to attempt a
passage into India either through Afghanistan, which we were assured by
all was quite impossible, or across the deserts of southern Persia and
Baluchistan. For this latter we had already obtained a possible route from
the noted traveler, Colonel Stewart, whom we met on his w