'Military Report of the Nushki-Chagai-Western Sinjarani Country' [‎113r] (230/302)

the pragress of these huge moving aerial masses, but already the finer material, carried
by the currents of air, reach the opposite banks, and descend in sandstorms on the open
tracts between the Helmand and Quetta, resting in shifting patches, and, in sheltered
places, in thick deposits, on the post pliocene gravels. The isolated hill ranges south of
Kandahar show this feature well. The loose material, constantly changing its position, is
seen to surround and creep up into the hollows, creeks, and fissures of the jagged cliffs fef
limestone and trap. Every season material is thus added, and the time must come when the
whole valley of Kandahar will be covered by this deposit and merged into the endless deseit
tracts lying at present south of it. Slow though this change may be> and though it may
require many centuries, nevertheless it is certain that it must come about.
From recent observation and enquiry it would appear that the rate
of advance of the sand in the direction of the prevailing wind, that is,
towards the north-east, where it is unchecked by rivers or other obstruc
tions, is about two feet in tbe year. At this rate it would take at least
two thousand and five hundred years to advance a mile, and it is-not
likely that the average progress of the desert along its whole border
would be more than 50 or 60 yards in a century. It is, therefore
evident that the question of any particular district being swallowed
up by the sand is one of speculative interest merely, and that its
advance may for all practical purposes be disregarded. #
The outermost bluffs of the reg are often 100 feet in height above
the level of the plain. A few miles within the desert the sand-hills
rise to 200 feet, and beyond the well of Mulla Mirdad, 17 miles from
Jat Poti in Shorawak, Captain HenneH reports a ridge 5<*^ f eet hig •
The sand ridges run parallel to one another in broken billows, with
an aoparent General direction of north-north-west to south-south-east.
The ^north-east or leeside of the sand-hills slopes at a natural angle
of 45 0 , or rather more, towards the crest, which is often _sharp. Th-
s Ws on the windward side are comparatively gentle. The loose red
sand of which the desert is mainly composed, and which gives it t
oeculiar glowing colour, is mixed with a considerable proportion of
fine clav or loam identical with that of which the alluvial p ains a e
composed. It is probably owing to the presence
11... fc M~i"« ’'S'* 4 -
ing this tract :—• . „„„„„ often at long distances apart.
There is no doubtffbat welfare fairly num families, with all their flocks
They are inexhaustible, and lt single well. These dwellers in the Registan,
and herds, are sometimes dependent o g the sand desert for the three hottest
mostly Mengals in the southern part, only 1 ^ Taraki Ghilzais sometimes
months in the year, and then go no ^^her tha t g water . T he Sinj^ranis say—and
come down into the Registan. The , s an d Barechis - that one tlrousand camel
I have heard much the same from the o ^ , body, carrying their own supplies, can
sowars can go where they like in 115 f : n : n jt as long as they can get flour for
cross the sand desert in any direction, an( Verv ^ av do very well on the tagat and other
themselves. The camels, unles s nd ^ en h r ar ^ i e „ t h of the wells, and the possibility ot
shrubs which flourish in the sand. Owing to provide a party going into the desert
not finding people near them, it wou e V ra v h,d e r opes 15O feet in leugth-
with large cow-skin dhols made on purpose, and raw nine p