A SNIPE SHOOT IN PERSIA.
TT was a real spring morning ; the sun was shining from a clear sky, not with the cruel intensity which it develops a month later and which parches the land- into a tawny and monotonous desert, but with a genial warmth, which had coaxed the lilacs and the first roses into blossom. This spring was later and more tempestuous than is usual in North Persia. We had planned our little trip for the week-eni before, but a cloudburst in the mountains brought torrents to the plain, destroyed bridges and roads, and even turned the streets of the city into a quagmire.
It was therefore necessary to wait till the roads had dried somewhat. However, on3 day in the third week of April, we loaded our two pack-horses with camp-bedding and an almost incredible quantity of food and sent them off with Hassan, the servant boy, to prepare the way for our arrival.
We ourselves rose at six the next day and soon after seven were on the road in a Ford car. When I say " road " the word should not be taken as denoting the macadamized surface which delights the soul of the European motorist ; our " road " was a track through cultivated land, and beyond. the fact that the hand of man had constructed a few ramshackle bridges, it was the work of nature and of the caravans which from the dawn of history have followed the track from Ecbatana to Ray, or in modern times from Hamadan to Tehran. Motoring in this country is only undertaken by people with a grim desire to reach their destination and with a sound physique capable of with- standing a jolting as severe as a Channel crossing ; the " joyrider " with his sixty miles per hour is a phenomenon unlmown to the Persian road !
We left Tehran by the Kazvin gate and swung to the left skirting the city ramparts, a rather childish effort by a former Shah to copy the old defences of Paris, and on reaching the Gumruk Gate we turned off into the open country. The plain of Tehran was spread out around us, looking its best with the young green on the trees and the snow-clad range of the To-Chal brooding over the city of green gardens. Away fifty miles beyond the town towered the great conical peak of Demavend, which, rising to nearly 19,000 feet, seems to permeate one's existence in this town and to preside over every activity of those who dwell there. Considering the state of the road, our progress was tolerably rapid, though at times we stuck firmly in the mud and had to get out of the car and push it along. However, after about an hour and a-half we reached the bridge over the Kerej river, and two minutes later stopped the car at the Kulume marsh. It is only a small marsh stretching about a mile on each side of the road, and it had been visited the week before by other shooters, who had assured us that they had killed every snipe in it. How- ever, we got four of the survivors of this massacre, and incidentally I killed my first " double " snipe. The double snipe is a bird which only spends about a fortnight a year in Northern Persia on its migration north- wards. It is a pleasantly easy bird to kill after the irritation caused by missing the ordinary full snipe. The " double " gets up with a whirr of its wings, but without the sharp cry of its smaller cousin, and it flies straight away from one instead of indulging in the aerial gymnastics which distin- guish the latter bird. It looks a little like a woodcock as it sails away in its lazy, owl-like flight, and it is readily distinguished from the ordinary snipe by the white feathers in its tail. Needless to say, it is a succulent bird for the pot, and, as a local epicure remarked to me, it has a double trail !
We spent an hour at Kulume and then got back into the car, and in forty minutes were at Robat Karim, a consider- able village of some 2,000 souls, having mud houses rather larger than those of most villages on the road, several of them being two-storeyed, and boasting a mosque and agendarmerie post. We left our car with the gendarmen:e, but found that the captain of the post was absent for the day, so no time was wasted on the usual exchange of polite speeches. Our pack-horses with the " charvtaar " (muleteer) were waiting for us, and on them we loaded coats, luncheon basket, and spare cartridges. Two small boys, named inevitably Mohammed and the Su-yid, who had Caddied " for me before, rushed out to greet us and to carry our cartridges ; then off we went down the village followed by the mildly interested stares of the natives, who do not often see foreigners in their village. The stream called " Siah Ab " (Black-water—shades of Fermoy !) is exiguous and fairly sluggish, and winds its way along a small valley which with its green lush turf forms a delightful contrast to the desert around it. Cattle, sheep, and goats graze in the valley. We had gone about a mile before the first shot was fired in a patch of reeds, from which a few snipe rose. We got four of them, two being " doubles," and then moved on. Mohammed assured me there were geese about, and I was disappointed to find that not only were his geese not swans, but that they were merely cormorants which were taking a spring holiday up from the Caspian. The geese and duck which are sometimes plentiful here in winter had all migrated. Presently B— on my left started firing and then called to me to join him. He had suddenly struck a patch of wild thyme full of " double " snipe, and very soon we had used up all the cartridges on us and were cursing the " charvadhar ' for not having followed us with the reserve supply, according to his instructions. The Seyyid was therefore dispatched in search of him, and B— and I sat down to smoke a pipe. Mohammed, aged about fourteen, thereupon thought it his duty to be sociable, and asked for a puff at my pipe in the approved Persian style, by which the " chibouk," once lit, is passed from hand to hand (and mouth to mouth) round the party. I hastily headed him off with a cigarette ! He then suddenly informed me that he was coming with me to Tehran. I replied that I had enough servants already, but he continued to press me and asked me my name and address. I shall not be surprised if one morning Master Mohammed blows in at my front door and asks for a job, and I doubt if I shall have the strength of mind to refuse him. He is a sturdy brown little urchin and works at farming and gardening in Robat, and I expect he had romantic ideas of setting out to make a fortune in the train of the opulent " farangi. (We are all considered million- aires here, which is often most embarrassing.) The Seyyid found our horses, but they could not cross the stream, which had deep banks just there, so we had to go to them and, having got there, we lunched. Then there was a tragedy. For some months there had lain in our cellar two bottles of beer, a rare luxury in Persia, and we had settled that this was just the occasion to drink one. How- ever, neither of us had a corkscrew nor a knife, and an attempt had to be made to decapitate the bottle. I found no stone handy, but a potsherd seemed adequate ; however, the bottle broke the potsherd, and finally, under extra violence, burst itself and covered me with the precious liquid, whose smell only aggravated our parched throats ; so we had to turn to water after all !
