His Majesty marches from Sinde, and proceeds towards Candahar. A. H. 950.—A. D. 1543.

When the ambassador, Baber Kûly, returned to his master, and informed him that the King was ready to quit the country on certain conditions, he agreed to send his Majesty two thousand loads of grain, and three hundred camels, to be delivered at the village of Rutay or Runay, from which place he assured the King that he might procure all other requisites for proceeding to Candahar. In conse­quence of this amicable agreement, his Majesty put all his baggage on board boats, crossed the river, and halted in the village of Rutay, till the grain and camels arrived; soon after which a distribution was made of them to all the followers; after which we proceeded towards Suhân (Sehwân.)

It here becomes necessary to relate, that Yadgãr Nasir Khusru Myrzâ, who had been deceived by the deceitful promises of Shãh Hussyn of a kingdom and his daughter in marriage, as formerly related, having in consequence been puffed up with pride, now suffered a severe retribution, by having been expelled by Hussyn, and obliged to pay a Shãhrukhy (silver coin) for each camel, and five similar coins for every horse belonging to his followers; after which he was sent in great disgrace across the river: “may such be the reward of every person that forsakes his liege lord!”

In short, his Majesty having passed Sehwân, in two more marches reached Futtypur Kundavy (Gundava of the maps); from thence, in two other marches, he arrived at a station situated between two ponds of water; one of which was brackish, the other sweet: at this time the King asked which was the pond of sweet water; the guide replied, “that it was the one which we had left seven coss in our rear.” On hearing this his Majesty was much displeased, and demanded why the camp had not been pitched at the sweet water, but learned that this was a monœuvre of Shâh Hussyn’s, in order to annoy us.

The King however rode back with a few of his attendants to the sweet water pond, leaving all the heavy baggage and followers at the brackish water; but as it was the first watch of the night when we reached the good water, the first thing his Majesty did was to perform his ablutions, and say his prayers; after which he and all the servants quenched their thirst; then, having rested for some time, each person took with him as much water as he could carry, and returned to the camp.

The people being much fatigued with their long march, we halted till two o’clock of the following day. When we had nearly reached the next stage, the camel which carried the purifying vessel being much tired, fell down, and could not move; on which the humble servant, Jouher Aftabchy, repre­sented the circumstance, to his Majesty, who gave orders that the servants should unload the camel, and bring the vessels into the camp; but no one paid any attention to these orders, and the humble ser­vant being left nearly alone with the camel, was attacked by robbers, who wounded him with an arrow and struck his companion with an axe. On this I bawled out to some people who were nearer the camp, “that the robbers had attacked me, and carried away all the contents of the sacks (Suleetas).” The people repeated my cries to those who were in the camp, and the King hearing the noise enquired what was the matter. Terdy Beg replied, “that it was only the shouts of some people who were playing;” the King said, “I hear the cry of robbers, what kind of play do you call that?” On this the chief eunuch galloped his horse to where I was, and saw that the thieves had carried away all the brazen vessels; he therefore, took hold of the camel and led him into the camp.

The next day we again marched, and encamped in an open plain, the soil of which has two opposite effects; in the hot season the Semum blows with such voilence, that the very limbs of a man are melted, and he dies; but in the winter the cold is so severe, that if a person takes his soup out of the pot, and pours it into a plate, it becomes instantly a piece of ice.

In short, all our people who were without warm clothing, suffered very severely; but on this occasion his Majesty, who had a fur cloak, graciously ordered it to be unlined, the exterior part of which he gave to Byram Beg, who had suffered much from the cold, and sent the lining to Mehter Anys. We again marched, and arrived at Salmustan or Mustung, which is one of the districts of Candahar.

In this place the King alighted in a garden; soon after which a man came up, and asked him, “if he knew any thing about Myrzã Askery?” his Majesty replied, “he did not; but if he could give any information regarding the Myrzâ, he would be obliged to him:” the man whispered, “send away your servants.” This was done, and I only remained. The man said, “send him off also:” the King replied, “he is only a boy; there is no fear.” On which he said, “before two watches of the morning shall be passed, Myrzâ Askery will be here; his object is to seize your Majesty.” The King asked him from whom he had this information? the man replied, “my son is one of the Myrzã’s servants, and left him in the hills about five coss from hence, but having come alone, has arrived here before him.” On hearing this news the King came into the camp, and breakfasted on whatever he could get.

After dinner his Majesty said, “the people of Hindûstân have an extraordinary mode of evincing their fidelity;” then turning to the servants, he said, “don’t you be afraid, if it please God all your wishes shall be accomplished.” On which the servants all raised their hands in prayer for his prosperity.

The next day the King arose with the dawn, and said his prayers; after which he lay down, and fell asleep; and the servants took this opportunity of going about their own business. At mid-day a horseman came out of the jungle at full gallop, and asked where the King was; the servant said, “alight; leave your horse here, and go in.” The man twisted the reins about his hand, entered the screens where the King was lying, and awoke him. The man then asked, “have you heard any news?” the King said, “no:” the man replied, “Myrzâ Askery is coming to attack you;” his Majesty asked, “what is your name?” he said, “Juy Behadur, of the Uzbeg tribe, and am sent by Kasim Hussyn Sultân.” On hearing this news the King ordered Byram Beg to be called; and when he came, consulted with him what was proper to be done.

