'Military Report of the Nushki-Chagai-Western Sinjarani Country' [‎94v] (193/302)

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MANZILGARH.—Lat. 29 0 15'; Long. 63° n'; Elev. 4,396'.
A hill in the sandy desert, about 2 miles east ot Manzil halting-place,
between Butig and Amir Chah.
MARAK KAUR— . . T D .
A water-course in the desert country in North-West Baluchistan
south of Robat, some 6 miles north of the Sorgaz ravine, and about
7 miles from Robat. In the bed of this kaur is a well 4 feet deep
with slightly brackish water. {Lockwood.)
MARIN.—'Lat. 29 0 29'; Long. 64° 31'; Elev. 7,309
A peak of the Chagai-Sarlat, about 17 miles north-west ot Chagai.
MARJAN RIVER— ......
Shown on the survey sheet as one of the water-courses into which the
Mashkel river divides as it approaches the Hamun.
MAS 1 TI NALA— n , . , . „ , .
Rises west of Robat Koh and flows north past the west of Koh-i-
Malik Siah. It is generally a dry waAz-bed.
MASHKAN 1 — T ^ .
A hill in the desert country of North-West Baluchistan, south-west
of Mamu. The road from Samuli to Mamu by the Belukand nala
goes to the north-east of this hill. {Peacocke)
MASHKEL OR MASHKID RIVER—
A large river rising in the vicinity of the Koh-i-Taftan in Persian
Baluchistan. Its main tributary in the upper part of its course is
called the Simish as far as Dizak, thence onwards it goes by the name
of Mashkid or Mashkel; the former appears to be the Persian, the
latter the Baluch pronunciation of the name.
Some miles below- Dizak it begins to flow in a south-east direction,
thence flowbng through a gravel valley between Isfandak and the Hiduch
band it enters Baluch territory. Here again it makes a considerable
bend and flow's almost due north, piercing first the Sabz Koh range by
a defile called the Tank-i-Grawag, and then, after flowing in a north
east direction through a fairly broad valley, some 9 miles wide, it
again forces its w r ay through the Siahan and Kunaren ranges by a
defile similar to the first, called the Tank-i-Zorati.
On entering the sandy Mashkel plain it flows almost due north,
meeting the Bibi Lori Kaur at about 28^ miles from Zorati, and continu
ing in the same direction for about 8^ miles up to a point called Nalap
or Nalaf, it bends tow r ards the north-west, and here just before it
the great Mashkel Hamun the whole bed of the stream has a width
of some 13 miles, but this is divided into several smaller surface channels,
the largest of which is called Kuhnador and was the only one in which
Ahmad Ali Khan saw any water in January 1890. The Mashkel Hamun,
into which this river empties itself, is almost due east of its source.
So remarkable is the course of this river that Pottinger was entirely
deceived as to the direction of its drainage. In the account of his
travels he calls this river the “ Boodoor,” and when crossing the desert
from Sarawmn to Kalagan in 1810 he states :—‘‘ We camp on the bank
of a dry river 500 yards in width, running south-south east towards the
west.” His error is inexplicable, as he followed its bed for 5 miles by |