NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY TO KALAT, INCLUDING AN ACCOUNT OF THE INSURRECTION AT THAT PLACE IN 1840; AND A MEMOIR ON EASTERN BALOCHISTAN. BY CHARLES MASSON, ESQ. LONDON: RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET, 3Publi;g]^er in (BxtSimv^ to ^tv Plajeift^). 1843. liONnoN : I'rintcdby S. <"<; J. Bentley, Wilson, and Fley, Bangor House, Shoe Lane. PREFACE. A BRIEF account is given in the following pages of the revolt in Balochistan, an episode merely of the great political drama enacted west of the Indus, but deserving attention, as the precursor of the catastrophe subsequently developed at Kabal. The volume concludes with a Memoir on Eastern Balochistan, which, however imperfect, may be useful, if found to increase the knowledge of that country now possessed. A Map is appended, show- ing the routes connected with my former Publi- cation, in some manner providing for a deficiency, which has been justly pointed out. London, Feb. 1, 1843. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015 https://archive.org/details/narrativeofjournOOnnass CONTENTS OF THE FOURTH VOLUME. CHAPTER L PAGE Objects of Journey. — Determination of route. — State of the coun- try. — Capt. Outram's narrative. — Imputations on Reliim Khan. — Departure from Karachi. — Route to Sunmiani. — Reception at Sun- miani. — Interview with the Jam. — Darbar. — Deportment of Rehim Khan. — State of feeling in Las. — Interview with Re'him Khan. — His satisfaction. — Exculpation of Rehim Khan.— Departure from Siinmiani. — Incidents at Obadi. — Whirlwind. — Arrival at Bela. — Delays and disastrous rumours. — Indecision of my companion. — His departure. — Mehrab Khan's brother. — Capt. Wallace's letter. — Lieut. Loveday's messenger. — Interview with Mehrab Khan's brother. — His distress and intentions. — Departure from Bela. — Reflections on the uncertainty existing in Las. — The appoint- ment of an agency and its abolition « . . . 1 CHAPTER II. Walipat. — Entrance of the Hills. — Old Acquaintance. — Route to Miran Kushteh. — Route to Bar an Lak. — Turkabar. — Kala Dara. — Review of route. — Day at Kala Dara. — Approach to Wad. — Reception at Wad. — Mir Rahmat's arrival. — His amusements. — Afghan Haji. — Mir Rahmat's frivolity. — Negro slaves. — Opinions at Wad. — Shir Mahomed's return. — Departure from Wad. — Isa Khan's garden. — Route to Baghwan. — Meeting with Khan Maho- med Khan.— -Lead Mines of Kappar. — Gohar-basta. — Arrival at VOL. IV. b vi CONTENTS. Baghwan. — Civilities of Shah Nawaz Khan. — Interview with him. — Mir Atta Khan. — Route to Kalat. — Zohwar. — Lakorian. — Gohar- basta. — Anjirah. — Civil reception at Sohrab. — Route to Rodinjo. — Reception there. — Arrival at Kalat. — Welcome of friends. — Lieut. Loveday's remark. — Reputation of Lieut. Loveday. — Lrterview with Lieut. Loveday. — Conversation. — Second interview. — Conversation with Munshi Ghulam Hussen. — Selection of residence. — Objection to revisit Lieut. Loveday . . . . . .36 • / ■ CHAPTER in. Condition of Kalat. — Events producing it. — Origin of intercourse with Mehrab Khan. — Sir Alexander Burnes's information. — Protest against treaty. — Capture of Kalat, and death of Mehrab Khan. — Changes in the government and dismemberment of Kalat. — Opinions of Mehrab Khan's guilt or innocence. — Charges against him. — Explanations thereof. — Proceedings of the envoy and minister, — His bribery of Naib Mulla Hassan. — The naib's duplicity and knavery. — Mission of Sir Alexander Burnes to Kalat. — The results. — March of troops upon Kalat. — Continued knavery of the khan's agents. — His neglect of defensive arrangements. — Assault on Kalat. — Detection of the villany of Naib Mulla Hassan and others. — Mehrab Khan's injunctions to his son. — Prize jewels. — Impolitic measures of the political authorities. — Partition of the country. — Recognition of Shah Nawaz Khan. — Political appointment. — Activity of Lieut. Loveday. — The son of Mehrab Khan a fugitive in • . Kharan. . . . . . . . . 77 CHAPTER IV. Residence at Kalat. — Panic in the country. — Arrival of kafila. — Misfortune of Yaiya, a dehwar. — Consternation. — Commencement of revolt and slaughter of a party of sipahi's at Mastung. — Refuse to leave Kalat. — Proceedings of darogah Gul Mahomed. — Alarm at Kalat. — Removal to the Babi suburb. — Darbar of Shah Nawaz Khan. — Abode in Atta Mahomed's garden. — Faiz Ahmed's pre- cautions. — Attack upon Quetta. — Lieut. Leech's promptitude. — Retreat of the insurgents from Quetta. — Lieut. Loveday's remark.— Shah Nawaz Khan's measures. — His levees. — Intrigues at Kalat. — Causes of dissatisfaction. — Diplomatic blunders in Kachi. — Lieut. CONTENTS. vii Loveday's invitation, — Interview with him. — Consent to remain with him dm-ing the siege. — Haji Osman.— State of the defences. — Efforts to improve them. — Manning of the walls. — Disposition of the fortifications. — Preparations. — Scarcity of grain . . . 116 CHAPTER V. Appearance of the enemy. — Instantaneous attack. — Assailants repulsed. — Enthusiasm of Kamal Khan's men. — Discourse with Kamal Khan and Khan Mahomed. — Illiberality of Shah Nawaz Khan and of Lieut. Loveday. — Conversation with Mir Boher. — His scruples set at rest. — Practice with the guns. — Renewed attack. — Plans of the rebels. — Firing the suburbs. — Assad Khan's careful- ness. — Expectation of an assault. — Preparations to meet it. — Assault. — Its repulse. — Gallantry of Nasrulah and a party of sipahis. — Peril of Shah Nawaz Khan. — Surrender of the son of Jelal Khan. — Results of the discomfiture. — Treachery of part of the garrison. — Visit to the scene of the assault. — Renewed attack. — Lieut. Loveday in danger. — Repulse of attack. — Panic in the town. — Equivocal con- duct of Kamal Khan. — Shah Nawaz Khan dejected. — Arrival of vakil from the rebels.- — Conference between Kamal Khan and the rebel chieftains. — Shah Nawaz Khan and Mir Boher anxious to con- tinue the defence. — Lieut. Loveday's indecision. — Arrangement of Shah Nawaz Khan. — Evil counsels of Lieut. Loveday's advisers. — Lieut. Loveday's missions to the rebel camp. — Frustration of Shah Nawaz Khan's endeavours to support himself. — Knavery of Lieut. Loveday's agents. — Their exultation at his credulity. — Lieut. Love- day refuses to leave Kalat. — Communications from Quetta. — Final eff"ort of Shah Nawaz Khan to induce Lieut. Loveday to accompany him. — Renewed missions to the rebel camp. — Terror of Mir Fati Khan. — Shah Nawaz Khan repairs to the rebel camp. — His abdica- tion and solicitude for Lieut. Loveday. — Entry of the son of Mehrab Khan into the town. — Visit of Faiz Ahmed. — Farewell visit of Shah Nawaz Khan. — Lieut. Loveday presents nazzers to the young khan and Bibi Ganjani. — His fatal errors. — My counsels and con- duct. — My further stay, and causes thereof . . .142 viii CONTENTS. CHAPTER VI PAGE Continued delusion and treachery. — Distraction of Brahui coun- cils. — Mahomed Sidik's appointment. — Orders from the citadel. — Communications with and from Capt. Bean .—Advance of troops to Mobah. — Their retreat. — Haji Osman's defection. — Capt. Bean's proposals, — Efforts to procure a letter to the king. — The darogah's obstinate convictions. — Arrangements contemplated. — Their rejec- tion. — Departure of Gafur to Quetta. — Capt. Bean's replies. — De- mands on Lieut. Loveday. — Nasrulah's final acts of treachery. — Meditated attack. — Preliminary steps. — Attack from the citadel and surrounding houses. — Operations during the night. — Parley. — Defec- tion of part of the sipahis. — The darogah's measures. — The house entered. — Transfer of Lieut. Loveday and myself to the citadel. — Licidents there. — Literview with the son of Mehrab Khan. — Apart- ment assigned for our confinement. — Rejoicings of the Brahius. — ' Loss of property and manuscripts ..... 181 CHAPTER VII. Chamber of Blood. — Nature of our custody. — Insults of Brahuis. — Shaghassi Wall Mahomed. — Treatment. — Lieut. Loveday's attendants, — The darogah's disappointment. — Interview with da- rogah. — His proposition, — Lieut. Loveday's stipulation. — The darogah's anger. — The darogah's intention. — Abstraction of Sampat. — His return. — Suspicions as to treasure and jewels.— Lieut. Love- day's danger. — Averted by Faiz Ahmed. — Interview between Lieut. Loveday and the darogah. — Letters written for Capt. Bean. — Intended advance of Brahuis from Kalat to Mastung. — My release refused on account of Lieut. Loveday's sayings, — Arrival of letter and messenger from Rehim Khan. — Regret of messenger. — Arrival of Mir Azem Khan at Kalat . , , . . 203 CHAPTER VIII. Departure for Mastung. — Scene at Kalat. — Nasrulah. — The young khan. — Route to Mastung, — Incident at Kardz Amanulah, — Arrival of darogah and sirdars. — Interview with darogah. — Capt, Bean's letters. — The darogah's vigilance. — Lieut. Loveday fettered CONTENTS. ix at night. — Yusef Khan's rancour. — Entry into Mastung. — Place of confinement. — Interview with Kalikdad. — Preparation of letters for Quetta. — Intelligence respecting Ghulam Khan. — His arrival in camp. — Captured daks, or posts. — Indignation of the Brahuis. — Kalikdad's apology for me. — Interview with the darogah. — Report of conversation. — Extra guards, and their evils. — Incidents at Mas- tung. — Mahomed Khan's discontent. — Kotru chiefs and Mir Boher join. — Major Clibborn's disaster. — Arrival of Saiyad MobarakShah. — His instructions from Capt. Bean. — Indulgence to Lieut. Loveday. — Form.al interview with the young khan and sirdars. — Capt. Bean's letters. — Indignation of the Brahuis. — Repetition of fatilia, and de- termination to slay us. — Misgivings of Lieut. Loveday. — Terror of his domestics.' — Good offices of Rais Harun. — IntervicAv with the darogah. — Intercession of Rehimdad's relatives and friends. — Dis- gust at Capt. Bean's letter. — The darogah accords protection to Lieut. Loveday. — Permission obtained by Rais Harun for my depar- ture to Quetta. — Leave Mastung. — Incidents on the route. — Arrival at Quetta.- — Interview Avith the political officers . ,, . 220 CHAPTER IX. Conversation with Capt, Bean. — Placed in arrest, — Singularity of the proceeding. — Capt. Bean's queries. — Meeting with him. — His reason for his conduct. — Impressions as to the Envoy and Mi- nister. — Inhuman treatment of Capt. Bean. — Apprehensions at Quetta. — The Envoy and Minister's letter. — Defeat of the Brahuis, and death of Lieut. Loveday. — Recovery of Kalat. — ^^Revolution in feeling. — Letters from Calcutta. — Inquiry of Mr. Ross Bell. — Capt. Bean's confession. — Close of Mr. Bell's inquiry. — His recommenda- tion to Government. — Support of the Envoy and Minister. — Evasion of the Government. — Col. Stacey's generosity. — Departure from Quetta. — Incidents in the Bolan Pass. — Arrival at Dadar. — Molah- dad's testimony. — Route through Kachi. — State of the country. — Mir Fati Khan. — His gratitude and offers. — Arrival at Karachi. — Bombay. — Settlement of Balochistan. — Col. Stacey's acknowledge- ment.-— Benefits of Col. Stacey's successful exertions. — Departure from Bombay to England. — Memorial to the Court of Directors. — Second Memorial. — Results.— Concluding remarks . . . 253 X CONTENTS. MEMOIR ON EASTERN BALOCHISTAN. PART I. PAGE GEOGRAPHY . . . . . . .281 First, or Western Section : Nushki . . . . . . .283 Kharan ....... 286 Mushki ....... 288 Kolwah . . . . . . .289 Jhow ....... 290 Panjghur ,. . . . - . ■ . 291 Kej . . . ... .292 Skcond, or Maritime Section : Las Hormara Pessani . . 294 296 . 307 308 Third, OR Central Section : Saharawan ....... 309 Shall .311 Mastung ....... 313 Mangachar ...... 315 Dasht Bidowlat . . . . . .318 Kalat, and its Environs ..... 319 Districts in the Hills between Saharawan and Kach Gandava 322 Districts in the hilly Tracts west of Saharawan . . 324 Jhalawan . . . . . ^ . . 327 Fourth, or Ei\ stern Section : Kach Gandava ...... 329 Harand and Dajil . . ... . . 335 CONTENTS. xi PART II. PAGE Tribes of Eastern Balochistan : . . . . 336 Sect. I, — Tribes of the Western Provinces . . 340 II. — Tribes of Saharawan .... 340 III.— Tribes of Jhalawan . . . .345 Rind Tribes in Kach Gandava .... 346 The Jets of Kach Gandava . . . .351 Lumris of Las . . . ' . . . 352 Marine Tribes of the Sea Ports .... 353 Dehwars of the Capital and fixed Villages . . , 353 Afghans of Shall ...... 353 PART III. Government and History ..... 355 PART IV. Antiquities and Dialects : Antiquities ...... 386 Dialects . . . . . . , 393 PART V. Military Force, Revenue, Trade, Agriculture, etc. : Military Force ...... 404 Revenue ....... 407 Trade . . . . . . . 408 Agriculture . . . . : ' . . .412 Horticulture . . . . . .415 PART VI. Manners, Customs, etc. 418 xii CONTENTS. PART VIL ^' Natural History and Mineralogy : Quadrupeds Insects .... Amphibia . . ' . Botany . . " . Mineralogy . ' . . NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY TO KALAT, INCLUDING AN ACCOUNT OF THE INSURRECTION IN BALOCHISTAN, ETC. CHAPTER I. Objects of Journey. — Determination of route. — State of the country. — Capt. Outram's narrative. — Imputations on Rehim Khan. — Departure from Karachi. — Route to Sunmiani. — - Reception at Sunmiani. — Interview with the Jam. — Darbar. — Department of Rehim Khan. — State of feeling in Las. — Inter- view with Rehim Khan. — His satisfaction. — Exculpation of Rehim Khan. — Departure from Sunmiam. — Incidents at Obadi. — Whirlwind. — Arrival at Bela. — Delays and disastrous rumours. — Indecision of my companion. — His departure. — Meh- rab Khan's brother. — Capt. Wallace's letter. — Lieut. Loveday's messenger. — Interview with Mehrab Khan's brother. — His distress and intentions. — Departure from Bela — Reflections on the uncertainty existing in Las. — The appointment of an agency and its abolition. Having despatched for publication in England a variety of manuscripts, in the early part of 1840, I found myself at Karachi, in Sind, as I supposed free to move where I pleased ; and with reference to further literary and scientific projects I determined, with the unemployed materials in my possession, to VOL. IV. B 2 MOTIVES OF JOURNEY. return to Kabal, and the countries to which they related, judging I could there arrange them for the press with accuracy and advantage. I was also desirous to continue my antiquarian researches — with the due prosecution of which government employ had interfered, — and to carry out the examination of certain points I felt assured to be within the power of verification ; which, for the same reason, I had been compelled to neglect. I estimated that a period of two years in Afghan- istan would suffice for my objects, and that I should be altogether about three years absent. Disposed to take the road to Kalat, which I had twice before travelled, it behoved me to ascertain if I could do so prudently : being, of course, aware that a new order of things pre- vailed, and it was possible that recent political accidents might have caused, amongst the people I should meet, feelings to which, ten years ago, they were strangers. Moreover, Rehim Khan, son of the Minghal sirdar, Wall Mahomed Khan, slain at Kalat, was now residing in Las, and in power, from having married a sister of the young chief, or jam, as he is entitled. In this suspence, my former companion, Kalikdad, with whom I made my first journey to Kalat, as related in my work before the public,* visited Karachi on his commercial business. I could have * Vide vol. ii. chap. 2, Journeys in Balochistan, Afghanistan, and the Panjab, &c. STATE OF THE COUNTRY. 3 no better counsellor ; and on communing with him he encouraged me, and well remarked, that he should himself be with me. I had heretofore experienced that his company was sufficient pro- tection. At this time the Government of India was in- tensely anxious it should be believed, that every object of the expedition beyond the Indus had been attained ; that the countries affected by it were in a state of quiet and happiness hitherto unknown, and that their inhabitants hailed with delight the inno- vations introduced amongst them, and the changes which had been brought about. The ministers in England were eager to circulate the same impres- sions, whether in the houses of Parliament or at other public meetings. I had, however, doubts upon these points, which led me to interrogate Kalikdad as to the amount of force at Quetta and Kalat, when, learning that there were twelve hun- dred men at the first place and two hundred at the latter, I felt easy, as there could then be little apprehension of any immediate outbreak. That there was a large force at Kandahar, as well as at Kabal, I was myself informed. Kalikdad, indeed, admitted that the Brahui and Baloch tribes, while passive, were in a sad state of irritation, more parti- cularly on account of the annexation of Kach Gan- dava to the dominions of Shah Sujah al Mulkli. He farther told me, that Mir Azem, the brother of the late Mehrab Khan, was at Bela in Las, sub- B 2 4 ARRANGEMENTS. sisting on the slender bounty of the jam, and that Mahomed Hassan, the young son of the late Kalat ruler, was a fugitive at Kharan, accompanied by Darogah Gul Mahomed. As regarded the govern- ment of Kalat, he knew nothing more than that Shah Nawaz Khan was seated there, but whether as an independent chief, or merely holding authority on trust, he could not tell ; and all other arrange- ments respecting the country were equally enigma- tical to him. I concerted with the merchant to accompany his kalila, about to form at Sunmiani, as far as Bela, and thence together to proceed rapidly to Kalat ; it being his desire to look after his land there, and mine to gain a cool and agreeable climate. The kafila w^as to follow leisurely, and in company there- with my servants and effects. Kalikdad returned to Sunmiam, promising to write when the kafila was ready, and to inform me as to the reception I might expect from Rehim Khan. In process of time I received two letters from him, affirming generally that all was right, but not specifically mentioning Rehim Khan, or the temper he was in. In my solicitude to be moving, I did not criticise too narrowly the deficiency in these epistles, and put the most favourable construction on them, that, if there had been evil, Kalikdad would have re- ported it, knowing, besides, that he was personally intimate with the chief. A night or two before I left Karachi I dined CAPTAIN OUTRAM'S NARRATIVE. 