At length we reached the big reedy marsh at Hesarmeter, and expected to find it full of snipe, as it had been earlier in the year. However, to our disappointment it only yielded one miserable bird ! It appears that a misplaced zeal for agriculture had induced the peasants to deepen the main channel, thereby causing the marsh to dry up. The upper marsh, however, produced a few " double ' snipe, though shooting was rendered difficult by a series of gusts of wind, followed by a small thunderstorm. Altogether the first day produced a bag of twenty-two birds, and we retired to our " house " for the night a little disappointed. Our lodging was in the house of the Katkhoda or headman of the village. The house was, like all houses in these parts, a mud building with a large number of inhabitants, the females much less closely veiled than in the city, and a portentous swarm of children, whose howling, combined with the nocturnal music of the local cats, made night hideous. A few fowls and a rather fierce watchdog com- pleted the establishment. The house was, however, unique in the village in that it possessed a " balakhaneh " or upstairs room (from this word is derived our " balcony ") for the entertainment of strangers. In this our host had placed four coarse rugs and two chairs, a most advanced sign of civilization, besides a number of brass trays and a mirror of European design • all of these things denoted unusual prosperity. The headman greeted us with a smile, and, in reply to my complaint that the snipe had all gone, remarked cheerfully; Oh yes I certainly they've all gone ; some gentlemen a few weeks ago shot so many that the rest were frightened away." Hassan had unpacked our camp beds and prepared a hot bath and an excellent "pilau," which was followed by " mast," an excellent form of curdled milk, and tinned peaches. We then retired to bed with that comfortable feeling of peop'e who have eaten well and had a good day's exercise. .
Next morning we arose at six and were somewhat astonished that no " stranger-biters " had invaded our beds during the night. After a large breakfast we set out for the upper marsh, leaving Hassan to pack up the kit and start home. In hree hours we got fifteen " double " snipe, most of them in fairly dry grass-land. It, was noticeable that wherever the wild thyme smelt strongest the snipe were to be found.
We lunched at two o'clock at the scene of our night's lodging, and to our surprise and anger found Hassan still there. However, the production of an excellent omelette soon brought him forgiveness. Later we discovered the reason for his disobedience. He had not wished to potter along with the heavily loaded anima! and the pedestrian " charvadhar," but preferred to go home on his own at a brisk canter. [We passed him late in the evening near home, galloping the wretched nag, which was dripping with sweat, and twirling a whip above hishead like a circus rider, while his legs stuck out on either side over the bulging saddle- bags and swung in rhythm with the horse's gallop more Persia). He must have been thinking of the rollicking life of the bandits, who still frequent Persian roads and add to the romance as well as to the insecurity of travel in this land, where tales of the Dick Turpin type are not of the mythical but of the practical everyday category.] After lunch we started home towards Robat Kerim.
Near the first village we passed I startled the inhabitants by slaying three snipe within fifty yards of them. Farther down we reached the patch of thyme which had promised so well the day before. We then enjoyed an exciting three-quarters of an hour. The birds rose all around us, " double," " full," and " jack " snipe. I had a great moment when four birds fell to three successive shots ; B—, who had been a bit out of form, suddenly got his eye in, and we blazed away merrily until we had very few cartridges left and no more time if we were to reach home before dark. The marsh consisted, luckily, of short grass and we did not suffer for our lack of a dog ; indeed, I don't think we lost a single bird.
On reach ng Robat we found that our bag for the day was 45 birds. Our total for two days was 67 (40 doubles, 23 full, and 4 jack).
A refreshing glass of tea with the Sultan of the gendar- merie and a change of boots and then off we went. The car went well, and we looked like doing a good time, but disaster dogged our steps. First a wheel nearly came off, then we had two punctures, and finally, five miles from home, in failing light we stuck firmly in a stream which had left its course and elected to cress the road, thereby digging for itself a deep channel. Wading up to our knees in this torrent, we at last managed to lift the Ford out of the mud, and we arrived home by moonlight just before eight, tired but cheerful, and well satisfied with a respectable bag and the prospect of snipe for dinner. V. A. L. M.
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