Page 31 - PERSIAN 2 1879_1883_Neat

RESIDENCY AND MUSKAT POLITICAL AOENCY FOR 1870-80. 19

Load.—The usual load for a good healthy mule is 320 Its. This ii
in addition to his saddle, &c., so. that he really carries 3S0 Its. The
load is divided into two parts as equally as possible and fastened liioh up
on each side of the saddle with camel's hair ropes, the kaf-koolabah or
surcingle being passed over all.
Ihc march. The length of march made by caravans of mules, de­
pending as it generally does upon tbe distance between places where
the water, provisions, or protection is procurable, varies greatly through­
out Persia, as much as from three farsangs or farsakhs (one farsakh=3l
to 4 miles), up to sixteen or even more farsakhs. The average length of
march is about five fursakhs. The halting* places, as well as the distances
between them, are called manzils or stages, and mules are invariably
taken the whole stage, however long it may l>c, in one march. No halts
of any duration are made, but about every hour or farsakb, tbe leading
yahoo and all tbe mules slop of themselves for four or five minutes to
stale, and then move on again.
In the hot weather mules march about 0 or 7 o'clock p.m., arriving
at the end of their stage about 3 or 4 o'clock a.m. In tbe cold weather
they march about 3 o'clock a.m. and arrive about 9 or 10 o'clock a.m.
Shoeing.—Mules are shod about five times during the year; that
is, about once every ten weeks. Each shoeing costs one kran (a
little less than eight annas). The shoe universally used is a rather thin
broad piece or iron which covers the greater part of the hoof, thus pro­
tecting tbe sole from injury by stones, &c. It is fastened on by either
four or six very large-beaded nails, two or three on each side of the foot.
The same kind of slice is used for horses i:i Persia, and being small, the
tee and outside crust of the bcof is well cut and rasped away to make
the hoof fit the slice, which laitcr, according to our ideas, would he much
too small for the foot. This method of shoeing appears as if it would
produce a tendency to contracted feet, but on the rough stony roads of
Persia it seems to answer its purpose very well.
Epidemic diseases.—The epidemic diseases which attack mules are
two in number, " Ranj'' or “ Koft" and ” MashmashL" These arc both
considered very contagious, and animals attacked arc immediately separa­
ted from the healthy ones and kept apart. “Ranj” is fatal, ami no
remedy is known or attempted. Tbe immediate symptoms are rumbling
of the stomach and whiteness of the gums and eyes. ^ Four or five days
after attack the mule passes red urine, and its dung is quite red. Ranj
is said to occur at intervals of five or six years. It breaks out in the hot
weather, and is very destructive, carrying off, I am told, as much os 80
per cent, of the mules in a herd or caravan it attacks. . Animals attacked
are placed apart, and die in the cold weather, or (it is said) when they
first drink rain water. Muleteers profess to carefully feed and tend any
mules attacked in reward for their previous services, but I am inclined
to doubt the good treatment, humaneness not being one of the virtue*
inherent in the Persian character.
“ aiashmashi” or glanders is also fatel, animals affected with it not
king known to recover. The symptoms are profuse and cons tent dis­
charge of yellow matter from the nose, enlargement of the glands imder
the jaw and surrounding the wind-pipe* and refusal to feed. I ose