ddenly ceased in a gentle slope. East and E.S.E., now that the
plain became of immense breadth, one could see two isolated low hill
ranges, barring which, in the arc of a circle between north-east and
south, we had nothing before us except a flat, dreary stretch of sand and
stones meeting the sky on the horizon line.

On getting nearer the Hamun-i-Halmund (swamp), formed by the Halmund
river and others losing themselves into the sand and flooding part of
that region, the whole country was covered with high reeds and small
water channels, which constantly made us deviate from our course. In the
middle of the night we got so mixed up that we were unable to go on. It
is most dangerous to make camels get into water channels, especially if
muddy, without being certain of their depth. The brutes, if sinking, are
seized with panic and collapse, or, in trying to get out quickly, often
slip sideways and get split in two, which necessitates their being
killed.

In the morning we passed two Cossacks from the Sistan Consulate escort,
who, having been relieved, were now on their way back to Russia. They
gave us a hearty greeting, and shortly after a messenger from the British
Consul in Sistan handed me a letter, a most kind invitation from Major
Benn to go and stay with him at the Consulate.

Towards noon we reached Nasirabad (altitude 2,050 ft.), a very old
village founded by one Malik Nasir Khan Kayani--the _Kayani_, as is well
known, being the former rulers of Sistan, and every big _Kayani_ being
called "Malik." We stopped for a couple of hours for lunch, the principal
house in the village being vacated by the courteous inmates for my use.
The arrival of a _ferenghi_ excited considerable attention, and numerous
and anxious inquiries were made whether I was a "Ruski" or "Inglis." On
learning that I was "Inglis," they expressed their unsolicited conviction
that all Inglis were good people and Ruski all bad, and no doubt if I
had been a Ruski the reverse conviction would have been expressed with
similar eagerness.

The natives were polite, but extremely noisy, shouting and yelling at the
top of their voices when they spoke. The men wore large white turbans
over their white skull caps, long blue shirts, opened and buttoned on the
left side, reaching to below their knees, and the enormous Afghan
trousers.

From Nasirabad we came across a long uninterrupted row of ruined villages
and towns, stretching in a line for some eight mile