'A second journey through Persia, Armenia, and Asia Minor, to Constantinople, between the years 1810 and 1816. With a journal of the voyage by the Brazils and Bombay to the Persian Gulf. Together with an account of the proceedings of His Majesty's embassy under Sir Gore Ouseley, Bart. K.L.S. With two maps, and engravings from the designs of the author.' [‎288] (339/516)

288 LAKE OF SHAHEE.
tain supplies of the rivers themselves, which depend almost wholly
upon the mountain torrents. Persian rivers, in general, are on the one
day overflowing their banks, and on the next, can scarcely be called rivu
lets, on which account, it would be impossible to form an estimate of
the proportion of the supply to the evaporation. I should conceive, that
the lake must have its largest quantity of water in spring, when the
snows melt, and the torrents flow with the greatest violence, an opi
nion which derives confirmation from the nature of the small salt water
lake, seen on the right of the road between Ojan and Tabriz, which
in spring receives its water from the mountain, and in summer is com
pletely dry from evaporation alone.
This lake resembles in many things, to what Sandys calls " that cursed
lake Asphaltides or the Dead Sea. Like it, its water seems dull
and heavy, and the late Mr. Brown found that it contains more salt
than that of the sea. We were informed, that as soon as the rivers
disgorge any of their fish into it, they immediately die. We saw swans
in the lake, near the coast contiguous to Shirameen. Like the Dead
Sea, it also supplies the adjacent country with a salt of beautiful trans
parency, although the inhabitants generally prefer the rock salt, which
is cut from quarries in the neighbourhood of the petrifactions.
It contains four islands of different heights and sizes, exclusive
of Shahee, which, though in fact a peninsula, is also called an island.
They are small and barren, but are very conspicuous from their
white cliffs, which, on a clear day, are visible from the top of the
mountain above labriz. We were told, that not long ago a race of
wild asses existed upon them, which had originally been turned loose
there by the Seffies, but which are now destroyed. At present they are
tenanted by a family of venomous snakes and other reptiles, and are
no otherwise useful than as affording a low brushwood and other mate
rials for fuel, to those who will give themselves the trouble to carry it
away. Shahee, we hear, is inhabited, and contains twelve villages, the
* Santtys 's Travels, 7th edit. p. 110.