5 with Captain Wallace, assistant political agent, Major Forbes, commanding the 2nd Bombay gre- nadiers, and Captain Le Mesurier, of the quarter- master-general's department. The latter was good enough to give me a sight of Captain Outram's pub- lished narrative, which, including a flying trip from Kalat to Sunmiam, he judged would interest me. The concluding paragraph of that hrocliure^ in truth, contained matter to arrest my attention, as it related to this very Rehim Khan, of whose disposition I had doubts, which Kalikdad had not by his letters removed. Captain Outram writes — " From Curachee I pro- ceeded to Bombay, and not many days after my arrival there a party of Beloche horse-dealers also landed, who had embarked at Sonmeanee very shortly after my departure from that seaport. They state, that at midnight of the evening on which I sailed, the son of Wullee Mahomed Khan, (the chief of Wudd, who was slain at the storm of Khe- lat,) arrived in great haste, with a party, in pursuit of me ; and, on learning that I had already gone, displayed extreme disappointment and irritation. It w^ould appear, that information of my journey, and disguise, had been received by this chief the day after I passed through Nail. To the forced march of fifty miles, therefore, which was made thence by our party, with the design of outstripping the flying tidings of the overthrow of Khelat, I may consider myself principally indebted for my escape ; my pur- 6 DEPARTURE FROM KARACHI. suers having missed me at the seaport of Sonmeanee only by a few hours." Although I could not doubt that Captain Outram had received the information he speaks of from the horse-dealers, I was willing to hope they had mis- informed him. I knew no more of Rehim Khan than that he was the son of an estimable father ; but reflecting on the obligations to avenge blood, which are remarkably stringent upon the tribes of the Brahui community, and on the course which Rehim Khan was likely to adopt in his situation, I could conceive it possible that he might have sought to gratify his revenge in the hills between Bela and Nail, but could hardly credit that he would venture upon such a step upon the soil of Las ; for there the equally stringent obligation to respect the interests of the young jam would have deterred him. Be- sides, in Las, whatever influence Rehim Khan pos- sessed, he was still an alien, and too many persons were concerned to have allowed him, by so rash an action, to have brought down vengeance upon them and their little province. I had no fear of Rehim Khan at Las, but Rehim Khan in the hills was to be suspected ; however, confiding on Kalikdad and my own good fortune, I decided to prosecute the journey, for which I was prepared, without waiting for further explanation. On the evening of the 30th of April I left Ka- rachi, attended by an old servant, Rasul, a Kash- miri an, and a chance companion, a haji of Ghazni, ROUTE TO THE HAB RIVER. 7 who attached himself to us with the idea of being provided for on his journey homeward. I had also engaged the services to Sunmiam of two guides across the country ; while their camels served to lighten the loads on my own animals, of which I numbered three. I was mounted on an excellent Kabal horse, and my people were on foot. I was attired in my ordinary Kabal costume, but never intended to conceal for a moment, if that were pos- sible, that I was a Feringhi. Our road led across the level plain, until we ap- proached low detached hills, preceding the valley of the Hab river. During the night we came upon a party of men, so soundly asleep on the road-side that we did not arouse them in passing, although Badil, a young lad, one of the guides, who was in advance, leading the camels, carolled blithly as he trudged along. The day dawned upon us in the Hab valley before we had reached the river. There was ample space, and the surface, chequered with stunted trees and bushes, afforded good camel fo- rage, and much grass for other cattle. We descried no huts or habitations, but columns of smoke ascending in various parts above the scanty foliage of the scenery around, indicated where they might be found. From Karachi to the valley the milky tur-bush, or prickly pear, had never failed ; and now we had dwarf trees, as bers, karers, and mimosas. The bed of the river was wide and sandy, but at this time without a continued stream of water in it. 8 CURIOUS CHARACTERS. The valley, in its placid and serene aspect, opposed a strong contrast to that exhibited in the upper part of the course of the river, which I had the opportunity to witness some years since, when I crossed it in progress from Daggar di Got to Sun- miani. The river banks were some twenty feet in height, and the bed included between them about two hundred feet in breadth. Immediately beyond the river the surface, rocky and sprinkled with tur-bushes, ascends gradually to a range of hills. Some of them are of con- siderable elevation, but they are not continuous; and the road leads through an opening, without much variation in level. At the foot of the su- perior hills, on the right hand, large fragments of rock lie by the path. The front of one of these is daubed with white paint, on which is marked, in red and black colours, many symbolic characters, pointing out the frontier boundary between Sind and Las^ These are curious, being those found on many of the Indo-Scythic coins so numerously discovered in Afghanistan and the Panjab, and which are gene- rally supposed to be Buddhist emblems. The first in order from the left is, undoubtedly, the Sivastica, or sanctified cross; the remainder may be literal combinations of mystical or secular import. HALT AT BHOWANI. 9 The basis of the hills is shelly limestone ; frag- ments of amygdoloid and pudding-stone strew their skirts. Fossilized shells, chiefly ammonites, are so common that the smallest pebble shows traces of them ; and this remark applies to the entire tract of country between Karachi and Sunmiani. From the boundary rocks we traversed an arid, cheerless plain, until we reached a pool of brackish water, where we halted. Considering that we had marched nearly the whole night, and that the day was well advanced, we could scarcely have travelled less than twenty or twenty-two miles to this spot, named Bhowani. The heat was most intense, and the trivial shade of a diminutive ber-tree, near the margin of the muddy pool, was the only protection at command. The camels, whether weary, or oppressed by the sul- try weather, sluggishly browsed on the scant bushes fringing the water. During the day flocks of sheep and of goats would occasionally appear, as did a nu- merous herd of humped horned cattle, in condition so excellent, that it was plain, however unpromising the aspect of the country, that good and abundant pasture was to be found in the neighbourhood. These animals belonged to the Shekhs, one of the Lassi tribes, dwelling west of the Hab river. A little beyond us was a kafila from Sunmiani, carrying ghee to Karachi; — at the spot they had chosen to halt at were a few wells, the water less palatable than that of our turbid pool. The day I 10 KARIRAH. passed here was a long and listless one. We started from Bhowani before sunset, a broken and sterile tract lying before us. The night had far advanced, when the sound of waves breaking on the shore proclaimed in hoarse murmurs our vicinity to the sea. Some time after, the road winding round a frightful precipice, led into a dark and narrow defile between high walls of rock for about one hundred and fifty yards, emerging from which we stood upon the sea-shore. We halted a few minutes to admire the luminous and phosphorescent billows as they magnificently rolled upon the coast, and then pur- sued our journey until, by the break of day, we reached Karirah, a spot uninhabited, but used as a station or place of rest. Here was a well of bad water, and, we were told, a village of huts over the hills on our right. Coarse grass was plentiful, with camel forage. I could find no more efficient shelter than that afforded by a tur-bush, shifting my ground as the circuit of the sun changed the varying shadow it projected. The crows and mainas were so voracious, that they perched on the humps of the camels, and actually pecked holes in them ; the mainas treated my horse in the same manner, and the poor animal was so incommoded by them, and swarms of flies and gnats, that he broke loose, and was secured only after a long chase on the shore, where the novelty of the waves seemed to confound him, and he stood still allowing himself to be caught. ARRIVAL AT SUNMIANI. 11 In the evening we were glad to leave this vexatious spot ; and, following the shore, we reached at night Bagh Amb, (the mango garden,) where we found a solitary mango-tree and a pool of water ; — there were also a few wells and huts near. In the morning we started for Sunmiam, over a hard and level plain, passing midway some Lumri huts. The peasantry, males and females, carry- ing jars of milk and curds, announced our vicinity to the little seaport. I had considerably preceded my companions, and overtook some men driving camels towards the town. One of them asked if I was not Masson, and informed me that he was one of Kalikdad's men, and putting himself in front of my horse, led the way to his master's quarters. Kalikdad, aware of my approach, had gone to tell Hehim Khan, and to procure a house for me. He returned w4th Diwan Tirat, the Jam's Hindu agent, and after a profusion of welcomes, the temple of Raja Gopind Chand (the Mussulman's Pir Pattar) was thought best fitted to receive me, and I was conducted to it. The diwan left me, and shortly returned with a sheep, baskets of rice, flour and sugar, a vessel of ghee, wood, and other necessaries. Poles were brought to erect tents, but I protested against so much trouble being taken. The Hindu temple comprised but one small room, and when Kalikdad had brought half a dozen fowls, and others of my old acquaintance had testified their pleasure at seeing me again, by 12 INTERVIEW WITH THE JAM. offerings of various supplies, the place had much the appearance of a well-stocked dokan, or shop. I had learned at Karachi that my former Hindu friend, Tah Mai, had died in reduced circumstances, and his son Papa not presenting himself amongst my visitors, I inquired for him. He soon appeared, remarking, when told a Feringhi wished to see him, that he knew it could be no other than Masson. In the evening, a formal deputation of four persons waited on me, by order of the jam, to convey his welcome, and wish to see me at the darbar in the morning. In due time I was sent for, and went to the jam's residence, where the darbar was held. The young chief, fifteen or sixteen years of age, was so small for his years, that had I not seen him in 1831, when yet an infant and carried in arms, I could scarcely have credited his being so old. I was told that his career had been sickly. He ex- pressed himself glad to see me, and alluded to some bhuts, or pictures, I had given to him on my former visit. He was attired in a plain muslin shirt and red silk trowsers, with an ordinary Sin- dian cap on his head, while a silk kes, or shawl, supported his knees, being carried around them and his waist. On his fingers were four or five emerald and turquoise rings, and a sword was lying before him. His features were regular, without being prominent, and his countenance fair and pleasing, but rather feminine. On his right hand REPETITION OF THE FATIHA. 13 sat Rehim Khan, and next to him the vakil Alia Rikka, much advanced in age. On his left hand were Ibrahim Runjah, a relative of the jam, the Darogah Sahow, and others. The sides of the apartment were lined with persons of all descrip- tions, some seated, and some, less privileged, stand- ing. Nothing could be more homely than the darbar of Las. The greeting of the young jam, was succeeded by the same token of civility from all those near him, each individual standing while he repeated it. I was pleased to observe that the appearance and manner of Rehim Khan were prepossessing in his favour, and a pause occurring after the sa- lutations were exchanged, I put his feelings to the test, by raising my hands to repeat fatiha on ac- count of his father's death. Had he not joined in the ceremony, he would have been deficient in courtesy, and there would have been no doubt of his exasperated state of mind, — if he joined, his resentment, if any, became disarmed, or he was no longer at liberty to gratify it. He instantly up- lifted his hands ; the company present did the same, and fatiha was repeated by all. When concluded, I remarked that his father had honourably lived and died; that his death was the will of God, and I trusted all prosperity would attend himself. He observed, that his father had fallen, as became a brave man, by the side of his aga (master). 1 rejoined, that his death was an enviable one, and 14 SATISFACTION OF REHIM KHAN. that his fame had spread throughout the world. Rehim Khan was evidently proud of the attention thus publicly paid to him, and no longer maintained reserve in conversation. During the fatiha tears trickled down the furrowed cheeks of old Alia Rikka ; and the remembrance of the worthy Wall Mahomed sensibly affected many of the group. I may notice, that the fatiha is no more than a repetition of the opening verse of the Koran, and terminates by passing the hands, already raised, down the beards of the parties engaged in it. On the death of a Mahomedan, his relatives receive this mark of respect from their friends, to neglect which would be an affront. The Vakil Alia Rikka, being the jam's minister, put a variety of questions as to the politics of the day ; on the war with Chin, and on Mahomed All Pasha's rebellion against the Sultan. Rehim Khan spoke of Karachi and the amirs of Sind ; observing, in a laughing mood, that they had done much kidmat (service), and had shown much saliik (good-will). I smiled at such remarks ; but when he said that the late khan of Kalat had, ridiculously enough, lost his life and country, I answered : " It was true, he had allowed himself to be com- pletely deceived." The climates of various coun- tries were discussed ; on which topic Alia Rikka, who had probably never been out of Las, was most conversant, when my friend Kalikdad asked COMPLAINTS OF THE AUTHORITIES. 15 whether we should retire. An affirmative reply being given, I rose, when the jam being about to stand also, I prayed him to continue seated. Hehim Khan and the others stood ; and saluting them en masse, I left the apartment. Throughout this interview a loquacious parrot, or maina, amused the company by his chattering, otherwise the greatest order prevailed, and had possibly been enjoined. Occasionally a wild Lumri appeared, who kissed the hand of his young lord. It was usual for the jam's mother to sit in darbar ; and the lady, accounted clever, with Rehim Khan, her son-in-law, are supposed, in great measure, to rule the country. Some two or three days elapsed, and I saw no more of the son of Wall Mahomed ; but Kalikdad, who was a good deal with me, informed me of some complaints made by the Las authorities, as to the conduct of the Sindian governor of Karachi, who, it was asserted, made unjust and vexatious demands, threatening them with the vengence of the gentlemen there, in case of their non-com- pliance. They had also a serious cause of com- plaint, on account of Shah Nawaz Khan, the chief set up at Kalat, who had written letters, peremp- torily forbidding the levy of more than half the previously fixed duties, on merchandise entering the port. Anxiety to avoid giving offence had induced obedience to the mandate ; although the 16 NEW COMPANION. revenue of the state, of which the Sunmiam cus- toms formed the principal item, was grievously diminished, and inconvenience resulted. I found that Kalikdad, contrary to the tenour of his letters, had yet to await the arrival of a vessel from Bombay. It might be expected in ten or fifteen days; but I knew as many more would be employed in the package of goods, the hiring of camels, and other preparations for the journey. I regretted, for the moment, my hasty departure from Karachi ; but it chanced there was a pirzada of Kalat about to proceed imme- diately, and Kalikdad proposed that I should accompany him ; to which, as the holy man had no objection, I consented. I had received an intimation from my friend that Rehim Khan wished to see me privately ; but returning for answer that, while I had no objection to see him, or any one else, privately, it must be understood that I had no official character, and could only sit and converse with him as any other friendly disposed person would do ; I suspect it was considered that I declined the meeting, and I heard no more on the subject. From Diwan Tirat and others, who called upon me, I heard sometimes the wish expressed that the young jam, with them an object of affectionate interest, should be a nihal, or plant of the Sahiban s growth and culture. On the eve of departure from Silnmiani I pur- PANIC AT LAS. 17 posed to write two or three letters to my friends at Karachi, amongst them one to