_Hormuz_, on the shores of the Gulf . . . . 2
——
Total 17
No European traveller, so far as I know, has described the most
direct road from Kermán to Hormuz, or rather to its nearest modern
representative Bander Abbási,—I mean the road by Báft. But a line
to the eastward of this, and leading through the plain of Jíruft,
was followed partially by Mr. Abbott in 1850, and completely by
Major R. M. Smith, R.E., in 1866. The details of this route, except
in one particular, correspond closely in essentials with those
given by our author, and form an excellent basis of illustration
for Polo’s description.
Major Smith (accompanied at first by Colonel Goldsmid, who diverged
to Mekran) left Kermán on the 15th of January, and reached Bander
Abbási on the 3rd of February, but, as three halts have to be
deducted, his total number of marches was exactly the same as
Marco’s, viz. 17. They divide as follows:—
Marches.