The Enjoyment Of The Meal Of
Which We Partook At The Summit Of The Pass Would Have Been Somewhat
Damped By The Feeling That At Any Moment A Loud Roar, Bursting Out Of
The Silent Fastnesses Of The Kotal Doktar, Might Announce The Approach
Of Its Grim Tenant.
There was, after all, nothing very remarkable about the occurrence,
for the southern parts of Persia are infested with wild animals of
many kinds.
Of this I was already aware, but not that lions were among
the number.
Kazeroon is, next to Shiraz, the most important place in the province
of Fars, and has a population of about 6000. Surrounded by fields of
tobacco and maize, it is neatly laid out, and presents a cheerful
appearance, the buildings being of white stone, instead of the
everlasting baked mud and clay. Many of the courtyards were
surrounded by date palms, and the people seemed more civilized and
prosperous-looking than those in the villages north of Shiraz.
"So you refused the escort over the Kotal?" said J - that evening, as
we sat over our coffee and cigars in his little stone courtyard, white
and cool in the moonlight, adding, with a laugh, "Well, I don't blame
you. A good story was told me the other day in Shiraz _apropos_ of
escorts. It happened not long ago to an Englishman who was going to
Bagdad from Kermanshah through a nasty bit of country. A good many
robberies with violence had occurred, and the Governor of Kermanshah
insisted on providing him with an escort, at the same time arranging
for a Turkish escort to meet him on the frontier and take him on to
Bagdad."
"You have seen the ordinary cavalry soldier of this country.
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