Captain Wallace, in return for the civility he had shown to me. I told Kalikdad that he might mention to Rehim Khan that I was about to do so ; and that, if he pleased, I would point out the practices of the Karachi governor, and I had little doubt that, trifling as they were, a stop would be put to them, as the Feringhis were not likely to allow their good name to be profaned. Kalikdad apprised Rehim Khan, who expressed so much satisfaction that the merchant told me he could have been scarcely less delighted had his father been restored to life. He sent a message that he would be thankful if I called upon him in the evening. It had not escaped me, that a dread seemed to infect the minds of the Las authorities, that the gentlemen at Karachi intended either to take their country or to transfer it to the chiefs of Sind. I knew such alarms were groundless ; indeed, before leaving Karachi I had taken the necessary trouble of making myself acquainted whether any commu- nication subsisted with the government of Las. I found there was none ; but that letters had once been received, expressing the desire of the jam to pay his respects to the general, and that he had been referred to the political agent at Quetta. I also learned, that on the first landing of the British force in Sind the jam's advisers had sent VOL. IV. c 18 CONVERSATION WITH REHIM KHAN, letters to Colonel Pottinger, offering assistance ; a war with Sincl, with English allies, being ex- tremely to their taste ; moreover, I became informed of the intended location of Lieutenant Gordon (then at Bombay) as agent at Sunmiam, and that he was to be accompanied by two companies of native infantry. When I stepped over to Rehim Khan, he dis- missed his attendants, and we discoursed for some time. He was very straightforward, and spoke Persian fluently. I was surprised to find that, so far from having any objection to visit Karachi, he was now, understanding there was no unkindly feeling towards him, anxious to ' go there but for fear of offending Captain Bean at Quetta, and Shah Nawaz Khan at Kalat. He expressed a warm desire of being connected with the Sahibs rather than with Shah Nawaz Khan, who, he observed, was not a good hakam, or ruler. As, in the same breath, he alluded to the elevation of certain per- sons to offices about the new chief of Kalat, I sus- pected his dislike to him was principally owing to his not being called upon to take a part in affairs. He regretted that he was unacquainted with the mode of transacting business with Feringhis, and I assured him that it was not so difficult a matter as he seemed to apprehend ; that little more was necessary than to mind his own business, and ab- stain from connexion with bad men : to be honest himself, and believe what the Feringhis told him. HIS PROPOSALS. 19 He talked of sending a vakil to Karachi. I ob- served he could have no business that would not be better done by himself, and instanced the un- happy catastrophe at Kalat as entirely arising from the ill-fated khan's mistrust, and the treachery of his agents. Rehim Khan added, that he saw no- thing would be so good for him as an interview with the Sahibs at Karachi, assuring me that had he known I had been so long residing there, he would, without hesitation, have come over. Advert- ing to the diminution of duties, I found the man- date from Kalat on that score was considered a stretch of prerogative, no preceding khan having interfered with the administration of the country in such a manner. Rehim Khan then noted that Mr. Elphinstone corresponded with the late jam, Mihr All, and sent him presents ; and that now the jam was thinking of shipping camels and mares to the actual governor of Bombay. I asked whether it would not be as well to apply to the gentlemen at Karachi, and to send the presents with their con- currence. He replied, they had not thought of that, but he felt it would be proper. Finally, he pro- posed that the jam and himself should write letters to Captain Wallace. I consented to forward them, as I could explain under what circumstances they were given, and because I was aware that the in- struction to refer to Kalat had emanated from the military authorities at Karachi at a time when no political agent was fixed there. Rehim Khan c 2 20 PREPARATION OF LETTERS. further proposed to address Major Outram, who had succeeded Colonel Pottinger as Resident in Sind. I said there could be no harm done. I with- drew from this meeting well pleased with the good sense and honest, unaffected manners of Rehim Khan, I could not, of course, divine what might result from his letters, but, as I wrote to Captain Wallace, they would at least show that the son of Wall Mahomed did not wish to be considered inimical. Rehim Khan never so much as hinted at the establishment of a British agent at Sunmiam, al- though it was publicly known that such a mea- sure was contemplated, and the knowledge of it, I should think, had suggested the intended pro- pitiatory mission to Bombay. On parting, Rehim Khan said, that as I had visited him, he must in return visit me, and next morning Kalikdad came to inquire if I was prepared to receive him. I replied, that I was ahvays happy to see him, but that merely for the sake of etiquette, I did not wish to give him the trouble to walk over. Rehim Khan, however, insisted that it behoved him to re- turn the compliment ; and accordingly I was fa- voured with his company. We then discoursed as freely as if we had been friends of long standing. The task of writing the letters for Karachi de- volved upon Diwan Tirat. He asked me what he should write. I replied, what he pleased. He then inquired if he should write at my house, and I JUSTIFICATION OF REHIM KHAN. 21 told him to put them together at his own house and bring them to me when finished. During the day he brought four letters, addressed to Captains Outran! and Wallace, from the Jam and Rehim Khan respectively. The metlaf, or purport, of all of them being, that they wished to be enumerated amongst the slaves of the British government. I enclosed them in a letter I had prepared for Captain Wallace, and despatched them the same evening. I never ventured to ask any one at Sunmiani if Rehim Khan had pursued Captain Outram, as represented by the horse-dealers, although I inferred he had not, because some person or other would probably have mentioned it. Subsequently, how- ever, at Bela, and afterwards at Kalat, I became assured that not only had no such thing occurred, but that Rehim Khan did not go to Sunmiani until thirty-five days after Captain Outram's de- parture from that place, and then accompanying the jam in one of his ordinary excursions. More- over, Rehim Khan was at Walipat, a little north of Bela, when Captain Outram passed, stood with others by the road side when he did pass, was aware of his father s death, knew Captain Outram to be an European, and took no further notice. I was therefore very glad that I had forwarded his letters, as, if nothing better resulted from them, the unfavourable impression originated by the horse- dealers might perhaps be removed, and I rejoiced 22 DEPARTURE FROM SUNMIANI. to find that I could continue to think well of him without regarding him as the pursuer of an English officer. I left at Sunmlani my servants and luggage, to follow with Kalikdad and the kafila, and the mer- chant made over to me for the journey a young lad, named Hassan, to attend to my horse. I put a few changes of linen in saddle-bags, which the pirzada carried for me on his camels. I joined the holy man without the town after sun- set, and we started amid the benedictions of a crowd of merchants and townspeople. My companion had three camels, on one of which he rode himself ; on another was a negress, with the elegant designation of Zafrani, or the salfron-coloured lady, and the third was laden with gleanings from his disciples and flock. Two young lads of Kabal were his attendants, and trudged on foot, as did Hassan. We marched the whole night over the level plain, passing a tract of sand called Regh Tillahi (golden sand), and by daybreak found ourselves at the skirt of the wooded belt, in which the village of Liari is situated. During this progress I had, of course, some conversation with my new companion, the pirzada. I had not taken the trouble to see him at Sunmiam, taking it for granted that he was sufliciently respect- able, and aware that he was the son of Zeya al Hak, Nijrohi, of the Nakshbandi Sirindi sect, who resided at Kabal, and by repute was known to me. His fri- volous discourse on the road» however, gave me no RECEPTION AT OBADI. 23 great idea of liim, and, when daylight revealed his features, I doubted whether, if I had before seen them, I should have sought his company. At Liari, a house in the bazar was set apart for the pirzada, and another in a retired part of the vil- lage was appropriated to me. In the evening we took the road to Pati, but although w^e had guides we strayed from our path, and, after wandering throughout the night, found ourselves in the morning but just beyond the belt of Liari, and, averse to encounter the hot winds which now raged, we decided to repose for the day at a few huts, inhabited by the Gunga tribe, which we des- cried not far off. We were civilly welcomed ; and it was no sooner known that a pirzada's party had arrived than the females hastened to offer their salutations. Amongst them was one particularly beautiful, and before my companion had time to ex- plain that I was a Feringhi, and not entitled to so much respect, she had, supposing I must be a pir- zada, favoured me by placing her hands on my feet, and then kissing my hands. She was accompanied by her mother, also well looking, and with them the pirzada soon arranged to take up his abode. A hut was erected expressly for me, and with such speed that in five minutes it was completed. The pirzada had much professional employment. The first applicant was a cripple, for whom he pre- scribed a large bowl of water, over which he breathed, and directed to be drank off at a draught. 24 pir's professional employment. The poor Gunga complied, with the best faith, but with some difficulty, as the quantity was immoderate, and the pirzada, who enjoyed his distress, insisted that every drop should be swallowed. A good repast was soon provided, and set before us, an equivalent, no doubt, for my friend's charms and antidotes, although he wished me to believe he paid for every thing. During the day I paid him a visit, and found that our evening's repast was the subject of de- bate. The pious man had taken a fancy to a kid, and took pains, at least in my presence, while in- sisting he would not brook disappointment, to en- gage to pay for it. His fair hostesses had furnished the fowls in the morning, but the kid unfortu- nately belonged to other people, who, too needy to give their animal away, scrupled to receive money from a pirzada. In this dilemma, the mother requested a taviz, or charm, for her hand- some daughter, who bashfully drooped her head, as the tale was told of her being married some five or six years without having any owlad, or family. One of the holy man's Kabal lads immediately pricked up his ears, and leaning over to his master, said, " a camel, a camel as shukaram," or offering. The mother entered into particulars, with the view of exciting commiseration, and remarked, that her daughter had but one husband ; which caused the pirzada to inquire how many she wanted. Per- ceiving the case to be one from which something might be gained, the good man dismissed me, or WHIRLWIND. 25 what was the same thing, intimated his desire to repeat his prayers. I had not left him many mi- nutes before I saw his two lads, with some Giingas, carrying off the kid for slaughter, which it required no great judgment to surmise had been given as the price of becoming a mother by the fair but barren bride. The spot was named Obadi, and the water, wretched and unjDalatable, was drawn from a well. After sunset we moved towards Pati, and next morning reached the uninhabited spot so called, on the bank of a branch from the Purali river. We passed the day here, but ill sheltered from the heat by the tamarisk-trees fringing the banks. In our progress towards Bela, a little before sunset, we became enveloped in a khakbad, or whirlwind of dust. We had it for some time in sight, and moved into it, while by halting when we first observed it, we might have escaped it. The wind was very violent and the dust intolerable, although we were far from the vortex, and it speedily passed by. A few drops of heavy rain fell, and vivid flashes of lightning illumined the dense mass. By marching all night, we reached Osman di Got, a small village, in the morning, when, being but a small distance from Bela, we agreed to push on to it. On reaching the old bed of the Piirali, on the farther bank of which the town stands, the pir- zada expressed fears on account of INIir Azem 26 ARRIVAL AT BELA. Khan, the brother of the late Mehrab Khan of Kalat, who we knew was residing there, and he wished me to remain under the bank until he had gone into the town and ascertained all was right. I saw no necessity to be so cautious, and joking with him, that if he was afraid at Bela, how would it be amongst the hills, crossed over to a masjit immediately without the place, and sent Hassan with a message to Omar, the son of the late Arab vakil, with whom I w^as acquainted. Presently Omar came, attended by Ibrahim, a son of the Vakil Alia Rikka, and they conducted me to a house belonging to the former. The jam's orders, that I should receive every attention had preceded my arrival. The pirzada was accom- modated separately. I had reckoned on the delay of a day or two at Bela, but I soon discovered that my companion was fearful my presence might em- barrass him amongst the hill tribes. One evening he sent for me at a late hour, but having retired to rest, I did not wait on him. Neither did I in the morning when I heard he had some news from Kabal to tell, and which I could fancy was non- sensical enough. This induced him to send Mulla Hash em, a native of Kalat, with a man, in reality or pretending to be, a messenger from Nail. This fellow affirmed, that, before starting from Nail, Shah Nawaz Khan arrived, and an entertainment was in course of preparation for him, when an express reached from Kalat with tidings which RUMOURS OF DISASTERS. 27 made the khan remount and proceed towards his capital, without waiting for the intended repast. The tidings brought were, that Lieut. Loveday and Fati Khan had been defeated at Nushki by the Zigger Minghals, assisted by the Memasenis and Posht Kohis, and that, with the loss of one hun- dred men, they had fled to Kalat. I readily understood this tale was a manoeuvre, put in play to terrify the merchants into payment of the duties, which the letters of Shah Nawaz Khan forbade to be enacted, and to compel them to engage badraggars, or safe-conductors ; but as the pirzada had also commissioned Mulla Hash em to tell me that he was going that night, and had no fears for himself but for me, and that he would be pleased if I released him from the obligation to accompany me to Kalat, I immediately replied, that he stood absolved, as I should be sorry that any one should think even that he was in danger on my account. I sent Hassan for my saddle- bags, but the good man detained them, and re- turned a message that it would be better to wait a day or two until sounder intelligence arrived. Next morning he again sent, praying I would step over to him. I did so, and found Ibrahim, Alia Rikka's son, with him. Both urged the propriety of waiting a little ; yet Ibrahim, while professing great desire to be useful, made use of some ex- pressions, that, had I been so disposed, I might fairly have taken offence at. The pirzada was ex- 28 INDECISION OF MY COMPANION. ceedingly civil, and we parted on the understand- ing that we should wait a day or two. He was now indeed only a poor faquir, and Ibrahim took care to inform me, that if any one put hands on me during the journey the pirzada could only look on, and not interpose to prevent it. I had barely regained my dwelling, when Hassan came with a message from the pirzada, that he should start in the evening. I declined to do so, and sent for my saddle-bags, which anew were detained, when I grew, in turn, serious, and despatched Haji Khadar, a Jukia mirza, or scribe, in the jam's employ, for them, and they were brought to me. A Kalat merchant afterwards came to express the pirzada's sorrow that I had sent for the bags, how delighted he would have been had I accompanied him, and craving a reza nameh, or letter of approbation, which I said was unnecessary, as I was not angry. This point, however, was pressed, and Hajr Khadar wrote something to satisfy him. The pirzada departed that evening, and it be- hoved me to think as to the course I should adopt ; and I saw no better than to await Kalikdad's arrival with the kafila, although a residence at Bela was not desirable while the hot winds were prevalent. I might perhaps have passed on to Kalat by dint of money, but I had left nearly all behind with my other effects at Sunmiani. Before I left Karachi, Captain Wallace had men- tioned, that he had received a letter written by HAJI KHADAU'S CORRESPONDENCE. 