Byram Beg advised his Majesty to move on immediately; the King said, “let us try a battle;” Byram replied, “there are but few of us, and our adversaries are very numerous; we had much better make our escape from this place;” but the King argued that he had two good blunderbusses, and most of the servants had fire arms;” he added, “at least let us fire a volley upon these scoundrels, and let us see to whom God will give the victory.”

But as the Prince Askery’s troops were known to be numerous, and we had but a few people, it was at length agreed to march on; his Majesty then asked Terdy Beg for the loan of his horse, but that officer refused, and the King was obliged to place the Begum on his own horse. The royal party was now reduced to forty-two persons, viz. forty men and two women; one of them her Majesty, Mariam Mukany; the other, the wife of Hussyn Aly, named Ayshek Aka, who was the daughter of a Bulouch chief; for his Majesty finding that it was requisite to leave the young Akber, then a year and a half old, behind, ordered all the domestics to remain with him.

Soon after the King’s departure, Khuaje Sekun­der, the sudder (Justice) of Myrzà Askery, arrived in the camp and not finding his Majesty there, said, “the object of my master’s coming, was merely to pay his respects to the King, why has he ventured to enter these jungles?” After an hour or two the Myrzâ also arrived; upon which, we, the servants, took up the young child, and presented it to him: the Myrzá took the babe in his arms, and embraced it. He then ordered all the effects of his Majesty to be brought before him. Amongst other things was a chest, in which were several curious stones, of an opium colour; as the chest was heavy, the Myrzá supposed that it contained money; he therefore ordered it to be opened, and finding only stones, was much mortified.

In short, the Myrzá ordered the young Prince to be carried to Candahar, and I, the author, attended the child thither; but I shortly afterwards deserted, and rejoined his Majesty in the city of Herat.

Soon after my arrival the King did me the honour to inform me, that the royal party, consisting of forty horsemen and two women, as before mentioned, having quitted the camp, travelled all night; during part of which time they heard some dogs bark; his Majesty then said, “there must be a village here;” and immediately several Bulouches came up and stopped the road. His Majesty addressed them, and asked who they were; but as they replied in a language he did not understand, he enquired of the Bulouch lady, the wife of Hussyn Aly, what they said? she interpreted, “that they were followers of Mulk Khutty; but as their chief was absent, they insisted that the King must alight, and stop till he arrived; in the mean time he might come into the fort or village, and rest himself.” The King did so, and the Bulouches very politely saluted him, and spread a carpet for him to sit on. The King and the Begum sat down on the carpet, attended by the eunuch Anber. Shortly after the day broke, and his Majesty performed the morning prayer. About this time Mulk Khutty arrived; and as he was approaching, the King said to him­self, “now if this person means to be friendly, he will come on my right side; but if on the left, his intentions will be the contrary.”

The chief however advanced to the King’s right side, and enquired after his health; he then said, “three days ago I received orders from the Myrzá Kamrãn, that if your Majesty came this road, to stop and seize you; nevertheless, as your Majesty has done me the honour of coming hither, I will not obey the Prince’s orders; but I request you will again mount your horse, and I will escort you safely to my boundaries.” The King imme­diately complied with this request, and the Bulouch chief convoyed the King the distance of fifteen coss, even to the limits of his own territory, and then respectfully took his leave.

The next march brought us to the district of Gurm Syr (warm climate), which forms the bound­ary between Candahar and Khorâsân.* The stupid chief of that country, named Abdal Hy, paid no attention to his Majesty, but one of his servants prepared an entertainment for the King, which so incensed the chief, that he actually put out the servant’s eyes.

While we were at this place, Khuajê Jellal addyn, who was one of the followers of Myrzá Askery, deserted from Candahar, and joined the King, to whom he made an offering of some tents and screens, and several mules and horses; in reward for which his Majesty conferred on him the title of (Myr Saman) “steward of the household,” for which he returned thanks.

We then moved on, and after several days entered Seistan, a province of Persia,* of which Kara Sultân Shamlû was the governor, who immedi­ately advanced to meet his Majesty; and having paid his respects, made an offering of a celebrated horse called Leilet al Kudder (the night of power), after which he conducted the King to his own habitation, and performed all the rights of hospi­tality. He further invited the King to remain there, till he should be joined by all his followers from Candahar. The King agreed, and in a few days, was joined by several chiefs.

After some days had elapsed, Byram Beg and the other chiefs represented to his Majesty, that the King of Persia might possibly take offence at our having entered his territories without due notice; it would therefore be proper to write to him for permission to proceed. A letter was in consequence written, and sent, the contents of which were, “we are arrived in your country, and await your royal orders:” the remainder of the letter was in verse, and replete with compliments.

On receipt of this letter, the Monarch of Persia, the Asylum of the world, issued orders to all his governors and officers to pay the King Humâyûn every attention in their power, and to conduct themselves in every respect towards him, as they would to his Majesty himself; he also sent a consolatory letter, assuring the King of his support, and inviting him to proceed to his Court.

Note.—The town of Jun or Jown is not to be found in any of the maps I have access to, but it is mentioned in the Ayeen Akbery as being in the Sirkar Hajykan, and yielding a large revenue: it is also described by Abul Fazil as being situated on the Indus, and as a most delightful place.

The route of the King appears to have been across Buloochistan, viz. from Sehwan to Gundava; thence probably to Kelat, and Shurabek to the vicinity of Candahar, where being obliged to cross the Hiermund river, he entered Gurmsyr, and from thence by the town of Ferrah to Herat. See Map prefixed to Malcolm’s History of Persia. See also Beloochistan; Edinburgh Gazetteer.