'Transactions of the Bombay Geographical Society, from January 1847 to May 1849. Edited by the Secretary. Volume VIII.' [‎321] (430/496)

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oleander shrubs that are here highly poisonous. Resuming our march
at 6 , 15 > in a direction of 20° over the same nature of soil, we crossed
the Abbasan,—.a small mountain tributary, which, like the rivulet* we
halted at, flows from the hills to the eastward, and joins the Abi-Shirwan
about N. W. by W. of our present position, half way between the plains
of Hershel and Binkudreh. From this spot we gradually ascended the
slope, abutting from the bluff point of Bamu, in a direction of 30°.
At 8*30 halted at an encampment of Sharaf Bayenes for an hour and a
quarter. The Chief of these people, Syed Russool, is of acknowledged
sanctity, and is viewed with a respect almost amounting to awe by his
tribe. He wore a marked gravity, becoming his station, and, although
dignified, was civil and hospitable. These Sharaf Bayenes are the
terror of the neighbourhood. I shall have occasion to notice them when
speaking of their chief, to whom we are proceeding, not without some
anxiety as to our personal safety; for Major Rawlinson, when in the
service of Persia, was employed against this very individual, and should
he recognize, even after so many years, the leader of the troops who
occasioned the loss of some of his tribe, he may retaliate in a way pecu
liar to these people, but somewhat alarming to the peaceable traveller.
Re-mounting at 9*45, we took a direction of 290°, up the eastern slope of
Bamu, over a steep and very winding road. An increased elevation soon
brought us again into wooded scenery, similar to that of Dalahu, in
which the oak predominates. This feature is, I believe, peculiar to the
western Zagros, and is met with at an elevation of about 5000 feet from
the confines of Armenia as far south as the Bakhtiyari country. At
lOAo we had reached the summit of the slopes, and then gradually
diverged from the former course to a line of 350° along the east face of
the mountain. At noon we descried the hamlet and tents of the follow
ers of Abdullah Beg : another fifteen minutes saw us exchanging greet
ings with this Rob Roy of Kurdistan. He, however, rose not to receive
us, which did not augur well, but, with dignified politeness, beckoned us
to be seated on a platform, built around the trunk of a magnificent
walnut tree, which extends its shade to some distance. A reservoir in
the centre of the platform receives a copious supply of water from a
spring issuing out of the mountain some feet above it, from which it
again overflows, and tumbles down the hill in numerous cascades. The
scene was sufficiently striking. The robber chief was seated alone on
the platform, surrounded by a band of as sinister a set of cut-throats as
ooukl well be looked upon. These, attired in the spoils of numerous
* The Kara-0hem.