29 Hajl Khadar Dinna, respecting Adam Klian, or Mir Azem Khan, as officially called, the only- brother of Mehrab Khan, now residing at Bela, and asked if I knew the haji ; I replied, no. It turned out that he was the Haji Khadar I have before had occasion to notice, a deaf Jukia mirza, an old acquaintance of mine, but formerly known to me as plain Khadar,* and whom I did not re- cognize under his lengthened name and the title of hajj, which three pilgrimages to Mecca had, how- ever, fully entitled him to bear. He brought me the reply of Captain Wallace. It seemed Mir Azem doubted its authenticity. There was no question on that point, and I was given to under- stand Mir Azem was much pleased when informed that I pronounced it to be genuine. It recom- mended the mir to apply to Captain Bean, at Quetta, but if he objected, or had insurmountable scruples, to come to Karachi, when representations should be made to government concerning him. I declined at this time to visit Mir Azem, being- aware of the distress he was in, even for common necessaries, and it was not in my power to supply them ; still I urged Haji Khadar to persuade him to act upon Captain Wallace's letter, and go to Karachi, and put an end to his misery. Trustworthy intelligence from Kalat had con- tradicted the report of disasters set on foot by in- * Vide vol. ii. p. 18, Journeys and Residence in Balochistan, Afghanistan, and the Panjab. 30 LIEUT. LOVEDAY'S MESSENGER. terested persons ; and we learned that Lieut. Love- day had dispersed the Minghals of Nushki, and that Shah Nawaz Khan was at Baghwana, cele- brating his nuptials with a sister of Kamal Khan, one of the widows of the late Jam Ali of Bela. Fresh rumours, however, were circulated of the arrival of Shah Siijah al Mulkh at Shikarpur, a fugitive from Kabal, and that Sind was in arms. It was determined to perplex the poor merchants. During the day the hot winds were constant, but although fully exposed to them, I suffered no in- convenience. I had, however, need of all my patience to support the delay circumstances had produced in my journey. I was reluctantly lingering at Bela, when, one morning, a stranger came and asked me if I was Masson Sahib ? and informed me that he had brought letters to me from Lieut. Loveday. I was surprised, but as the fellow had my name so ready at his tongue's~end, I requested to see his letters. A Minghal, who accompanied him, was sent for them. The stranger was very talkative, and soon let me know that he was Amir Khan, in the service of Lieut, Loveday ; that his funds were exhausted in his trip from Kalat, and that he expected me to renew them, — an unfortunate expectation, as I had no more money than I knew what to do with. He insisted that Lieut. Loveday had despatched him expressly to me, and had said to him in parting, " Amir Khan, how delighted I shall be when Mas- HIS INGENUITY. 81 son Sahib arrives ! — tell him the climate here is lovely And farther, that when Mr. Loveclay was walking in his garden at Mastung, and picking flowers, he would exclaim, " Ah ! Amir Khan, what avail flowers and their fragrance when Masson Sahib is not present to enjoy them with me!" I thought this mighty strange ; however, the Minghal returned with Amir Khan s saddle-bags ; the let- ters were produced ; and, lo ! they were addressed to " Lieut. Gordon, British Agent, Sunmiam " ! The authorities received Amir Khan and his party as guests. He soon after went to Stinmiani, while the Minghal who had escorted him from Wad proposed to do the same service for me to that place. He was a superior man, and admitted to be so by the good people at B^la, therefore I was glad of his offer, and prepared to start with him. He only demanded two rupees and a-half for the journey, and carried my saddle-bags on his camel, — a trained animal. I had constantly declined to see Mir Azem Khan, poor Mehrab Khan's bro- ther ! Now, that I was about to leave, I was so importuned by many persons to visit him, that I was obliged to yield, especially as they urged he would be pleased ; that he had expressed a wish to see me ; and that he said he remembered me at Kalat. I therefore ordered my horse to be gently led along the road, while I walked over to the jam's house, where he resided. I found him in the most miserable condition ; and, after we had exchanged 32 INTERVIEW WITH MIR AZEM. salutations, he dismissed the five or six attendants still adhering to him, and asked me about his jour- ney to Karachi, and whether he would not run the risk of being detained a prisoner, or of being put to death. I assured him that, on the contrary, he would be kindly received, and strongly urged him to go, pointing out that delay, in his circumstances, would be fatal. He talked about the Sirkar Com- pany Sahib being generous, and I told him it was justly so reputed, and he might depend upon its liberality. He mentioned a plan that had occurred to him, of going to Kharan, and taking his nephew, the young son of Mehrab Khan, to Maskat, and craving the intercession of the Imam, who was a great friend of the British government. I repre- sented that the Imam was a great friend, but his own presence at Karachi would answer every pur- pose, and, I did not doubt, his reception would be such that his nephew would soon be glad to join him. He inquired whether, instead of going to Karachi directly himself, he had not better first send a vakil, and I replied, that the time for send- ing vakils was passed ; he admitted as much, and, encouraged by what I had told him, promised to go as soon as the jam returned to Bela. He remarked that he was very miserable. I said that was too evident, and entreated him, in God's name, to see what the government would do for him. He fur- ther observed, that he had seen me before at Kalat ; but I explained to him that his memory deceived MIR AZEM'S DISTRESS. 33 him, as, when I was there, he came to Sohrab from Gandava, and thence proceeded to Kej, so that I had not the opportunity of meeting him. I thought I had succeeded in removing: from the mind of Mir Azem Khan the impressions that he would be neces- sarily made a victim because it was the misfortune of his brother Mehrab to be slain, and that he might be unfairly dealt with at Karachi, and left him apparently cheered, and determined to visit Captain Wallace at no distant period. I heard afterwards, that when Kalikdad with his kafila reached Bela the mlr embraced him, saying- he knew that he was indebted to him for my call. His intention was to have visited Karachi, but he complained that he had not clotlies fit to go in. Kalikdad, who has a fast tongue, and is not very competent in state affairs, advised him to send a vakil, which caused delay. The revolt at Kalat took place, and when his nephew recovered the capital, the mir, of course, joined him. Mir Azem was at this time so much reduced, that he was in receipt of a daily allowance from the jam of two pounds of rice, eight pais (about threepence) worth of meat, with a little butter, &c. ; his followers, eight or ten slaves, were also supplied with prepared cakes of juari and rice- flour. He had not a change of linen, having been plundered by Isa Khan of Wad, as he passed through that place in his flight from Kalat. His wife was with him, and he beguiled his leisure by VOL. IV. D 34 SUNMIANI AGENCY. reading Persian poems to her, for although so dis- sipated as to be nearly useless for business, he is highly taught, and considered to be very accom- plished. At Bela, one of the widows of the late Mehrab Khan, was also subsisting on the bounty of the jam. Before leaving the little state of Las, let me briefly revert to the confusion and uncertainty which then deranged its whole economy. To de- scribe it would exceed my ability, yet a little of its nature may perhaps be understood by the facts I have related. The fears of the authorities were groundless ; there was no desire to take possession of the coun- try; none to transfer it to Sind, and none to in- terfere in its internal arrangements, so far as the English government was concerned. Still, there was no authorized person informed of the panic which prevailed, to explain it away, and the elforts of the jam and his counsellors to open a communi- cation with the gentlemen at Karachi had hitherto failed. Colonel, now Sir Henry Pottinger, I be- lieve justly appreciated the friendly sentiments of the Las chief ; and I afterwards heard from Lieut. Loveday that he proposed the intercourse between Las and the British government should pass through the resident in Sind, a proposition so manifestly reasonable, that it must have been op- posed merely for the sake of opposition. The con- sequence was, that Las became entirely neglected. ITS ABOLITION. 35 and, by the politicals at Kalat and Quetta, was even reputed to be hostile, when it was eager, by the most abject submission, to confirm its ex- istence. I had always feared that the presence of troops at Sunmiam, being wholly needless, would have led to evil consequences ; I was, therefore, rejoiced subsequently to learn that Lieut. Gordon, soon after his arrival, in conformity with his appointment, had sent them back ; — a circumstance which impressed me with favourable notions of his judgment, and allowed me to hope that the young jam and his subjects might not lament his appointment. Since, a treaty, regulating the amount of duty to be levied at the port of Sunmiam, has been notified in the Bombay gazettes, which w^as in one sense unneces- sary, as the amount fixed is merely what was here- tofore levied without treaty ; still, if it was thought fit so to legalize it, and harmony has thereby be- come established, there is no great harm in it, — and there may be good, as the right of the jam to conclude treaties has been acknowledged. I have now heard with satisfaction, that the agency has been abolished by the orders of the present Governor-General of India. CHAPTER II. Walipat. — Entrance of the Hills. — Old Acquaintance. — Route to Miran Kushteh. — Route to Baran Lak. — Turkabur — Kala Dara. — Review of route. — Day at Kala Dara. — Approach to Wad. — Reception at Wad. — Mir Rahmat's arrival. — -His amusements. — Afghan Haji. — Mir Rahmat's frivolity. — Negro slaves. — Opinions at Wad. — Shir Mahomed's return. — Departure from Wad. — Isa Khan's garden. — Route to Baghwan. — Meeting with Khan Mahomed Khan. — Lead Mines of Kappar. — Gohar-basta. — Arrival at Baghwan. — Ci- vilities of Shah Nawdz Khan. — Interview with him. — Mir Atta Khan. — Route to Kalat. — Zohwar. — Lakorian. — Gohar-basta. — Anjirah. — Civil reception at Shorab. — Route to Rodinjo. — Reception there. — Arrival at Kalat. — Welcome of friends. — Lieut. Loveday's remark. — reputation of Lieut. Loveday. — Interview with Lieut. Loveday. — Conversation. — Second inter- view. — Conversation with Munshi Ghulam Hussen. — Selec- tion of residence. — Objection to revisit Lieut. Loveday. From Bela we passed through the jangal of peru trees surrounding it on the north, and then skirting midway the hamlet of Khaira, reached Walipat by night, where we halted in a grove of palm-trees, where the jam's stud was picketed. There were some thirty mares and colts. The darogah in charge supplied us with grain and chaff, prepared our food, and was anxious to show civility. Before daybreak next morning we were crossing ENTRANCE INTO THE HILLS. 37 the bare and pebbly plain stretching from Walipat to the hills, and before sunrise we came to the Purali river, which we traversed six times, and arrived at the opening of the defile Koharn Wat, where we halted for the day, leaving the river behind us, flowing from the north-east. Two tra- vellers here joined us, coming from Kalat ; one of them, Ghulam, a Babi merchant, instantly recog- nised me, and, after we had embraced, he sat down, refreshed himself, and gave the news of the day. He came, he said, on Lieut. Loveday's business, and told me, that I was expected at Kalat, for Lieut. Loveday had told my friends that I should soon be there. In the evening we entered the defile, which did not appear so formidable as the impressions of memory had pictured ; and although in its actual state it might be barely practicable to artillery, a good road could easily be made through it ; the rock being schistose, and soft, while it readily sepa- rates. The length of the defile is, moreover, tri- fling. From it we emerged upon the wild and broken plain of Boher, and struck across it to« wards the range of hills confining it on the north. This range we penetrated by the valley or stream- bed of Ping, a Brahui term, meaning long, and, with reference to the extent of the valley, correctly applied. By reason of the long and continued drought, I had been cautioned at Bela not to ex- pect to find the hills as I had before seen them, 88 ROUTE THROUGH THE HILLS. green with verdure, and their valleys garnished with copious and transparent rills of water; therefore I was not surprised to find Ping abandoned by its rivulet, and displaying few traces of the luxuriant vegetation which used to embellish it. A slight ascent, or pass, from the head of the valley brought us upon the table-land of Selloh, from which we descended into the bed of a water-course, called Miran Kushteh, from Miran, a Brahiu robber, at some period slain there. We had travelled the whole night, and, as we found water at this spot, we halted for the day. Near us were a few Brahui huts ; and we were visited by shepherds, from whom we purchased a lamb. In the evening we followed the course of the valley, and crossing the difficult ascent of Lohi, passed through a singular and extended defile, called Anraveri. It was enclosed on either side by walls of rock, nearly perpendicular, to the right, of forty or fifty feet in height, to the left, of about twenty feet. Its breadth varied from ten to twenty feet, and the narrow passage was in some places much choked up with flags and tall grass. The whole of the hills naturally abound in strong and defensible positions, and this defile seemed capable of being made a most formidable one. The rude tribes of the country, however, if not altogether insensible to the facilities of defence it offers, are too ignorant to profit by them, and, in their own petty warfare, have never been known to do so. From Anraveri PASS OF BARAN. 39 we toiled over the rocky pass of Karraroh, from whose summit we had an extensive but dreary view of mountain ranges in the distance, and of deep and dark glens around us, and finally halted at the foot of Baran Lak (the naked pass). In this march the roads were frequently troublesome ; still, a little labour would suffice to put them in order. We had again marched the whole night, and, leaving the road, had fixed ourselves on the bank of a large hill torrent, in whose rocky bed we met with water in a cavity. Many of the pebbles strewed about the surface were encrusted on the one face with chalk, both soft and indurated, and small pieces of the mineral, a rare one in these countries, were also scattered about. On the pass, in our front, I afterwards found specimens of zeolites in some abun- dance, but very inferior to the beautiful masses to be seen on the table hills of Malwa, in Central India. The fossilized remains of bivalves, ammo- nites, with what I supposed to be the jaw-bones and teeth of fishes, were common in every stone or frag- ment of stone, about us. In the evening we re- sumed our journey, and ascended the lak. I was surprised, and I may say almost disappointed, to find it was by no means so difficult as the reminiscences of two former transits had led me to anticipate. It was neither long nor very precipitous, and the road, while narrow, was even tolerable ; but near the sum- mit is a kand, or hewn passage through the rock, which would require to be widened before wheeled 40 TURKABUR. carriages could pass. The rock is yielding, and favour- able for the operation. From the pass we descended into a retired glen, to allow my guide's camel to browse on a few trees sprinkled over its sides, and again started at night. In our progress we crossed the dry bed of a considerable hill-torrent, which I well remembered as the spot near which I had passed the day in 1831, and where we had been over- taken by a heavy fall of rain ; and thence by a small pass we came upon the plain of Turkabur, so called from a tradition that Amir Taimur, or, as some say, Jenghiz Khan, encamped there. The name in the dialect of the Brahms, signifies a horseman. Thence we entered the fine level and spacious plain of Kala Dara (the black valley), and having tra- versed the larger portion of it, we struck off the road for some Minghal huts, where we halted under cover of some perpuk trees. We had not intended to dis- turb the inmates, but the barking of their own dogs awaked them, and an old man rose to inquire who his visitors were On being informed, he was satisfied and retired to his hut, promising to supply our wants in the morning. On crossing the pass of Turkabur we had left the mountainous country behind us, and henceforth our road to Kalat became comparatively easy and safe. In the hills we had met very few people, and only at the halting-places. Shir Mahomed, with whom I never interfered, invariably told them that I was a Fe- ringhi, going to Kalat on my own business ; and this NATURE OF ROAD. 41 information, given with the most perfect indifference, was received in the same manner. The pass of Baran Lak is the limit to which, in severe winters, snow has been known to fall ; in most seasons, how- ever, it seldom extends to Khozdar, and Baghwana. I examined the road more carefully than I had for- merly done, in consequence of an anxiety at Karachi to be acquainted with its exact nature, with refer- ence to the march of troops; the idea being cherished, tliat if at all practicable, it would be highly advan- tageous to open it, as the route through Sind and Kachi, besides being so much longer, was in some seasons of the year absolutely closed by the fearful character of the climate. From the remarks I have occasionally made, it may be gleaned that my opin- ions of the road were favourable to its mere prac- ticability, which indeed had no right to be ques- tioned, as large kafilas are constantly in the habit of travelling by it ; but these assemblages can pass where armies with their encumbrances perish ; and in their case many things are to be thought of which kafilas can afford to dispense with. From Bela to Wad no supplies of grain are procurable, and from Wad to Kalat very little could be de- pended upon. In the hills, both water and forage are precarious, or regulated by the supplies of rain. In the present journey my horse suffered from want of provender ; so did my companion's camel ; and the kafila, which followed us, was disabled by the loss of two- thirds of its cattle, from the same cause. 