Pottinger afterwards visited the Kharan, celebrated for the strength and activity of its camels, and crossed the desert which forms the southern extremity of Afghanistan. The sand of this desert is so fine that its particles are almost impalpable, and the action of the wind causes it to accumulate into heaps ten or twenty feet high, divided by deep valleys. Even in calm weather a great number of particles float in the air, giving rise to a mirage of a peculiar kind, and getting into the traveller's eyes, mouth, and nostrils, cause an excessive irritation, with an insatiable thirst. In all this territory, Pottinger personated a "pyrzadeh," or holy man, for the natives are of a very thievish disposition, and in the character of a merchant he might have been involved in unpleasant adventures. After leaving the village of Goul, in the district of Daizouk, the traveller passed through the ruined towns of Asmanabad, Hefter, and Pourah, where Pottinger was forced to admit that he was a "Feringhi," to the great scandal of the guide, who during the two months they had been together had never doubted him, and to whom he had given many proofs of sanctity. At last, worn out by fatigue, and at the end of his resources, Pottinger reached Benpor, a locality which had been visited in 1808 by Mr. Grant, a captain in the Bengal Sepoy Infantry. Encouraged by the excellent account given by that officer, Pottinger presented himself to the Serdar. But instead of affording him the necessary help for the prosecution of his journey, that functionary, discontented with the small present Pottinger offered him, found means to extort from him a pair of pistols, which would have been of great use to him. Basman is the last inhabited town of Beluchistan. At this spot there is a hot sulphureous spring, which the Belutchis consider a certain cure for cutaneous diseases. The frontiers of Persia are far from "scientific," hence a large tract of country remains not neutral, but a subject of dispute, and is the scene of sanguinary contests. The little town of Regan, in Nermanchir, is very pretty. It is a fort, or rather a fortified village, surrounded by high walls, in good repair, and furnished with bastions. Further on, in Persia proper, lies Benn, a town which was formerly of importance, as the ruins which surround it sufficiently prove. Here Pottinger was cordially received by the governor.