be avoided. The diameter of the wind columns I observed by the
dust carried with it, varied from 3 feet to 20 feet.

The mountains we are travelling on are said to be somewhat unsafe, the
villagers being given to attacking caravans, and robber bands coming here
for shelter when it becomes unsafe for them to be on the Kashan-Yezd high
road. In fact, while resting in the house of Haji-Mulla Ahmed at
Fezahbad, a curious lot of men appeared, who, notwithstanding the
remonstrances of Sadek and Haji, broke into the house in a most
boisterous manner, demanding food of the landlord. They were armed with
revolvers and old Martini rifles, and had plenty of cartridges about
their persons. They seemed quite taken aback to find a European inside
the room. They changed their attitude at once, and became quite polite.

I entertained them to tea, of which they drank gallons. I cannot say that
I was particularly charmed with their faces, but their manner was
certainly most courteous. They showed me their rifles--English Martinis
with additional gold ornamentations of lion and sun, such as one sees in
thousands all over Persia. I asked them where they got them from. They
said they came from the Persian Gulf.

Haji Mulla Ahmed, the founder of the village, was a fine old fellow with
a kindly face, eyes shining like beads under an overhanging brow, and a
crimson beard dyed with henna. He appeared rather sulky at this unwonted
visit, and more sulky still later when the visitors left me and he had to
provide food for them. He said that the robbers frequently called upon
him, and were a great drain on his supplies.

When we left at 1.45 a.m. to go across the pass, he advised Sadek and
myself to load our rifles and keep a sharp look-out. As I had already
measured the altitude of the pass in the afternoon I had no particular
object in keeping awake, so I slung the rifle to my saddle and dozed off
on my mule as we were slowly winding our way up to the summit. The long
night marches were so dreary and the sound of the mules' bells so
monotonous that it was most difficult to keep awake. One gradually learns
to balance one's self quite well on the saddle while asleep, and it does
shorten the long hours of the night very considerably. Occasionally one
wakes up abruptly with a jolt, and one fancies that one is just about to
tumble over, but although I suppose I must have ridden in my life
hundreds of miles while asleep on the saddle, I have never on