The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1889-04-18
ALONG THE PERSIAN COAST.
Scenes In Bushire,-A Persian Residence
Bunder Abbas.-Palace of the Sheik.-
The Royal Group -Karrachi and the Indus

BUsHIRE, PeTsil.-Barren hills and
shores greet the eyes of the traveller
along the Persian coast. The waters of
the sea roll upon the lifeless rocks, and
beat against the reefs and joyless islands
that skirt the shore. During the sum
mer months, when no rain falls upon the
land, the scene is one of comparative
desolatiDn. No vegetation is seen on the
burning sands. except IN places where a
system of irrigation is employed. The
crops of the country are grown during
the winter season, when relenting ma
ture yields generous supply of rain to
the parched soil. Farther inland, along
the river courses and near the cities and
towns, the vision is fairer to look upon,
though far from being attractive,
The city of Bushire, standing on pc
ninsula fronting the west, is the principal
port of the country and an important
center of trade. With an open harbor,
it is not easy of approach, and in its
shallow water ship must needs anchor
several miles from the shore. The town
in its general appointments is anything
tut inviting. Its streets are marrow,
tortuOus and abOminably dirty, some OF
which are covered over to shut out the
rays Of the sun. A pretense to order is
made iu the arrangements of the houses,
shops and baziars of the better portion
of the city, The population numbers
fully twenty thousand, of Persian blood,
devoted subjects of the Shah and faith
full followers Of Mohammed. They seem
to be peaceful people, courteous in man
ner, indulent in habits. fantastic in dress,
and are little imbued with ideas of prog
ress. Here are numerous merchants
who deal in genuine Persian rugs, that
are handsome in design aud moderate IN
price. The famous cats, which are
brought in by caravans, although some
thing Of a rarity, are exposed for sale
Here are found many noble Per-ian hor-
ses. which receive the utmost cOusidera-
tion, fine specimen of which it was my
privilege to ride with delightful eXhil-
aration.
The English Residency, of whose hos
pilality we have no question to raise, Is
charmingly situated outside of the gates
and is surrounded with beautiful gar
dens in striking contrast with the bar
renness OF the ad jAcent country. To-
gether with the offices of the Eastern
tclegraphic company near at hand, it
forms the nucleus of a email foreign set
tlement, which, with fine lawn tennis
grounds aud an agreeable society, is
made very attractive. The princely res
ldence of an American merchant, to
which we had &C ess upon invitation, is
declared to be by far the finest and grand
est establishment in the city, and is fair
type of oriental taste and refinement,
The bouse is large and picturesque, built
of stone aud mud. The rooms are spaC-
ious, with soft and beautiful rugs and
carpets covering the fl nors, but without
any show of decoration upon the walls.
Easy chairs and divans, for the purposes
of mapping and lounging, form the pin.
cipal articles of furniture of the house,
throughout which there is wanting an
air of home-like and homely comfort
The sleeping apartments are destitute Of
all furniture except neat and comforta-
ble-looking beds. Numberess servants
in white flowing robes, moving about
noiselessly to administer to the wants Of
the CUES 5, invest the place with bit of
oriental luxury, that prevails among the
better classes IN the east.
The country is little more than a
waste, but in the native customs some
| interesting phases are presented. In the
absence of rain, the land is irrigated
with water drawn from the wells that
abound in many localities. The novel
contrivances, by which the water is
raised t. the surface, are operated by
strong bulls in a decidedly primitive
manner. The skin of a pig, forming a
bottle shaped bag, is suspended at each
end by rope that passes over pulleys,
and is so arranged that, when at the hot
tom of the we'll, the bag is right side up
and fills itself, and coming to the top is
turned over and emptled into bitches, by
which the water is carried to the desired
fields. Thus little by little the water is
raised t. the surface OF the ground and
spreads itself oyer the parched soil. call
ing into being a sparse vegetation in the
dry season.
A sail of hundred leagues or more
from BushiTe takes one TO the port Of
| Lingah, the next III Importance, place
without attractions and interest, at
which our ship made brief stop. Far
ther down the coast, opposite the Oman
peninsula, the sea farer nears the once
famous town of Bunder Abbas some
times known as Gombroon. Surround
ed by mud wall and occupied by few
thousand Arabs, there is little about the
pace to remind one of the city with ten
| times its present population, that became
an important commercial center, in
which several European nationalities
secured a strong industrial fuothOld.
When in the height of its glory some
years since, the natives made a sudden
descent upon the foreign settlement and
business places, ruins Of which are still
seen, driving out the new civilization
and trade, and lapsng into their former
state of barbarism, fanaticism and indo-
lence.
1t is a small and dirty town, with rude
huts and hot and sitting atmosphere.
facing the quiet waters of the strait, and
is tributary to the Sultan of Muscat. Its
affairs of state are manage in an easy
going manner by venerable Shelk. The
saluling battery, that marks the ap-
proach to the harbor, consists of fuui
very old guns which might have been
U.s. by Xerxes, had that enlerprlsing
conqueror been so formidably equipped
one of which is mounted on ii ID car
riage and the others are stuck in the
sand. They are accustomed to load ana
| fire off the whole number in quick sue
cession, then reload their guns after an
luLtiNdl lOI lilG ~ lubsdllulthl VI lOul
shots, continuing the fusillade for long
period OF time. With small charges Of
powder, with which sticks and stones
are used to fill up. and with careless fir
ing, their missiles are likely to take
! flight almost anywhere, by reason of
which their salute on our arrival was
assuring to us of anything but safety.
As it was, one of their gunner was in
jured by a premature discharge, and
with faith in Uncle Sans surgical skill
came off TO the ship for treatment.
Our presence in port excited some
thing of interest among the natives, by
whom we were treated with becoming
courtesy. In paying our respects to the
authorizes of the place at the executive
headquarters, we we're ushered into a
large bare room, the floor Of which was
covered with rugs. Along one side stood
row of chairs in which we were seat
ed. On the opposite side the governors
attendants were sitting, with the Sheik
himself, IN court dress, occupying plat
form at The end OF the room and facing
both lines. As none in attendance spcks
word of English, and as their lam
guage Was a sealed book to us, we all sat
staring at each other, lost in anIezsment
il not IN admiration, while messengers
were out securing the town for an inter-
prefer. In half an hour the important
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