. Others were
more granular, like lumps of frozen snow. Then there were some lovely
bits of a greenish yellow marble and some brown. These beautiful stones
and pieces of marble were brought to these Ziarats from great distances
by devotees. Stones reduced by nature into queer shapes, hollowed for
instance by the action of sand or water, perfectly spherical, or
strikingly coloured were favourite offerings.

At this particular Ziarat, a small marble mortar with pestle and a marble
hammer, occupied the most prominent place. A flint arrow head was also in
evidence. Further was perched a curious doll with a string and charm
round its neck, and some chips of beautiful transparent streaked yellow
marble like bits of lemon. From the pole hung a circle of wood and horns,
as well as coarse wooden imitations of horned animals' skulls. Offerings
of palm leaves had also been deposited.

West of the Ziarat was a small semicircular Mesjid of brown stone, with a
few white marble pieces to the north by north-west, and, further, long
heaps of stones extending in a north by north-west direction. The last
one was in the shape of a grave with a high white stone pillar to the
south.

The new bungalow, of which the foundations were just being laid, will be
erected near this Ziarat.

Quite a number of Beluch were settled at Mushki-Chah, and some lived in
small quadrangular mud houses, with a black tent stretched over the walls
to act as roof; or else they had put up coarse huts made of branches of
tamarisk and thatched with palm tree leaves and tamarisk, in which they
lived--apparently in the most abject poverty. Yet, although these
residences were often not higher than five or six feet, their owners did
not lack pride. In Beluchistan as in England, the home of a man is his
castle. The Beluch, however--most unlike the English--would not let
anybody who did not belong to his creed go into it.

The occupations of the stay-at-home people did not seem to have an excess
of variety, and consisted mainly of plaiting fuses for their matchlocks,
keeping the threads tightly stretched by means of a wooden bow. There
were but few coarse implements inside their huts, and a bag or two with
grain. A long matchlock and a sword or two lay in a corner in most
dwellings, and that was about all.

The house of the chief was somewhat more elaborate, having trunks of palm
trees inserted vertically into the stone wall to strengthen it. It had a
mud and stone e