42 HALT AT KALA DARA. At our first halting-place at Koharn Wat, at the entrance of the hills, we drew our water from the ? Piirali river. At Miran Ktjshteh, and Baran Lak, our halting-places within the hills, there was little water, and they were the only two spots where it was found on the line of road. In my former journeys I had crossed numerous rivulets, and the river Ornach, a deep and powerful stream, — now they had ceased to flow, and I must have passed the dry bed of the river without being aware of it. At this time, there- fore, I held the march of a large body of troops to be a dangerous measure ; and at any other time it would be requisite to ascertain the state of the hills as to water and forage. From the tribes perhaps serious opposition need not be apprehended, but their petty thefts would have to be provided against. The drought, which has oppressed this country for the last ten years, would appear to have prevailed over a wide space, and I have observed that a similar calamity has befallen some of the Russian provinces, where a commission was appointed to examine into its effects, and probable causes. Subsequently, I believe, the route has been surveyed by British offi- cers, but I have not learned the results. In the morning, the old gentleman, who proved to be a dependant of Isa Khan of Wad, was as good as his word, and speedily set before us a breakfast, and we purchased a sheep to return his civility, and because we proposed to rest our cattle that had fared badly since leaving Bela. In the neighbourhood APPROACH TO WAD. 43 were several huts, and many of the inmates came and favoured us with their company. It was debated, whether or not it was lawful to kill me, in retaliation for the blood of those slain at Kalat ; but it was generally conceded to be unlawful, as I was not pre- sent at the slaughter, and because I had appeared unarmed amongst them. Those who maintained the contrary seemed to do so for the mere sake of argu- ment. We passed not only the day, but the better portion of the following night here ; and then continued our journey towards Wad. The morning broke before we had cleared the low hills, which separate the plain from the principal village of the Minghal tribe. On the road Shir Mahomed ob- served to me, that Khan Mahomed Khan, the elder son of Isa Khan, being absent, as we learned at Kala Dara, he did not exactly know whether, from the manners of the younger branches of his family, I might be altogether at ease there ; and proposed, if I approved, that we should go on straight to his residence, some three or four miles distant, where, if the fare was humble, I should be, at least, civilly treated. I was obliged for the consideration which had prompted the suggestion, but resolved to take my chance at Wad. The sun had not risen when we descended upon the plain, with the little town before us ; and the first objects presenting themselves to our sight were three new tombs, covered with white cement? 44 RECEPTION AT WAD. erected over the remains of Wall Mahomed, Taj Mahomed, and another of the Wad chiefs, who had fallen at the same time with their ill-fated lord, Mehrab Khan. They were buried on the open }3lain, beneath a mulberry-tree, and contiguous to each other. In death they had been united, and their countrymen now reverenced them as shedidan, or martyrs. I may acknowledge that I approached the town with clouded feelings ; I was conscious there was no cause for apprehension ; still there was the awk- wardness of a meeting with the relatives of the slain to be encountered ; and, worse than all, I knew that the calamity, which had involved so many chiefs of the family in destruction, might, with due understanding, have been averted. On cross- ing the dry bed of the torrent, on which Wad stands, we came upon the houses inhabited by the chiefs now living ; and the first person we met was a darogah of Isa Khan, who conducted us to the vacant house of Mir Rahmat, a son of Taj Mahomed, above noted as one of the slain at Kalat. Mir Rah mat was with Khan Mahomed, in atten- dance upon Shah Nawaz Khan, the new ruler of Kalat in Zidi. The darogah hastened to report our arrival to the family of Isa Khan, leaving me to my reflections on the strange accident of being quartered in the house of a chief who had fallen by the hands of my countrymen. Presently Malek Dinar, the younger son of Isa ARRIVAL OF MIR RAHMAT. 45 Khan, a youth of sixteen or seventeen years of age, brought a polite message of welcome from his mother ; and he was followed by slaves, the bearers of a couch, with carpets and gold embroidered coverlets. Scarcely had these been arranged when an excellent repast was also brought in. Shir Ma- homed soon after departed for his home, engaging to return at sunset, on the day after the morrow, as he proposed to escort me to Baghwana, for a further sum of three rupees. Malek Dinar, I soon found, was the mother's favourite ; and, during the day, was generally with me. He appeared well conducted, therefore I was glad of his company ; in the evening Mir Rahmat was announced, and the noise attending his arrival proclaimed he was an important personage. He had returned from Zidi, where he had left Khan Mahomed. He was about twenty-five years of age, and extremely thoughtless and vulgar in manners. He professed to be delighted with me, and his mode of showing it was most troublesome, for he allowed me no rest. Next morning, in consequence of a family quarrel, Mir Hassan, his brother-in-law, left Wad with his wives, children, and dependants, intending to reside on the estates of Rehim Khan. When this was known, Malek Dinar mounted his camel, and pursued the fugitives, in the hope of inducing the females to return ; Mir Rahmat requested my horse to follow Mir Hassan, with the same object. 46 AMUSEMENTS AT WAD. Considering the case to be urgent, I obliged him. It proved that the offended mir was not to be appeased ; and both returned unsuccessful. Mir Rahmat did not permit me to enjoy much repose this day ; and as he became familiar, so the levity of his manner became more conspicuous and annoying. His conversation was of the most frivolous description ; and, compelled to endure it, I consoled myself by the thought that I was enabled to acquire an insight into the state of society at Wad ; and truly the shifts and expedients he resorted to for the purpose of killing time were often amusing. Sometimes the minstrel, an in- variable component part of a Brahui sirdar's house- hold, clad in the rejected garments of his superiors, struck up a tune on the sehtar, a three- stringed lyre, and accompanied the melody with his voice ; and anon Mir Rahmat, who, like Nero, piqued himself on his vocal talent, delighted us with his strains. Occasionally he stretched himself on his couch, while a female slave shampooed him ; and the language he addressed to her was neither re- fined nor very delicate. Games of chance were however, his great stand-by ; and these he played sprawling on the ground, with Malek Dinar or the tawdry, yet ragged minstrel. The arrival of an Afghan haji, whom I had seen at Bela with my faint-hearted friend, the pirzada, contributed towards the amusement of Mir Rahmat. This man had left Kalat on the haj, AFGHAN HAJI. 47 or pilgrimage, to Mecca; and, as happens to many of his countrymen, his haj terminated at Bombay. Being destitute, he there established his quarters at the government hospital, of course pretending to be sick. Craving the assistance of the pirzada, to regain Kalat, he related this circumstance, and enlarged upon the liberal fare and great attention he received in the hospital ; the pirzada asked him, why he had not stayed there. Haji said, he would have stayed, but the hakim sahib (doctor) turned him out. The pirzada consented to feed him on the road to Kalat ; Haji, in return, was to make himself useful. Now Haji arrived very sore with the pirzada, accusing him of brutality, in not allowing him to ride, and for forsaking him in the hills, and he vowed to expose him when he reached Kalat. Haji desired Mir Rahmat not to estimate him by the homely garb he then wore, as, when at home, at Kandahar, he was a great man. Addressing me, he requested the loan of a rupee, to be repaid at Kalat ; to which, at the moment, I made no reply. Haji was still sitting, twirling with his fingers the large black wooden beads of his rosary, when Mir Rahmat was under- going the process of shampooing ; and the indecent remarks he made to the sable artiste so powerfully moved the wonder of the Afghan that he could not contain himself, and said : " Khanzada, have you a wife?" The question, if abruptly, was well put ; and Mir Rahmat stared at him, a little con- 48 HAJI'S GOOD FORTUNE. founded ; but soon recovering liiniself, he answered, " Yes, Haji Gul.'' And then, with happy impu-. dence, said, " Haji Gtil, you shall stay with me and teach me to say prayers." Haji replied, that he should be happy to teach him prayers, but — and he shook his head — he feared the Khanzada was not likely to prove an apt scholar. My snuff-box was empty, and the bazar of Wad was inadequate to replenish it. Haji thought it a pity I should need what he was able to supply, and taking the box, emptied into it the contents of his own lea- thern bag. I could not forbear telling him that he had made me ashamed of myself ; as he had asked me for money, and I had not given it, while he had given me snuff without my asking for it. I therefore prayed him to accept a rupee, to buy more for himself I left Haji at Wad, to await a kafila, and to divert the society there, which he appears to have done, if his own accounts may be credited. Some days after I had been at Kalat, Haji came to see me, in his best apparel, and covered with an old chintz fargal. Inquiring how he got on after I left, with Mir Rahmat, and the host of slave- girls, black and white, he exclaimed, " Ramah ! ramah ! a flock ! a flock !" but the best of it was, he said, that Isa Khan's daughter fell in love with him, that she came to the masjit to him, and was so affectionate that he said to her, " Bibi Sahib (my lady), I am a woman." — " No," she re- MIR RAHMAT'S REPAST. 49 joined, " Haji, I know you are a man, and a good man." He protested, as he hoped to be saved, he was but a woman. Then, he continued, Malek Dinar had a fever, and one moment his mother and female relatives were by his side, weeping and tearing their hair, and the next, the musicians were playing and singing, and such a scene of mingled grief and merriment occurred, as the Haji had never before witnessed. At length a kafila came, and Mir Rahmat so worried the merchants, on the pretence of making purchases, that many of them were glad to resign their goods to escape his an- noyance. Haji abundantly amused me by the re- lation of his adventures, and the sights he had seen at Wad, and he took his leave, overjoyed that he had afforded me subject of mirth. I had not, however, got through the first day with Mir Rahmat, the second of my sojourn at Wad ; and in the afternoon, two Jogis (Maho- medans) were sent for to exhibit their serpents. In the evening, Mir Rahmat insisted, that as, on the preceding night, I had been the guest of Malek Dinar and his mother, so it behoved him to provide my entertainment for the one near at hand, and this allowed him to vociferate a variety of orders. His commands for a sheep, rice surkh- dassi, corianders, carroways, onions, roghan, and every single ingredient, were so loudly and in- cessantly repeated, that I thought he would never have ceased. After our meal, we had a regular VOL. IV. E 50 SLAVES. concert, and, after much of the night had passed, with difficulty I induced him and his friends to retire. By daybreak next morning Mir Rahmat was in attendance with his lyre, and, after a few of his tunes and plaintive airs, he led me into a con- tiguous house full of his negro slaves. His object was to show me how rich he was in this species of wealth. I should think, at least, some twenty or twenty-five individuals, chiefly women and chil- dren, were here living promiscuously together. He did not know how many slaves he had, as he said he never counted them, but computed their number broadly at fifty, sixty, or seventy. The slaves of the Brahuis are of two classes, negroes brought from Maskat, and the issue of cap- tives made in war, with the people of the western provinces of the country, as Kej, Turbat, &c. ; some have, at various times, been brought from Cashmir and the eastern provinces of Persia. These, in colour and features, in no respect vary from their masters, and some of the females are remark- ably handsome. They are better treated than their negro associates in bondage, and less onerous duties are assigned to them. Few of the negroes, and those only who are really useful, are even decently clad, and it is common for them so to multiply, that their masters, from inability to clothe and feed them, dismiss them to provide for themselves in other lands. QUARRELS AT WAD. 51 Mir Rahmat was so well pleased with my horse on the preceding day, that he again asked me, this morning, to allow him to gallop the animal to some cultivated lands, distant some three or four miles. As I expected to leave Wad in the even- ing, I demurred, which he did not take in good part, and became a little sulky, which so far be- nefited me, that, instead of plaguing me through- out the day, he amused himself in his own apart- ment with Malek Dinar, his minstre], and slaves. Malek's mother sent a message that I must not be offended, and that she was sure Malek would not have asked for the horse. The absence of Mir Rahmat permitted the pre- sence of more reasonable visitors, and they dis- coursed in the most frank manner on all subjects, public and private. The misfortunes of Kalat were spoken of without any expression of ill-will, and even Mir Rahmat never alluded to his father's fate but in a careless tone. I soon found that great enmity existed between Rdhini Khan, and Khan Mahomed Khan, but perceiving a dislike to relate the reason, I did not press the question, presuming it might be of a delicate nature. Mir Rahmat, indeed, when I asked if Rehim Khan was likely to return to Wad, replied. How could he return, when he had estranged himself from his relatives and ulus ? alluding, I supposed, to his alliance with the Jadghals, or Lumris, of Las. Whatever were the sentiments of Mir Rahmat E 2 52 NEWS FROM ZIDL and the family of Isa Khan, those of their re- tainers, of the people of Wad, and of the tribe in general, were altogether favourable to Rehim Khan, who, it was asserted, was the only respectable chief amongst them. Some of Rehim Khan's family were residing here, and one of his infant children was frequently brought to me, as was Bad in, a young child of Khan Mahomed. The cultivated lands belonging to Wad were owned principally, perhaps exclusively, by the chiefs. Rehim Khan had as much as yielded him five hundred gunis, or fifty thousand Wad maunds of grain (wheat, barley, and rice) ; while Isa Khan, Mir Rahmat, and others of the family, held what yielded them as much more ; the lands of the latter being chiefly irrigated, while those of Rehim Khan were prin- cipally khushk-awah, or dependent on rain. The minstrel of the chiefs informed me, that he had composed a jang nameh in honour of the martyrs of Kalat, but that he had not yet recited it, reserving it for the period when Rehim Khan returned, and all the family were assembled. During the day several of those who had ac- companied Khan Mahomed made their appearance. They had left their master still in Zidi, and nar- rated the results of the excursion of Shah Nawaz Khan, and the submission of Mir Atta Khan, the Sah Saholi chief. It seemed that the chief of Kalat had exposed himself to danger, by having, at a conference, made use of strong language while DEPARTURE FROM WAD. 53 he grasped the hilt of his sword. The Sah Saholis retired and lighted their matches, and evil might have ensued, but for the intervention of saiyads, as the khan's followers were few, and his oppo- nents were many. I could but observe that all spoke lightly of the new khan, and had no better opinion of his rank than to designate it as maskeri^ or a farce. I had all faith in the promise of Shir Mahomed, and close upon sunset I saw him walk steadily into the court-yard, leading his camel. We were ready, and Hassan began to saddle my horse, when a message came from Malek Dinar's mother, be- seeching me to wait until the evening's repast was prepared, or, if determined to proceed at once, first to partake of what could immediately be set before me. We soon despatched a hasty meal, and desiring our best thanks to the hospitable lady, we took leave of her son, and his graceless cousin, who, as poor Mehrab Khan used to observe, should have been named Mir Zahmat (Mir Trou- blesome), instead of Mir Rahmat (Mir Merciful). We crossed the plain to the sirdars' garden, some five or six miles distant, where we halted for the night. It was dark, but we found many huts, occupied by slaves, employed in agricultural labour, and now watching the karmans, or heaps of corn. They supplied us with chaff, and we re- tired to rest. In the morning, a youth presented me with a 54 MEETING WITH KHAN MAHOMED. dish of apricots, and said he was a younger brother j:o Mir Rahmat. We remained until afternoon here, and then crossed the nullah beyond the garden, when Shir Mahomed proposed to take the nearest and direct road to Baghwana, by Kappar, which avoids Khozdar. As I had twice before seen the last place, I consented without difficulty. In our progress we passed a spot called Langleji, where, I learned, are many vestiges of the olden times, and that medals are sometimes, but rarely found. Similar indications, I was assured, are abundant in Ornach, and in the hills near Wad are numerous ghorbands, or ancient mounds, and ramparts. We travelled the greater part of the night, and halted at the commencement of some low hills, in a place without water. Towards morn we continued our journey through the maze of hills, with a tolerable road, and halted awhile to prepare our food at a locality, Churani (the place of robbers), where the bed of a water- course had a scanty rill in it. We were joined by two or three small parties of Brahms, going to or coming from Baghwana; and, before we had left. Khan Mahomed Khan, with a couple of horsemen, arrived. He embraced me, on learning I was a Feringhi, inquired much after his young son, Badin, and hoped that I had received all civility from Malek Dinar. Drawing me aside, he desired me to tell Lieut. Loveday that the road from Kalat to Sunmiani would never be safe to merchants, unless LEAD MINES AT KAPPAR. 