Leaving Kerman, Pottinger reached Chere Bebig, which is equally distant from Yezd, Shiraz, and Kerman, and thence proceeded to Ispahan, where he had the pleasure of finding his companion Christie. At Meragha he met General Malcolm. It was now seven months since they had left Bombay. Christie had traversed 2250 miles, and Pottinger 2412. Meanwhile Christie had accomplished his perilous journey much better than he had anticipated. Leaving Noutch upon the 22nd of March, he crossed the Vachouty mountains and some uncultivated country, to the banks of the Helmend, a river which flows into Lake Hamoun. Christie in his report to the Company says:-- "The Helmend, after passing near Kandahar, flows south-west and west, and enters Sedjestan some four days march from Douchak; making a detour around the mountains, it finally forms a lake. At Peldalek, which we visited, it is about 1200 feet in width, and very deep; the water is very good. The country is cultivated by irrigation for half a mile on either side; then the desert begins, and rises in perpendicular cliffs. The banks of the river abound in tamarind-trees and provide pasturage for cattle." Sedjestan, which is watered by this river, comprises only 500 square miles. The portions of this district which are inhabited are those upon the river Helmend, whose bed deepens every year. At Elemdar Christie sent for a Hindu, to whom he had an introduction. This man advised him to dismiss his Belutchi attendants and to personate a pilgrim. A few days later he penetrated to Douchak, now known as Jellalabad. He says:-- "The ruins of the ancient city cover quite as large a space of ground as Ispahan. It was built, like all the towns of Sedjistan, of half-burned bricks, the houses being two stories high, with vaulted roofs. The modern town of Jellalabad is clean, pretty, and growing; it contains nearly 2000 houses and a fair bazaar." The road from Douchak to Herat was easy. Christie's sole difficulty was in carrying out his personation of a pilgrim. Herat lies in a valley, surrounded by high mountains and watered by a river, to which it is due that gardens and orchards abound. The town covers an area of about four square miles; it is surrounded by a wall flanked with towers, and a moat full of water. Large bazaars, containing numerous shops, and the Mechede Djouna, or Mosque of Friday, are its chief ornaments. No town has less waste land or a denser population. Christie estimates it at 100,000. Herat is the most commercial of all Asiatic towns under the dominion of native princes. It is the depot for all the traffic between Cabul, Candahar, Hindustan, Cashmere, and Persia, and itself produces choice merchandize, silks, saffron, horses, and asafoetida.