Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1906-11-07
A LAND OF BILLIARDS.
TIE FIERCE GALES THAT SWEEP AND
WRECK SElSTAN.


Blow, Rs They Have Done For Ages,
From the Same Dircctfon-A Pam
demORIurn OF Noise, sand and Dust.
Every one who has visited SeiStan OF
written about SeiStan has mentioned
| its celebrated wind, called the "badI-
sad-o-bist roz," or wind Of 40 days
which Rows in the summer Few Of
these have had the misfortune to ex-
/ perience Il, but as we went through
two seasons Of this wind we are able
to say something about It. 1t more
than justiies Its reputation. 1t sets in
| at the end OF May or the middle OF
/ June and blows with appalling VIC
/ lence and with little or no cessation till
about the end Of September. IL always
blows from one direction, n little west
I OF north, and reaches 4 velocity OF
more than seventy miles an hour. 1t
creates pandemonium Of noise, sand
and dust and for time gets on ones
nerves. but il is in reality blessing in
disguise, for it blows away the insects
which from April TO June make life in
Seistan a perfect purgatory. mitigates
the awful summer heat and clears the
country Of typhuS. smallpox and other
diseases rife in the country in May ana
June. One would think this 100 day
wind enough. but violent winds prevail
all through the winter from December
TO April. and billiards. are of constant
occurrence. These winds always come
from the same direction. The winter
billiards. are terrible, and the wind at
20 20, II, Ill
at the end Of March the thermometers
registered n maximum Of 40 miles an
hour. The average velocity for Il whole
sixteen hours was more than eighty
eight miles an hour.
The extraordinary frequency and vio-
lence of the SeiStan wind and the reg
ularity with which it blows from the
same quarter are very remarkable
That it has blown from the same quar-
ter in past ages is proved 10y the fact
that all the ruins Of Seistan are built
at the same angle. with their front and
back walls at a right angle to the
wind and their side walls at the same
angle rs the wind. No wind can blow
with such violence and frequency
without leaving its mark on the coun-
try. Its effects are everywhere visible
in Seistan. Everything looks wind
swept and wind stricken. over the
greater part Of the country not a single
tree exists.
The present villages and habitations
are all built with their backs present
ing lines OF dead walls on the wind
ward side. The old ruins are orlented
at exactly the same angle on account
Of the wind. The effect Of wind is ev-
erywhere visible on these ruins. Their
bases are underout by wind rs though
by water action. The thickness Of the
walls, the excellent quality of the
burned bricks made and used by the
ancient inhabitants for the lower
courses Of their buildings and the ex-
IRENE hardness and durability OF the
Seistan soil when made into the sun
dried bricks OF which the upper por-
lions OF the ruins are composed, have
withstood the destructive effect Of the
wind In wonderful manner but in
the older ruins we often find that the
walls facing the wind have entirely
| disappeared, and only the side walls re-
main, while In still older ruins only
one or two solitary plnnacles remain to
mark what were once large, massive
and extensive buildings.
The wind has buried large tracts OF
the country under sand. Many Of the
old ruined towns are wholly or partly
buried In sand, and this burying process
goes on all the year and every year and
is covering up not only valuable lands.
but inhabited villages. In Seistan. as
elsewhere, the invading army of sand
Is preceded by lines OF skirmishers In
the form Of travelling "burkhans."
horseshoe shaped sand hills, which
steadily advance until they meet some
obstacle which retards them until the
reserves come up 10 their support and
bury all before them under hills Of sand.
On our arrival in Seistan we found
kilainau, big and fiourishing village.
built on the south side OF q high ridge
for protection from the wind. Before
we left the sand had attacked that
ridge, surmOunted IL and buried the
village, forcing the inhabitants to build
new village elsewhere. An example
OF still greater rapidity vas afforded
at the village Of Kilaikohna. Up to
June, 1904, this village had q large.
deep pond on It's northern side. BY
September-that is, less than three
months-this deep pond was converted
into sand hill some ten feet high.
The wind, however, did not confne
its energy to burying only. While it
covers some tracts deep In sand, it also
sweeps other tracts clear of sand. rem
dering valuable land available for cul-
ovation and exposing long buried ruins
once more TO view. These are. how
ever, only the milder effects of wind
action. The Seistan wind in It's more
destructive moods has In places re-
moved not only sand from place to
place, but has secured away the whole
race OF the country. Everywhere we
ind the sides and banks Of the canals
which irrigated the lands on which the
jewellers of the old ruins depended left
standing like walls high above the pres
ent surface of the surrounding land.
These banks, having been hardened by
water, have withstOod the action Of the
wind better than the surface of the
land, which has all been blown aWay
10 depth of several feet. This depth
ir places is very considerable, and we
find the outlines exposed Of still older
canals which existed at some vet ear
Her age and which must have been
buried deep in the ground when the
canals above them, old rs they are,
were In use.--Geographical Journal.