55 Rehim Khan were decoyed to Karachi and made prisoner, for he was the cause of all the mischief. He shrewdly instructed me to say little on his part, but a good deal on my own, adding, that I should naturally be asked, having travelled by the road. If Rehim Khan were not secured, he said, he should be obliged to abandon Wad, for he should acquire an evil repute ; and, as he acknowledged the Fe- ringhi rule, he must reside at Kalat. I secretly admired the dexterity of Kh^n Mahomed, but pro- mised to report what he had told me, as I did when I saw Lieut. Loved ay at Kalat, taking care, however, to put the matter in its true light. In the after- noon we started from Churani, and a slight detour brought us upon a wide and level plain, called Wir. It was chequered with cultivated patches, and there were a few mud apartments, to house chaff. Be- yond Wir, a short transit through other low hills conducted us to the commencement of the plain of Perozabad, with a rivulet flowing from Kappar. Here we halted for the night, with the village of Perozabad about two miles in advance. In the morning we passed the lead mines of Kappar on our left, seated in a hill, that seemed entirely composed of the metal. About two hundred workmen are constantly employed, and they are a peculiar race, not Brahuis, or esteemed people of the country. Lead is a most abundant metal in the hills of central Balochistan, but is said to be extracted only on a regular system at these mines. They are 56 THE SAH SAHOLI CHIEF. near to B^ghwana, before reacliing which, however, we passed another small plain, crossed by a re- markably substantial rampart, or ghor-basta, one of the most perfect I had seen, and which could hardly be supposed to have been constructed for any other purpose than that of a defensive nature. On arrival at the cluster of villages on the plain of Baghwana we halted, under some trees near the old village of Kamal Khan, and were soon apprised that Shah Nawaz Khan was near us. He had lately celebrated his nuptials with the sister of Kamal Khan, a widow of the late jam of Las, and, in two or three days, intended to escort his new bride to Kalat. He had also received a visit from Lieut. Loveday, who brought him a treaty, ratified by the Government of India, and congratulations on his marriage. A little after our arrival, Mir Atta Khan, the Sah Saholi chief, came with twenty-five or thirty horsemen, and took up his quarters at an adjacent ziarat, or shrine. He had, in return for his submission to the authority of Shah Nawaz Khan, just received a khelat, or honorary dress, arrayed in which, he passed in procession before the khan's tent, two young saiyads, on very good horses, at a slight distance, leading the van. Ma- homed Khan, Raisani, the khan's naib, or deputy, at Baghwana, accompanied the Sah Saholi caval- cade, and being told that I was a Feringhi, in- quired if the khan knew of my presence, and immediately went to announce it. He speedily re- MESSAGE FROM SHAH NAWAZ KHAN. 57 turned with the khan's Hindu diwan, and it was asked what could be done to oblige me. The khan was desirous to send a tent, with sheep and other things, as the khan was himself my servant, and his country was mine. I explained that I was but a traveller, and not even in the employ of govern- ment, therefore there was no occasion for the khan to put himself to trouble or expense on my ac- count; that I was grateful for his good intentions, but that, if he fulfilled them, I should be uneasy, as I was unworthy of them. They went away, but soon returned, imploring me to accept sheep, &c. ; but I prayed to be excused, as I had not even vessels to cook them in. Mahomed Khan now recognised me as the companion of Gul Mahomed Kambarari, in my trip to Chehel Tan in 1831, and as a former resident at his toman at Khanak.* His countenance instantly brightened, for the slightest acquaintance amongst all rude people is acknow- ledged; and, truly, his memory was better than mine, for I did not remember him ; yet he dropped all restraint and formality, and ran off to tell the khan the new Feringhi was an old friend. In the course of the day a rather sumptuous re- past was sent by the khan, and in the evening a mes- sage came expressive of his wish to see me, brought by his shahghassi, who alike claimed previous ac- quaintance, as did most other persons who now * Vide Narrative of Journeys and Residence in Balochistan, Afghanistan, and the Panjab, 8tc. vol. ii. p. 71. INTERVIEW WITH THE KHAN. came to see me. I went to the tent of Shah Nawaz Khan ; on entering it he rose and embraced me, and then seated me by his side. We discoursed some time, and I repeated what I had before told his people, that I was not in government employ, and therefore entitled to no attention on that ac- count. He asked if troops had been sent to Sun- miani ? I told him " No and, in answer to an- other question, whether they had not been " mo~ karrar," or appointed, replied, that I had heard as much. Relating my detention at Bela, and the false rumours then prevalent there, he smiled, and was most profuse in his declarations of gratitude and attachment to the British government. In justice to Shah Nawaz Khan, I may here observe, that, whether in public or private, he invariably expressed the same sentiments, and in terms so abject that the Brahuis were ashamed of him. In conversation and manners the khan was with- out the least formality or reserve, having, perhaps, acquired the ease and freedom of the Duranis dur- ing his stay of three years at Kandahar. I should not have judged his affability amiss, but it is taken very ill by his subjects generally, and particularly so by the Brahuis, wdio expect their khan to be grave and dignified in converse and deportment. Besides the khan, Mir Kamal Khan, of Bagh- wana, whom I saw for the first time, was the only person of note present. He was sitting entirely sans faf07i, with no upper garment except his shirt. CONTROVERSY. 59 and without a turban on his head. Shortly Mir Atta Kh^n was announced, and the very small tent became crowded with his followers. The two young saiyads who had been instrumental in pro- moting an understanding between the khan and the Sah Saholis were placed on the khan's right hand, and, beyond them, sat Mir Atta Khan, and his attendants in succession. Much conversation passed with the Brahuis in Kur Gall, and I noticed, that although on one occasion some good thing said by Shah Nawaz forced a laugh from most of them, at other times his propensity to jeer and jest was by no means approved of ; and I fancied that Kamal Khan's features denoted regret that his khan and brother-in-law should talk so much, and to so little purpose. With the two young saiyads, and an older one, named Fazil Shah, their opponent, the khan had to sustain a desperate controversy.- The youths claimed some lands and certain rights, which Fazil Shah, once a dependent of their family, had, as they contended, unfairly usurped. It was easy to per- ceive that the khan and Kamal Khan favoured Fazil Shah, but the young saiyads were very tena- cious of their rights, and talked much and ear- nestly : indeed, between them and the khan there seemed to be a struggle who should speak most. Fazil Shah occasionally put in a few words, but Kamal Khan, by whose side he sat, checked him, and pulled his shirt-sleeve whenever he evinced the inclination to display his volubility. The sum of 60 GRACELESSNESS OF THE BRAHUIS. the klian's argument, in opposition to the impor- tunity of the young saiyads that an immediate judg- ment should be pronounced upon the merits of their case, was, that he could not venture to interfere between saiyads, as all the disputants were, and that the matter must be debated in form before a competent tribunal ; — in other words, that delay was necessary. I was very pleased when the saiyads and Mir Atta Khan departed, as I was also enabled to take my leave of the khan, who told me that a party of horsemen should escort me to Kalat, which I submitted was wholly unnecessary. The conversation between the khan and the saiyads w^as sustained in Sindi, the young men, although the spiritual guides of the Sah Saholi, a Brahui tribe, being of Sindian extraction, and igno- rant of the Brahui dialect; and this fact brought me to the knowledge that the Brahuis, unlike all other Mahomedan people, have no saiyads, pirs, mullas, or faquirs, or any persons pretending to inspiration or sanctity amongst them, and are com- pelled, while holding the craft in due reverence, to seek them amongst strangers. I asked the khan's servants which party was right in the lengthened debate which had just jDassed, and was told, as I expected, that the young saiyads were. This evening the bard of Mir Atta Khan kept us long awake, singing to his chief the jang nameh of the devoted Mehrab Khan. Wonderful were the exploits attributed to him ; and the Feringlii POPULAR IMPRESSIONS. 61 army was described as the " laslikar khodaln/' or the army of God, and as innumerable, or lakhs upon lakhs. The ditty concluded with the remark, that " All the Ahmed Zais had died worthily, but that Mehrab in death had surpassed all others : wa tilla shud, and had become gold." I was surprised to find that the personal attend- ants of Shah Nawaz Khan considered his dignity in no better light than did his adherents at Wad, or that it was other than "maskeri," or a farce. He must have felt himself placed in a ridiculous position. He had not more than twenty-five or thirty attendants and armed men, a retinue inferior to that of the robber chief Mir Atta Khan, who found it convenient at this time to make his sub- mission. The remark was constantly made here as elsewhere, that, to tell the truth, the country was the sahibs', and Shah Nawaz merely their naib, or deputy. To remove this impression, which the state of things justified, was impossible, and so awkward had been the arrangements relating to the unfortunate country of Balochistan, that while understood by no one, they were such as made it impossible for the khan to establish a govern- ment. Early the next morning, soon after breakfast. Shah Nawaz sent me a large dish of fine apri- cots. His cuisine seemed at least well managed ; and I learned that he had cooks from Kandahar. Shir Mahomed, my Minghal guide, had engaged 62 ROUTE TOWARDS KALAT. to go no farther than Baghwana, I therefore hired another man and camel to carry my effects to Kalat for a sum of three rupees. I had arranged to start for Kalat in the after- noon, and Shah Nawaz, unremitting in civility, sent by his Hindu diwan a sheep and a basket of flour, explaining, that I should get no provisions on the road (an assertion more polite than true), and insisting upon acceptance. The escort of horse I had refused, but a single horseman, one Ghazi Khan, was sent, to whom I did not object, aware that he was the bearer of the khan's own letters to Kalat. From Baghwana we marched about ten or twelve miles over a fairly open country, and halt- ed at a spot called Zohwar, where was a rivulet, but no habitations. We found there the pesh- khana, or advanced tent, of Shah Nawaz, but the attendants were either too sound asleep to be aroused, or declined to answer the calls of Ghazi Khan. We stayed a few hours of the night here, amid the constant howling of wild animals in the surrounding hills ; and before daybreak recom- menced our journey. A slight detour led us into the spacious plain of Lakorian, at the northern extremity of which are some important ghorbands, or bastas. I had a better opportunity than before of examining these remains, and I could not but conclude that, with those near Baghwana, they were defensive works, or intrenched lines. They com- ANJIRAH. 63 pletely covered the entrance of the defile connect- ing the plain of Lakhorian with that of Anjirah, and the minor passages by which the defile might have been penetrated were all carefully protected. The principal rampart ran parallel to a deep ravine and joined a small eminence. These vestiges are remarkable for their magnitude, as well as for their solidity, and the skill, I might say science, evident in their construction. The w^onder is, to what people they may be ascribed ; and this is a question to which the traditions of the country offer no reply. Passing through the defile, the plain of Anjirah opens with a descent, and we traversed it until we reached a rivulet, where there was no shade, but patches of verdure on elevated ground, from whence several small springs issued, and there we halted. Below us on the plain were two ka- filas, one of Kambarari Brahuis, the other of saiyads of Peshing, Terins, &c., on their way from Sunmiani. The saiyads wished me to accept a sheep; and on my declining it, as from the bounty of Shah Nawaz, we were well supplied with meat, they brought some Bombay rice, and vessels to prepare it with. There was no dwelling on the plain, but much cultivated land, and heaps of chaff, the product of the recent crops, were scattered about. Near our position was also a rud-khana, its banks fringed with oleander bushes, which, since leaving Wad, had constantly occurred in similar localities. During the day numbers of Brahui 64 CIVILITY OF SHAH NAWAZ. females from the hills came to the springs. The Poshing saiyads commiserated the hardship of their lot, compelled to walk barefooted for three or four miles for water. Having seen the Poshing ladies in much the same predicament, I observed that such remarks came oddly from them whose wives underwent the like hardship. An excuse was offer- ed that water in Poshing was not distant. Towards evening we started for Sohrab, and arrived there at night, halting at one of the hamlets, called Shehar Bakhal, from the Bakhals, or Hindus, residing at it. The people were asleep ; but Ghazi Khan contrived to find chaff for our cattle, being all we needed. On awaking next morning, we were told that chaff, and all other necessaries, had been collected for me, at a neighbouring hamlet, by the orders of Shah Nawaz Khan, who, it proved, without apprising me, had despatched a messenger before me ; a mark of attention for which I could not but feel indebted to him. Scarcely had I heard this when a shahghassi, the khan's officer here, came with his train to welcome me, and informed me a house was ready for my abode, and that he had sat up the whole night expecting me. We therefore removed to the quarters assigned us, and the shahghassi, in obedience to the or- ders he had received, was willing to have put himself very much out of the way ; but I would not allow him, though I could not prevent the slaughter of a lamb. He prayed me not to go RECEPTION AT RODINJO. 65 to sleep, as he would bring a ndri, or breakfast, and immediately produced some fine cakes, with excellent butter, and a quantity of delicious apricots. In due time a more substantial repast was set before me; and in the afternoon we took leave of Sohrab, and the attentive shahghassi, whose last act was to give my people a basket of apricots, saying, I should not find them yet ripe at Kalat. By night we reached an uninhabited spot, called Gandaghen, where we slept until near daybreak, and then continued our course to the village of E-odinjo ; where we were rather coolly received by the R-ais Rahmatulah. I had reposed awhile, when I was awakened by Hassan, who told me some of the villagers had brought me an entertainment. I found that the family of Mulla Izzat had done the hospitable office, and that her two sons were the bearers of the rural fare. Rais Rahmatulah and his peoj^le, without being rude, were yet reserved and formal ; until one, ShalFi Mahomed, recognized me as having been his companion in the journey I made, in 1831, from Kalat via the Mulloh pass to Jell, Sind, and Sunmiani. I also remembered him well, as he was one of Kalikdad's camel-drivers> who at that time seriously annoyed me, when suffering from sickness. I reminded him of it, in a laughing mood, and he said, that he did not then know who I was. The information he im- parted instantly removed the reserve of the Rais, VOL. IV. F 66 ARRIVAL AT KALAT. who, on taking leave of me in the evening, when he went to his family on the Dasht Gharan below Rodinjo, left some of his people expressly to attend to any call I might make, which was, in one sense, needless ; as I took care not to be troublesome. Being near to Kalat, we did not leave Rodinjo until noon of the following day ; when, crossing the extensive plain beyond it, we entered the low hills of Takht Badshah and Pul Sanjan, and as- cending a slight pass, beheld the gardens of the Brahui capital before us. I made for the Babi suburb, Hassan preceding me to announce my approach, and my old friend, Faiz Ahmed, with some of his family and neighbours, advanced to meet and to welcome me. Their first care was to consider where I should most comfortably reside during my stay ; and a small garden, near the suburb, was fixed upon, to which I went against the consent of the owner, whose fears of Feringhis seemed so great that Faiz Ahmed could scarcely overcome his objections to receive me. Abdul Wahid, a former acquain- tance, came and greeted me; his relative, Faiz Ahmed, returning to his house to bring a repast and tea. Abdul Wahid told me I was expected, both from the advices of Kalikdad and the an- nouncement of Lieut. Loveday, who had so assured him but a short time ago. It being afternoon when I reached Kalat by the time Faiz Mahomed had brought his tea it grew late ; while former acquaint- LIEUT. LOVEDAY. 