ad hills all round
except to the south-east. Murchikhar is at a fairly high altitude, 5,600
ft.

One still heard much about brigands. Soldiers, armed to the teeth,
insisted on accompanying my luggage. This, of course, involved endless
backshish, but had to be put up with, as it is one of the perquisites
of the guards stationed at the various stages. I have heard it stated
that if one does not require their services it is often these protectors
themselves who turn into robbers. There is a guard-house on the road, and
the two soldiers stationed there told us that a large band of thirty
robbers had visited them during the early hours of the morning, and had
stolen from them all their provisions, money and tobacco!

We were not troubled in any way, and, with the exception of some
suspicious horsemen a long way off making for the mountains, we hardly
met a soul on the road.

A curious accident happened to one of my luggage horses. For some reason
of his own he bolted, and galloped to the top of one of the _kanat_
cones, when getting frightened at the deep hole before him he jumped it.
His fore-legs having given way on the steep incline on the other side, he
fell on his head and turned a complete somersault, landing flat on his
back, where, owing to the packs, he remained with his legs up in the air
until we came to his aid and freed him of the loads.

On nearing Ghiez the track is over undulating country, but after that the
road to Isfahan is good and flat, but very sandy and dusty. I got to
Ghiez in the evening but proceeded at once to Isfahan. We galloped on the
twelve miles, and in less than two hours I was most hospitably received
in the house of Mr. Preece, the British Consul-General in Isfahan.

The distances from Teheran are as follows:--

From Teheran to Kum 24 farsakhs 96 miles.
" Kum to Kashan 17 " 68 "
" Kashan to Kohrut 7 " 28 "
" Kohrut to Biddeshk 6 " 24 "
" Biddeshk to Murchikhar 6 " 24 "
" Murchikhar to Ghiez 6 " 24 "
" Ghiez to Isfahan 3 " 12 "
-- --
Total 69 farsakhs or 276 miles.

The time occupied in covering the whole distance, including halts and
delays, was somewhat less than four days.

CHAPTER XXVII

Missionary work in Persia--Educational and medical work--No
Mahommedan converts--