'Military Report of the Nushki-Chagai-Western Sinjarani Country' [‎21r] (46/302)

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32 miles, respectively, i£ troops are marched along it, especially in
the summer months, a very large water-supply should be carried
and also spare camels for the men to ride. The first march might
be shortened by starting from Kila Afzal instead of from Bujir-i-
Khusta, hut in this case precautions would first have to be taken
to see there was a sufficient water-supply at Kila Afzal. When
I passed through there was a very iusutficient supply there even
for my small party.
a Instead of marching via Zirreh to Kirtaka it seems I might
have taken an alternative route via Godar-i-Shah to Maki other
wise known officially as Chah Muhammad Raza (on the trade
route). The only advantage of this route, however, over the
Zirreh-Kirtaka route is that the marches are somewhat shorter.
I was told that Godar-i-Shah lies on the Shela and is about 4
farsangs, i.e., about 16 miles or a day's march above Zirreh. The
water at “Godar-i-Shah" and at “ bham-Sher" is always good,
whereas that at Zirreh is said to be always bad. The objection
to the Bujir-i-Kbusta-Sham-Sher route is that 8 or 9 miles of sand
hills are said to intervene and these are really unsafe to cress by
night. There is said, however, to be less sand along this route
than between Sham-Sher and Trakhun which track was traversed
last year by Captain W T ebb-Ware.
“ Godar-i-Shah and Sham-Sher are different places about 3
miles apart; both are on the Shela, but Sham-Sher is further up
the river, v.e., mere to the west than Godar-i-Shah. The water at
Sham-Sher is the better of the two; in fact, it is quite good, as the
country about there is sandy, whereas at Godar-i*bhah it is
shora.”
19. Nasratalad to CJiagai \\i\ Jilejil and Ekmach, length 308 Route No.
miles, 13 stages .—The same want of water renders this route im
practicable for troops between Nasratabad and Jilejil.
From a point a few miles south of Sehkoha for 185 miles to
Jilejil the track runs across a desert through Afghanistan. Water
is found at Hurnk, 89 miles from Sehkoha, in small quantities ;
and again a small amount of brackish water is obtainable at
Langar-i-Sultan, 13 miles, and at Salu Chah, 24 miles from Huruk ;
then there is a distance of 50 miles across waterless heavy sand
to Jilejil. The latter place is a few miles west of Afghan-Balnch
Boundary Pillar No. 176 on the Afghan side of the border at the
north-western extremity of the Malik Naru range. Here water,
camel grazing, and fuel is plentiful. The road then goes west to
Patkok, where it is joined by the road from Khwaja Ali via
Sukaluk, and whence a road strikes off for Butig via Diwanak
and Lai Khan. The road now continues along the bed of a na'z
in a south-south-westerly direction, crossing the Gonshero pass
into the Amuri river, the bed of which is followed as far as Push-
tiwan springs whence the southern slopes of Malik Teznan are
traversed to Mirui, the 10th stage on the trade route, 160 miles
from Nushki.