67 ances poured in upon me, and I did not, therefore, call upon Lieut. Loveday that evening. He, how- ever, heard of mj arrival, and remarked, that I must be a low fellow, for, if I had been a gentleman, I should have come to him. This observation was reported to me, and I smiled at it. Not only, ever since I left Karachi, but even when at that place, I had heard the most astonish- ing accounts of Lieut. Loveday, or Labadin Sahib, as he was called by the natives. Actions so singular were imputed to him, and of a nature so diflPerent from what are usually looked for from British officers, that I was disinclined to credit them, and felt disposed to attribute the unfavourable impressions current, to the irritated feelings and fertile imaginations of the late khan of Kalat's subjects. And this view seemed the only rational one to take, for the alleged enormities could not have been committed without the knowledge of his superiors; and, it was inconceivable to sup- pose that, with such knowledge, they would tolerate them. Still, the reports were so universal, in all places and with all parties, that it was difficult to avoid the suspicion that he must be a strange person. I knew nothing of him, and even at Karachi was unable to ascertain whether he was a military officer or civilian. At sunrise next morning, notwithstanding the re- pulsive remarks of Lieut. Loveday, I called upon him at his tent, perhaps a hundred and fifty yards from F 2 68 INTERVIEW WITH LIEUT. LOVEDAY. my garden, where he was superintending the erection of a house. As I approached him, in company with Abdul Wahid, he said, "Mr. Masson, I believe?" I replied " Yes when he continued, " We may as well walk into the tent." He led the way, and I followed him. There was, in fact, but one chair in the tent, which certainly I would not have taken had he offered it ; however, he did not permit me to show my breeding, but gave me an example of his, by telling me to sit on the ground, as I was used to it. He then changed his clothes, and threw down three or four newspapers before me, that I might amuse myself the while. Breakfast was brought ; after which we conversed for some hours, or until noon. He inquired particularly about Las ; and I discovered the meaning of the obnoxious orders of Shah Nawaz Khan, relating to the duties there. He denied, however, having sent any letters to the jam, or even to the petty chiefs, exacting fees on the road from Bela to Wad. He silenced me on remarking upon the injustice of the arrangement as concerned the jam, by asserting that " might was right." I explained to him the situation and feelings of Rehim Khan, as far as I could judge of them, and he said, that if I had sufficient influence with him, to induce him to come to Kalat, no harm should happen to him. He vaunted the ex- pulsion of the Brahuis from Kachi, and its annexa- tion to the kingdom of Kabal, as a brilliant political measure. T did not ask why he so considered it ; CONVERSATION. 69 but when he stated that Lord Auckland's wish was to consolidate the Brahui state, I could not forbear observing, that a most infelicitous plan had been adopted for the object, by dislocating its provinces, and setting up a ruler without revenue or resources of any kind. He admitted the khan was needy, and said he wished to raise a disciplined corps of three hundred men for him, but there was no money. He narrated his attempts to surprise the son of Mehrab Khan, in Panjghur and Nushki, and in- formed me that had he been captured he would have been sent to Quetta, and taught English, while Darogah Gul Mahomed would have been blown from a gun. I inquired in what particular the Darogah had so grievously offended ; and Lieut. Loveday replied, that many of his letters had been intercepted before the taking of Kalat, and that there numbers had come to light, furnishing proof of a most diabolical conspiracy, and for that reason he was not to be forgiven. He explained the arrangements made, with regard to the resumed districts of Mastung and Quetta, and told me I should be delighted when I saw Mastung, the revenue of which he had fixed himself at twenty- seven thousand rupees, farming it, for the present year, to Diwan Ramu, but intending on the en- suing one to collect it himself. He also took much credit for opening the Mulloh pass, by blowing from a gun the petty chief who infested it, and said he wished he could get hold of Fati All of Ornach, to 70 CONVERSATION. treat him in the same manner. Also with reference to Mastiing, he expressed regret that he had failed to persuade Capt. Bean to blow Mahomed Khan Sherwam from a gun, in place of appointing him the Naib of the Shah, as questionable letters from him to the late Mehrab Khan had been found. We talked much on the policy of the measures which had brought our armies beyond the Indus, and I freely stated my opinions on the blunders and mis- management which had spoiled everything, and on the fearful confusion that must inevitably at some period follow. Without altogether coinciding with me, or rather perhaps not choosing to say openly that he did, he made one good remark, that it would cost the Conservatives millions to repair the errors of the Whigs, as had always been the case. He inquired about the road from Sunmiam, and for what sum I would undertake to put it into good order, which obliged me to answer that I did not understand roadmaking. He also put the question, whether I intended to write a book ; and then told me he purposed to make a journey to Kerman in Persia. I explained my objects in travelling, and my intention to proceed to Kandahar and thence to Kabal, as soon as my servants with my baggage joined. He was particular in his inquiries about the kafila, as a very large quantity of his supplies from Bombay were coming with it, and I had seen his men at Sunmiam ; moreover, Ghulam, the Babi merchant I met at Koharn Wat, had been sent by him on their account. LIEUT. LOVEDAY'S CIVILITY. 71 At length several persons having collected out- side the tent, I suggested that he might have busi- ness to transact, and took leave, when he took me to see his Arab horses, and then asked me to dine with him at his house in the town, between three and four. I at first demurred, but consented when he said he should like me to see the house. In the afternoon, when I judged it was about the hour, I walked over to his town-residence, formerly that of Naib Mtilla Hassan, from which the jewels taken at Kalat were extracted. I found Lieut. Love- day in a spacious apartment, hung round with suits of armour, and the corners filled with pikes, hal- berds, battle-axes, and warlike weapons, the spoil of the late khan's armoury. He was stretched on his couch, and told me that he had long since dined, but that something had been set by for me. I re- marked, he did w^ell not to wait. We again con- versed some time, but he was extremely restless, sometimes rising suddenly from his couch and tak- ing a chair, and then as suddenly leaving it for his couch. He showed me the plan of the house he was building, and of the Gothic windows he had designed for it ; but when it drew near to sunset he rose to retire to his tent outside the town, where he slept. I wished him good evening, and was about to leave also, when he prayed me to talk to his munshi. I urged that I had nothing to say to the munshi, when he assured me the man was most intelligent, and that I should be quite astonished 72 CONVERSATION WITH MUNSHI. at his sense. I then said there could be no harm, and he introduced me to the munshi in the terraced court without, and level with the room. This was the unfortunate man who was afterwards slain with a party of Sipahis at Mastung, the first overt act of rebellion shown by the Brahms. He related many particulars of the capture of Kalat. His account of the death of Mehrab Khan varied a little from that given by Lieut. Loveday, who, indeed, confessed it was not exactly ascertained further than that he was killed in the meUe^ unrecognised by those who brought him to the ground. He informed me that Lord Auckland, in the first instance, was de- cidedly opposed to the deposition of the Kalat chief ; and that he never approved of it, but, in consequence of the representations made to him, was reduced, finally, to leave it a discretionary measure. With respect to the treaty with Mehrab Khan concluded by Sir Alexander Burnes, on my asking why Sir Alexander had protested against it, he replied, that Burnes Sahib left Quetta boast- ing that he woukl bring in Mehrab Khan, and that returning without him, the gentlemen laughed, on which he grew angry and protested against the treaty. I had seen a letter from Sir Alexander Burnes, in which he stated, that on his return from Kalat with the treaty he had made, he was waylaid by a party sent by Mehrab Khan, who re-possessed themselves of it ; on which account, immediately on reaching Quetta, he entered his protest against TALES OF KALAT. 73 it. He added, that he believed Mehrab Khan had despatched the party before signing the treaty, and that his counter-orders had missed it, but that, in his opinion, the circumstance did not affect the view he took of the business, or diminish the vil- lany of the khan. Lieut. Loveday had not alluded to this imputed crime of Mehrab, and I was a little surprised to find that his munshi did not mention it, although strenuously insisting npon the many offences he had committed. He dilated upon the spoliation of the baggage of the army in the passage through the Bolan Pass ; and urged, that although Mehrab Khan disavowed any participation in it, yet penknives and surgical instruments had been purchased from the Brahui tribes of Merv and Isprinji, which, in his estimation, amounted to j^roof that he had. He confessed, however, that no arti- cle which could be supposed to have belonged to the army was found with the property of the khan captured at Kalat ; and that no money was discovered but the twenty thousand Com23any's rupees given by Burnes Sahib to the khan. I inquired how it happened that the political autho- rities had been so completely deceived by the un- principled Mulla Hassan. He answered, that they had been deceived, and would not have been un- deceived but for the letters which turned up at Kalat : that the envoy and minister, on hearing of Mtilla Hassan's imprisonment, wrote to know why his old friend had been so ill-used ; and, in answer, 74 CHANGE IN QUARTERS. Capt. Bean forwarded copies of his detected let- ters, while the originals were despatched to Cal- cutta. I further learned, that Shah Nawaz Khan had been preferred to the government of Kalat on the score of legitimacy, being the descendant of JNIohabat Khan, the elder brother of the famous Nassir Khan ; and the munshi said in his favour, that he acted " ba mirzi," or according to the plea- sure of the Sahibs. From the munshi's conversation I could agree with Lt. Loveday that he was an intelligent man ; but, it growing late, I took leave of him, and found that Nalrusah, a person high in the lieu- tenant's favour, had been directed by his master to convey me home on a riding-camel. Lt. Love- day, moreover, had, on leaving, requested me again to breakfast with him at his tent on the following morning. The man, in whose garden Faiz Ahmed had fixed me, was by no means pleased with my pre- sence ; for the reputation acquired by Feringhis was so evil, that he could not conceive it pos- sible that one could reside so close to him without bringing down mischief upon him, — and my visits to Lt. Loveday only confirmed him in his gloomy foreboding. Faiz Ahmed strove in vain to re- concile him, and I intimated that I would shift my quarters, as it was unpleasant to my own feelings to be considered troublesome. Faiz Ahmed, there- fore, sought out another suitable place, and found OLD lady's scruples. it in a garden once belonging to Fazil Khan, no^v a fugitive at ]Maskat, but "which had been assumed by Shah Nawaz Khan. To it I went, being a little nearer to Lt. Loyedav's tent, though more distant from the Babi Khel, where my friend resided. In charge of this garden was an old lady, pre- viously dependent on Fazil Khan, but who had not been removed by Shah Xawaz Khan. She was also much averse to my living in her garden, and went straight to the citadel to com- plain of my intrusion, and of Faiz Ahmed for having caused it. She saw Miv Fati Khan, the khan's brother, who received her rudely, and told her the garden was mine as long as I chose to remain in it. The old lady returned and never said a word; but. in the course of a day or two, told me that fear had overcome her, and now she was as desirous I should stay as she had before been to eject me. I rose in the morning with the momentary inten- tion of walking over to Lieut. Loveday's tent : but, reflecting on the nature of the reception he had favoured me with, his objectionable remarks, and even on the strangeness of his manner and conver- sation, I reasoned, what have I to do with him ? and what occasion have I to trouble him with my company, or to be annoyed with his ? and did not go again to him. So little did I think of the transaction at the time that the terms in which 76 MEMORANDUM. I alluded to my intercourse with Lt. Loveday in the notes which have by accident since come into my possession, are simply these : — " On the next morning I went to call on Mr. Loveday, whom I found at a place opposite the town, where he was superintending the erection of a house. I breakfasted with him, and afterwards he invited me to dine at his house in the town at half- past three o'clock. I had no means of ascertain- ing the hour ; and, the weather being cloudy, I may not have been quite punctual, for when I reached, Mr. Loveday had dined, and I had to sit and eat by myself." So little importance did I attach to him or to what occurred, that I did not deem one or the other worthy of more ex- tended notice or comment. 77 CHAPTER III. Condition of Kalat. — Events producing it. — Origin of intercourse with Mehrab Khan. — Sir Alexander Burnes's information.— Protest against treaty. — Capture of Kalat, and death of Meh- rab Khan. — Changes in the government and dismemberment of Kalat. — Opinions of Mehrab Khan's guilt or innocence. — Charges against him. — Explanations thereof. — Proceedings of the envoy and minister. — His bribery of Naib Mulla Hassan. — The naib's duplicity and knavery. — Mission of Sir Alex- ander Burnes to Kalat. — The results. — March of troops upon Kalat — Continued knavery of the khan's agents. — His neglect of defensive arrangements. — Assault on Kalat. — Detection of the villany of Naib Mulla Hassan and others. — Mehr4b Khan's injunctions to his son.^ — Prize jewels. — Impolitic mea- sures of the political authorities. — Partition of the country. — Recognition of Shah Nawaz Khan. — Political appointment.-— Activity of Lieut. Loveday. — The son of Mehrab Khan a fugi- tive in Kharan. Kalat presented in aspect and condition a melancholy contrast to the tranquil and flourish- ing state in which I had formerly beheld it. The greater part of the town was uninhabited, and the little bazar, once busy and well supplied, was now nearly deserted. The inhabitants themselves were oppressed with gloom and despondency, as they were clad in the coarse and abject garb of poverty. All of my old acquaintances had suffered most 78 SADNESS AT KALAT. cruelly in the spoil of their property, and I was hurt to see those who had so recently been affluent and comfortable, present themselves before me necessitous and destitute. The sky, indeed, was as serene as ever, the orchards displayed their ver- dure, and the valley, as before, was adorned with cultivation, yet there was a loneliness, real or imaginary, on my part, cast over the scene, that was infectious, and with every disposition to be cheerful, I was, in despite of myself, dejected and sorrowful. A notion I had entertained at Karachi of remaining here two or three months to arrange some of my MSS. for publication, had been dis- sipated on arrival, as I plainly saw that the Brahuf capital was no longer the abode of peace and security it had formerly been, and it was, moreover, painful to witness the desolation and misery around me. But it was necessary to await my servants and effects coming with Kalikdad and his kafila. I had, therefore, leisure to discourse on the events which had occurred since I left the country in 1831, and to learn what was understood with reference to the calamities which had attended the appearance of British armies in Balochistan. To the public little else is known of these lament- able events than that Kalat was taken by storm by a detachment of British troops, commanded by Major-General Wiltshire, and that the ruler, Meh- rab Khan, with many of his chiefs, was slain. The EXPEDITION OF 1838. 