On the 29th, at ten in the forenoon, we left the inhospitable villages of Gimbaar, not without entertaining some apprehensions of meeting the inhabitants again in the course of the day. But though we took every precaution against being surprised, that prudence could dictate, our fears of the encounter did not rise to any great height. I got, indeed, on horseback, leaving my mule; and, putting on my coat of mail, leaving the fire-arms under the command of Hagi Ismael, the old Turk, I rode always about a quarter of a mile before the baggage, that they might not come suddenly upon us, as they had done the night before. In a few minutes we passed three small clear streams in a very fertile country; the soil was a black loomy earth; the grass already parched, or rather entirely burnt up by the sun. Though this country is finely watered, and must be very fertile, yet it is thinly inhabited, and, as we were informed, very unwholesome. At three quarters past ten we came to the river Mahaanah, which swallows up these three brooks, its course nearly N. W. it was (even at this dry season of the year) a considerable stream. Here we rested half an hour, and then pursued our journey straight north. We passed a large and deep valley called Werk Meidan, or the country of gold, though there is no gold in it. It is full of wood and bushes. We had left it six miles, at least, on our left hand, and the baggage near half a mile behind, when I met two men very decently dressed; one mounted on a mule, the other on foot; both of them armed with lances and shields, and both seemed surprised to see a man on horseback alone completely armed. The rider passed by at a very quick pace, apparently not desirous of any intercourse with me. The man on foot at passing saluted me with a _Salam Alicum_; by which I knew him to be a Mahometan, and we were about to enter into conversation, when his neighbour called to him, with seeming impatience. He immediately left me, saying only these short sentences, "He there before is a Christian, and a liar; don't be afraid, Ayto Confu will be at Tcherkin as soon as you." Upon this we parted, I passed on something more than a mile further, and at ten minutes after twelve stopped for the baggage. The Mahaanah is here about a quarter of a mile to the N. E. and the sharp-pointed mountain of Gutch S. E. and by east, distance about three miles. It was some time before our baggage came up, when our companions who escorted it exhibited some small marks of confusion.