n the track
turned south-east a beautiful view of the Afghan desert south of the
Halmund, was obtained to the north-east, while south-south-east (180 deg.,
bearings magnetic) stood a high peak, the Saindak Mount. We first skirted
very rugged mountains to the south-west which were brilliant in colour
and had many peaks fluted by water erosion. Sand-hills gradually dwindled
away, leaving long, flat-topped sand-banks invariably facing north. To
the south was quite a high sand mountain.

A quaint rock resembling a huge camel's head could be seen to our left
above a hill. Then, six miles from Robat, sand-hills began again. The
track here lay only a few yards from the Afghan boundary which was marked
by stone cairns, six feet high, painted white. To the south was a rugged
chain of mountains with low sand-hills before it, and to the north across
the Afghan border could now be plainly seen the interesting salt deposit
of God-i-Zirreh, and another whose name I do not know. I crossed into
Afghan territory with the object of visiting them, and a description will
be found in the next chapter.

I returned into Beluchistan to the spot, 14 miles from Robat, where a
small salt rivulet swelled by tributaries, descends from the mountains to
the south and west. When in flood this stream, which must be enormously
enlarged, carries down a great quantity of tamarisk wood, much of which
could be seen deposited a long distance from the water's normal banks.

The road stretched in front of us in a perfectly straight line, with neat
stone borders on either side, and one got so tired of seeing that line in
front of one's nose that one welcomed the smallest change--even a slight
ascent or a curve--in its endless, monotonous straightness. We came by
and by to a little ascent--quite steep enough for camels. We could have
easily avoided it by leaving the road and making a detour at the foot of
the hill close to the Afghan boundary. Some caravans do.

From the highest point of the road as we looked back to the
north-north-west we saw behind us sand hills, that showed traces of being
still much at the mercy of the wind. Further behind, still
north-north-west, was a high pointed peak, and then a long blue chain
extending from south-west to north-east just rising out of the sand mist.
The highest peaks were at the most extreme north-east point. Then the
mountains became lower and lower, and the horizon met the flat long line
of the desert.

A fine v