mpt it, and we turned back to Tuz after
arranging with Sheikh Muttar to meet us in the morning.

[Illustration: The Kurd and his wife]

[Illustration: Sheik Muttar and the two Kurds]

Next day we found him waiting for us as he had promised. With him were two
handsome Kurds. One of them had his wife perched behind him on the horse's
crupper. Together they undertook to guide us up to the bridge. It was
invariably difficult to find out from natives whether or not a road was
passable for motor-cars. They were accustomed to think only in terms of
horses or men, and could not realize that a bad washout might be
impassable for automobiles. Curiously enough, even those natives whom we
had taken along with us on several reconnaissances as guides could not be
trusted to give an opinion as to the feasibility of a proposed route. We
experienced no little trouble in following our guides to the bridge,
although we afterward discovered a good road that cut off from the main
trail about half-way between Tuz and Tauq.

When we reached the bridge we found it to be a solid, well-built affair of
recent construction. The retreating Turks had tried to blow it up, but the
most vital charges had failed to go off, so the damage done would not be
sufficiently serious to stop our passage, after six or seven hours'
preliminary work. We immediately sent back for the engineers, and put in
the time while waiting by taking a much-needed bath in the rapids beneath
one of the side arches. Every one who has wandered about in the waste
places of the world can recall certain swims that will always stand out in
his memory. Perhaps they have been after a long and arduous hunt--perhaps
at the end of a weary march. Our plunge in the Tauq Chai took its place
among these.

In the late afternoon we drove back to Tuz. Our camp there was anything
but cheerful, for swarms of starving townsfolk hovered on the outskirts
ready to pounce on any refuse that the men threw away. Discarded tin cans
were cleaned out until the insides shone like mirrors. The men gave away
everything they could possibly spare from their rations. As the news
spread, the starving mountain Kurds began straggling in; and the gruesome
band made one glad to leave camp early and return after dark. Our line of
communication was so extended that it was impossible to attempt any relief
work.

The following morning we crossed over the bridge with little trouble, but
ran into a lot of difficulty whe