Overland to India : vol.1 / 118 ページ（カラー画像）

0118	Overland to India : vol.1
インドへの陸路 : vol.1

68 OVERLAND TO INDIA

CHAP.

lay on the ground. Shakir says that I am lucky ; usually p

it is almost impossible to drive here at this season, which •1

is too late for wheeled vehicles and too early for sleighs.

Later in the winter the snow often lies three feet deep on ll

Tahir-dagh, and then sleighing is fine sport. During the

01

thawing of the snow, or after heavy rain, the road is, it

seems, detestable, for then the viscous sucking clay forms a mud-bath, in which the carriage wheels sink to the axle,

while lumps of clay, heavy and tenacious, cling to the Ill
wheels.

From the saddle of the pass we descend into a hollow,

and then go up again to another pass of about the same 001

height. On its eastern side we meet a Persian caravan tit

of 315 camels, which occupies a third of a mile of road il

with its many detachments. All the leaders are men of N

Azerbeijan, speaking the Tatar language, and identical el

in type and costume with the Tatars in Baku. In orna- *1

mental halters, and with large red tufts, the camels stalk jÏ

solemnly and slowly on their way seawards to the sound tr

of their bells. In their wake follow three arabas laden u

with millstones, and each cart is drawn by four buffaloes. i

To the south-east Ala-dagh's snow-crowned heights •

rise in front of us when we move down the headlong, li

dangerous declivities that descend from the pass. Every ii

moment we are in danger of slipping, and one of our riders

• goes on foot to be always at hand to preserve the balance.

• It takes us an hour and a half to get down to a tolerable

road, where, however, the springs of the drosky are El

severely tried amidst the rubbish and blocks of stone. Wil

With hurried steps a hunter is making his way up the II

pass ; he is out to hunt foxes with his two greyhounds,

which he leads in a leash ; they are called Iasi, and easily L

overtake foxes. 4
At Kuraldi half-a-dozen willows delight the eye, an

unusual sight on this barren plateau. Haystacks dominate t

everything, and are much higher than the houses and 1

tesek cupolas. Canal water is conducted through wooden I

pipes to two mills. In this country no fezes are seen at all ; instead, lambskin caps are worn, and grey felt caps

as in Persia, or nothing but a bandage wound round 1

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