The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1906-11-07
A LAND OF BILLIARDS.
THE FIERCE GALES THAT SWEEP AND
WRECK SEISTAN.

Blow, ms They Have Done For Ages,
From the same DirectIoD-A Pan
demonIum of Noise, Sand and Dust.
Every one who has visited Sestan or
written about Seistan has mentioned
It's celebrated wind, called the "bad-i-
sad-o-b Dist roz," or wind Of 120 days
which blows in The summer. Few of
these have had the misfortune TO ex-
perience it, but as we went through
two seasons of this wind we are able
to say something about 1T. 1t more
than justiies It's reputation. 1t sets In
ut the end of May or the middle OF
June and blows with appalling VIC
lence aud with little or no cessation till
about the end of September. 1t always
blows from one direction, little west
of north, and reaches n velocity or
more than seventy miles an hour. 1T
creates pandemonium of noise, sand
and dust and for a time gets on ones
nerves, but it Is In reality blessing In
disguise, for it blows away the insects
which from April TO June make life In
Seistan perfect purgatory, mitlgates
the awful summer heat and clears the
country of typhus, smallpox ana other
diseases rife in the country In May and
June. One would think this 120 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. IRE terrible, and the wind at
tains terrific velocity. In blizzard
at the end of March the thermometers
registered IA maximum of 12O miles an
hour The average velocity for whole
sixteen hours was more than eighty
eight miles an hour
The extraordinary frequency and VIC
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 by the fact
TINT all the ruins of Seistan are built
nj the same angle with their front and
back wallis at right angle to the
wind and their side walls at the same
angle as 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 Selstan Everything looks wind
swept and wind stricken. over the
greater part of the cOlntry not 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 ey-
erywhere visible on these ruins. Their
bases are undereut 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 aud the ex-
IRENE hardness and durability of the
Seistau soil when made into The sun
dried bricks of which the upper por-
tions OF the ruins are composed. have
withstood The destructive effect OF the
wind In II wonderful manner. but in
walls faeing the wind have entirely
disappeared. and only the side walls re-
main. while in still older ruins only
one or two solitary pinnacIrS remain TO
mark what were once large, massive
and cNtcnsive buildings.
The wind has buried large traC.S Of
the country under sand. Many of the
IL ipt ntstl IL
buried In sand. and this burying process
goes on all the year and every year and
is covering M not only valuable lands,
but inhabited Villages. In Seistan, as
elseWhcr the invading army of sand
is preceded 10y lines of skirmishers IN
the form of travelling "hurkhans,
horseshoe shaped sand hills, which
steadily advance until they meet some
obstacle which retards them until the
reserves come up to their support and
bury all before them under hills of sand
ON our arrival in SeiStau we found
Kilanau. II big and ilourishng village
built on the south side of n high gldge
for protection from the wind. Before
we left the sand had attacked that
ridge. surmouted ii aud buried the
village, forcing the inhabitants II build
new village elsewhere An example
OF stll greater rapdity was afforded
Mt the village of Kilal<ohna Up to
June. 1904, this village had large
deep pond on its northern side BY
Superintendent Is, less than three
months this deep pond was converted
into a sand hill some ten feet high.
The wind. however, did not contine
its emery To burying only. While IL
covers some tracts deep In sand, 1t also
sweeps other tracts clear OF sand. rem.
! dering valuable land available for cul
tlvation and exposing long buried ruins
once more t. view These are, how
ever. only the milder effects OF wind
action Tie SeiStan wind IN Its more
destructive mnols has ia places re
moved u9t only sand from place to
| place. but has secured away the whole
| face of the country Every where we
| find the sides and banks II the canals
which Irrigated the lands on which tit
dwcllers Of the old ruins depended icfi
| standing like walls high above the pres
ent surface of the surrounding land
These banks. having been hardened by
water. have WithStpod the action Of the
wind better thaa the surface of the
land, which has I'll been blown away
| 10 n depth of several feet. This deptl
In places is very considerable, and W.
| find the outlines exposed of still Older
| canals which existed ut some yet ear
ller age ana which must have beer
buried deep ia the ground when tn,
canals above them. old rs they are
We're In use Geographical Journal
The idle always have half Il mind t.
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