I now proceed to recapitulate the main features of Polo’s Itinerary from Kerman to Hormuz.  We have:—­

         &nb
sp;                                                  Marches
  1.  From Kerman across a plain to the top of a
     mountain-pass, where extreme cold was
     experienced . . . . . . . . 7
  2.  A descent, occupying . . . . . . . 2
  3.  A great plain, called Reobarles, in a much warmer
     climate, abounding in francolin partridge, and in
     dates and tropical fruit, with a ruined city of former
     note, called Camadi, near the head of the plain,
     which extends for . . . . . . . . 5
  4.  A second very bad pass, descending for 20 miles, say 1
  5.  A well-watered fruitful plain, which is crossed to
     Hormuz, on the shores of the Gulf . . . . 2
          
                                                    —­
                            Total 17

No European traveller, so far as I know, has described the most direct road from Kerman to Hormuz, or rather to its nearest modern representative Bander Abbasi,—­I mean the road by Baft.  But a line to the eastward of this, and leading through the plain of Jiruft, was followed partially by Mr. Abbott in 1850, and completely by Major R. M. Smith, R.E., in 1866.  The details of this route, except in one particular, correspond closely in essentials with those given by our author, and form an excellent basis of illustration for Polo’s description.

Major Smith (accompanied at first by Colonel Goldsmid, who diverged to Mekran) left Kerman on the 15th of January, and reached Bander Abbasi on the 3rd of February, but, as three halts have to be deducted, his total number of marches was exactly the same as Marco’s, viz. 17.  They divide as follows:—­

         &nb
sp;                                                  Marches
  1.  From Kerman to the caravanserai of Deh Bakri in the
     pass so called.  “The ground as I ascended became
     covered with snow, and the weather bitterly cold”
     (Report) . . . . . . . . . 6
  2.  Two miles over very deep snow brought him to the
     top of the pass; he then descended 14 miles to his halt. 
     Two miles to the south of the crest he passed a second
     caravanserai:  “The two are evidently built so near one
     another to afford shelter to travellers who may be
     unable to cross the ridge during heavy snow-storms.” 
     The next march continued the descent for 14 miles, and
     then carried him 10 miles along the banks of the
     Rudkhanah-i-Shor.  The approximate height of the pass
     above the sea is estimated at 8000 feet.  We have thus
     for the descent the greater part of . . . . 2