"تقرير خان بهادور مولا بخش، الملحق بوكيل الحاكم العام للهند والقنصل العام البريطاني في خراسان وسيستان، عن رحلته من مشهد إلى كويته عبر تربت حيدريه، كاين، سيستان، كوه ملك سياه ونوشكي (٧ أبريل إلى ٢٨ يوليو ١٨٩٨)" [و‎‎٦‎٦] (١٥٦/١٣٦)

)
ON HIS JOURNEY FROM MESHED TO QUETTA, 1898.
109
Wednesday, 27th July 1898.
163. Girdai or Girdi (Jcarez).
Time taken by laden camels, 7§ hours.
Distance, 15 miles.
Road, good.
Water, good, from a karez.
Camel-grazing plentiful.
Supplies procurable from surrounding villages.
(a) Girdai is the name of a karez belonging to the village of Mihrabzai,
which is situated at a short distance from
the camping ground.
(b) The valley in which Mihrabzai and
a few other villages are situated is called
Aghbarg.
(c) Weather very hot at Girdai.
Girdai or
Girdi.
Mihrabzai.
Valley of Aghbarg.
Weather very hot at Girdai.
Tuesday, 28th July 1898.
164). Quetta {town).
Time taken by laden camels, 8| hours.
Distance, 17 miles.
Road, good.
Quetta.
Everything procurable.
Samungli.
Sistan caravans how swindled at Quetta.
See paragraph 158 (d).
{a) We passed Samungli at the 9th
mile which is about 8 miles from the bazar
of Quetta.
Caravans not wishing to stay in the town (where there is no camel-grazing
and where house-rent is rather high except in a caravansarai, which is always
overcrowded) could camp out at Samungli (where there is good water and
plenty of shade and camel-grazing) and go into town to negotiate the purchase
or sale of goods whenever necessary.
{b) I hear from a reliable source that Lurinda Mall, a well-known Hindu
broker at Quetta, carries on the same
tactics with regard to Sistan caravans as
the Hindu shop-keepers of Nushki. By
entertaining at his own expense the cara
van people and showing other civilities he induces them to place confidence in
him and to accept as fair any prices fixed by him on goods sold or purchased
by them and to accept payment in piece goods, etc.
The ignorant and inexperienced Sistanis are thus hoodwinked and
defrauded both at Nushki and Quetta and get low prices for their goods, while
they have to pay high rates for what they purchase.
Future caravans would, therefore, do well to ascertain the local prices from
different sources before disposing of their own commodities and buying the
goods they require in Quetta.
165. Though' we have had a very trying journey between Neh and
Safe arrival of all members of my party at Quetta, I am glad to be able tO report that
Quetta. all the members of my party (with the
exception of one woman, the wife of Daffadar Sher Ali of the <£ Queen s Own
Corps of Guides, who died at Birjand of a complicated women’s disease contracted
by her at Meshed) have safely arrived at Quetta.