79 motives influencing the revengeful deed have never been revealed, nor are likely officially to be dis- closed, because they would too clearly demonstrate the incapacity, delusion, and errors, not to say the bad passions, of the unhappy men selected by Lord Auckland to work out his visionary projects beyond the Indus. I may, therefore, in throwing what light I am able upon the proceedings, contribute a few pages to the history of an eventful period, and, although they will relate to past crimes and occurrences^ they may be useful in setting forth the truth, and in serving to avert future mischief. When the expedition in 1838 was determined upon, and it was further decided that it should march throuo-h the dominions of the khan of Kalat upon Kandahar, it became obviously necessary to secure the co-operation of that chief. Before no- ticing the steps taken to ensure it, a glance at the intercourse subsisting (if any could be said to subsist) with the unfortunate Brahui khan, may be requisite. In 1837, when Captain Burnes was ascending the Indus in progress to Kabal, he des- patched a complimentary letter, with presents, to the young son of the khan, then residing at Gan- dava in Kachi, and received a letter of acknow- ledgment and thanks in return. When Capt. Burnes, failing in his mission to Dost IMahomed Khan, returned from Kabal, he directed Lt. Leech, then detached at Kandahar, to fall back upon Shikarpur, and there to place himself under the 80 PRELIMINARY STEPS. orders of Colonel Pottinger, the Govenor-General's agent for Sind. Lieut. Leech, in pursuance of such instructions, reached Quetta within the Kalat Khan's territories, and thence, by invitation, con- tinued his journey to Kalat. He was received with respect and civility ; presents were exchanged between him and the khan; but the latter, in course of time, grew displeased with some points in the conduct of his guest, and was very glad when Lieut. Leech finally left him and his country. By this time the knowledge of the intended resto- ration of Shah Sujah al Mulkh had transpired. What passed on the subject between Lieut. Leech and the khan 1 know not, or whether he was authorized to communicate with him on the matter, yet, as it was then the fashion for all men to do what they were unauthorized to do, it may be suspected that Lieut. Leech would scarce- ly neglect the opportunity of showing his zeal, and the result, from the opinion Mehrab Khan had been induced to form of him, would scarce- ly have been satisfactory. Certain it is that Lieut. Leech left Kalat in no good humour with the khan. Lt. Leech had reached Shikarpur, and had been joined by Sir Alexander Burnes, deputed by Lord Auckland to arrange a treaty with the chiefs of Khairpur in Northern Sind, and to accumulate supplies and necessaries for the army, on its arrival. Sir Alexander left Shikarpur, to meet the army LETTERS TO MEHRAB KHAN. 81 on its approach to the frontier of Sind, and at his interview with Sir Henry Fane, at the ferry near Sabza] Kot, I saw him for the first time since his departure from Peshawer for Simla. Amongst the many topics we then discussed, the question of the affairs of Kalat was naturally one. Sir Alexander observed, that Leech had put everything wrong at Kalat. As one of the principal points for which I was then contending was employment, from which my exertions might deserve and obtain credit, I could not forbear asking him if I might be allowed to go to Kalat, and imt everything to rights ; but Sir Alexander hung down his head, and made no reply. Subsequently I saw Sir Alexander at Roh- ri, and he told me, that Mehrab Khan had confis- cated the grain collected by Lieut. Leech's agents in Kachi, and that he had addressed a letter to the khan, which, to use his own phrase, " would as- tound him;" and further, that Shah Sujah al Miilkh, who had now also reached Shikarpiir, had written to the same chief, reminding him, that Shah Nawaz Khan was in the royal camp. From such information, it was reasonable to conclude the unlucky khan of Kalat would fare but badly with his English friends. For some time after T heard nothing more con- cerning the affairs of Kalat. The papers of the day, indeed, abounded with statements of the trea- chery of Mehrab Khan, but I was free to suspect their accuracy. At Karachi, however, I saw a VOL. IV. G 82 EVENTS AT KALAT. letter from Sir Alexander to a friend, giving an account of his mission to the khan, of the treaty he had concluded with him, of an attempt to way- lay him on his return, and of his protest against the treaty at Quetta. From the same channel I learned that it was the intention to retaliate upon the khan, when the army returned from Kabal, and that he was doomed to loss of power, and, if secured, to linger out his existence as a state prisoner. In process of time, the Bombay division of the army of the Indus having retrograded from Kabal to Quetta, a detachment was ordered upon Kalat, to carry out the long-meditated plan of vengeance upon Mehrab Khan. The consequences were, the capture and plunder of the place, the slaughter of the ruler, and a number of his dependent chiefs. They afforded subject for temporary triumph and exultation, but, unhappily, the seeds of future evil were sown, and the germs of iniquity were destined to ripen into confusion and disgrace. The territories of the fallen chief were dismem- bered, the provinces of Saharawan and Kach Gan- dava were annexed to the dominions of the new king of Kabal, and the resentment of the political authorities was so uncompromising, that, to the exclusion of the son of the late Kalat ruler. Shah Nawaz Khan, a descendant of the elder branch of his family, was raised to the masnad, and placed over the wreck of the ill-fated country. While these changes were effected, and no doubt FEELINGS AT KALAT. 83 vindicated in elaborate state papers, it had never been thought necessary to explain them to the subjects of the late khan of Kalat. They beheld, indeed, the imposition of a new chief, and the dislocation of their country, but could only refer the events they witnessed to the pleasure of the sahibs, alike to them extraordinary and incorajirehensible. Amidst the general depression and poverty which the calamity of war had inflicted upon the popu- lation of Kalat, I was pleased to observe, that the evils were borne with resignation. Those who had suffered most allowed no rancorous or violent ex- pressions to escape their lips, but, as good Mussul- mans, imputed their misfortunes to their own errors and to the will of Heaven. There was, however, but one opinion, that Mehrab Khan was guiltless of treachery to the British government, and had, therefore, been undeservedly sacrified. If asto- nished at this sentiment, I was more so to find, that the crimes charged to his account were wholly unknown, which was extremely singular; for, if there had been reason for them, they must have been familiar to the people here. When I urged the confiscation of grain in Kachi, a fact stated to me by Sir Alexander Burnes, as no friendly proof on the part of the late khan, I was met by the assurance, that it had never taken place. Still unwilling to give up the point, I insisted there must be some ground for the accusation, and at length elicited from an individual an explanation G 2 84 ALLEGED CONFISCATIONS, tending to throw light upon the business. It seemed that Mahomed Azem Khan, the brother of Mehrab Khan, was despatched to Kotru with a party of horse, to see that no impediments were thrown in the way of the march of the British troops, and to take care that none of the inhabi- tants committed themselves in quarrels with the soldiery or camp-followers. When there, Mahomed Azem Khan, in need of money, and acting on his own counsel and authority, demanded a sum from a Hindu of the place, and, on his refusal to comply, seized his property, amongst which was a parcel of grain. The Hindu pretended, whether truly or not, that he had purchased the grain for the Eng- lish ; his fellow-traders, as is usual with them, when an act of tyranny is practised towards one of their body, closed their shops and ceased to transact business. A compromise was speedily effected, however, and Mahomed Azem Khan receiving a consideration of four hundred rupees, the Hindu shops were reopened, and business conducted as before. In this case, the report, probably, of the British native agent at Kotru wonderfully exagge- rated the affair, and the English officers to whom he made it were, perhaps, too eager to listen to any complaints of Mehrab Khan ; and the consequences of an attempt at extortion by Mahomed Azem Khan from one of his own subjects were construed into an undisguised and wanton confiscation of the grain collected by British agents in Kachl, which CHARGE OF WAYLAYING. 85 even Mahomed Azem Khan, worthless as he was, never dreamed of. Mehrab Khan, further, on hear- ing of the extortion, addressed a letter of severe rebuke to his brother, and cautioned him against a repetition of his unbecoming conduct. I cannot forbear mentioning, to the honour of Mehrab Khan, that in his instructions to his subjects in Kachi he expressly enjoined them, in case of any dispute with a person belonging to the British army, on no account to resent it, but to carry a complaint to the general; an order so considerate that I won- dered he should have thought of it. Admitting the confiscation of grain as somewhat explained, the waylaying of Sir Alexander Burnes, on his return from Kalat to Quetta, which caused his protest against the treaty he had made with the unlucky khan, had still to be accounted for. Had Mehrab Khan been guilty of so foul a deed, it were criminal to urge any argument in his favour, and he must be held to have merited the vengeance which fell upon him. I was bewildered to learn, that all were unconscious of such waylaying, and to find myself laughed at for supposing that the khan would have committed himself in so flagrant a manner. I must confess, from what I knew of his disposition, and from what I could infer of his probable course of policy, I doubted it ; but, in opposition thereto stood the clear testimony of Sir Alexander Burnes. All inquiries on the subject appeared to be fruitless of explanation, and I began 86 MISSION OF SIR ALEXANDER BURNES. to despair of obtaining a solution of the mystery ; yet, as such an action could not have happened to such an individual without being generally known, I almost suspected, what the character of Sir Alex- ander would well justify, that some very trifling and unimportant occurrence had been magnified by him into one of consequence, and that, without due in- quiry, it had been made fatal to the khan. If that unhappy chief were not guilty in this instance, a lamentable proof is afforded of the combination of unfavourable circumstances which precipitated his fate ; and the expression which many apply to him, that he was stricken by God, becomes justi- fied. We may even believe, with the pious Mus- sulman, that man cannot relieve or assist him whom God has abandoned. To the khan s vindicators I still urged the base outrage on Sir Alexander as an unanswerable proof of his guilt, but found no one able to explain a circumstance which, for the first time, they had learned from myself, and I became hopeless of being better informed on the subject ; accidentally, at last, a discourse on other topics revealed the fact, on which the accusation had been founded. From Quetta Sir Alexander proceeded to Kalat to negotiate a treaty with Mehrab Khan. He was accompanied by one Mahomed Sherif, a saiyad, who had conspicuously figured in the treasons which had disturbed the rule of the Brahui khan. He had, moreover, already been practised MEASURES OF MEHRAB KHAN'S ENEMIES. 87 upon by the envoy and minister, and was now, although a subject of Mehrab Khan, in the in- terests of the British government. Mehrab Khan concluded a treaty in conformity to Sir Alexander Burnes's wishes, and with it Sir Alexander re- turned towards Quetta, leaving his Munshi Mohan Lall to accompany the khan to the British camp, there to pay his respects to his Majesty the Shah, and to the envoy and minister. The treaty had been concluded contrary to the wishes of Saiyad Sherif and his colleague in villany, Naib Mulla Hassan, both of whom had been bought over by the envoy and minister ; and who had for common object the ruin of their khan and master. It consisted with their views to annul the treaty, which, if carried into effect, secured the stability of the khan, and entirely frustrated their bad intentions. Naib Mulla Hassan, who remained with the khan, persuaded him that the object of Sir Alexander was to decoy him to Quetta, when he would be sent a state-prisoner to Calcutta. The khan, prone to suspicion, became irresolute ; but his anxiety was removed, and no further evil might have happened, for a letter from Sir Alexander informed him, that the shah had marched from Quetta; it was there- fore needless that he should give himself the trou- ble to go there. Saiyad Sherif now decided upon a bold step to counteract the effects of this intimation, and to assure the khan's ruin. He represented to Sir 88 SAIYAD SHERIFFS ARTIFICE. Alexander, tbat the crafty and wicked Mehrab re- pented of the treaty, and had commissioned a party to intercept him. Sir Alexander, giving entire credence to his villanous companion, made over to his charge the treaty, with two thousand rupees in money, to be secreted. The document and the money were placed within coverlets carried on the back of a camel. Robbers were appointed by the saiyad himself to attack the equipage of Sir Alex- ander, some of his camels were made booty, and amongst them the one bearing the treaty and money. If I remember rightly, Sir Alexander stated, that two or three of his followers were killed or wounded. The feat of the saiyad had been successful ; he had too much experience of the Feringhis to fear that they would penetrate his stratagem, and the odium of the monstrous action was imputed to the innocent Mehrab Khan. Sir Alexander reached Quetta, and protested against the treaty. The Kalat chief, hearing of the rob- bery, but unconscious that he was suspected of having instigated it, set inquiries on foot, and par- ticularly called his naib, Rehimdad, located at Quetta, to account, as it happened within his ju- risdiction. The naib informed him, that Saiyad Sherif was the offender, and that his nephew and gardener were the leaders of the band, to whom he had paid, as fee and reward, the sum of fourteen hundred rupees. The khan, aware that the saiyad was in the pay and interest of the British govern- ROBBERIES IN THE BOLAN PASS. 89 ment, did not deem it necessary to take further measures, regarding the matter as one which in- terested the Feringhis rather than himself, all the while ignorant that he was suspected, or accused of it. This disclosure gave me great pain, but hardly surprised me, as I knew the haste with which Sir Alexander Burnes was apt to jump at conclusions, and that he never sought to ascertain whether they were correct or otherwise ; still the results were so fatal as to cause a sensation of disgust and horror, that the fate of men should have been placed at the mercy of the miserable political officers, in whom, at that time. Lord Auck- land was pleased to repose confidence. If an explanation had been afforded to the ac- cusation of waylaying Sir Alexander Burnes, there Avas yet another charge which required to be re- moved before the khan could be acquitted of enmity to the British government, and this was the opposition offered to the passage of the troops through the Bolan pass, and the serious depre- dations committed on the baggage. I could readily comprehend that the rude and lawless tribes neigh- bouring to that route little needed the incitement or encouragement of the khan to exercise their natural instincts and propensities to plunder and destroy; yet it was necessary to be assured, that the chief did not instigate them, as he was de- nounced to have done. In this instance also, the character of Mehrab Khan stood the test of in- 90 THE REAL OFFENDERS. quiry, for it proved that not only did he never promote or recommend such aggressions, but they likewise were in a great measure owing to the enmity of his own faithless subjects; and these again were the bribed and trusted agents of the British political authorities. The criminals in this case were Gliulam Khan and Khan Mahomed, brothers to Daoud Mahomed, the late Ghilji adviser of Mehrab Khan, and who had been slain by Naib Mulla Hassan, by the khan's order ; an event which relieved the khan from an imperious, if not treacherous minister, and replaced the mulla in power and active employment. The Ghilji brothers had, when Daoud Mahomed was living, and all-powerful, married into the Bangui Zai tribe of Brahms, and established an influence in it. Their desire to avenge their brother's death had induced them to court a connexion with the British, and their services had been eagerly ac- cepted ; the treachery of Mehrab Khan was, of course, the burden of their story, and the cause they had for dissatisfaction became a recommenda- tion to them. It behoved them to substantiate the treachery they asserted ; to do so, and at the same time to implicate the khan, they set the Bangui Zais, the Khurds, and other tribes adjacent to the Bolan, in motion. It must be understood, that Mehrab Khan had no real control over the Bolan pass, and, had he traversed it with an army, he would have been as liable to acts of petty MEHRAB KHAN'S CAUTION. 91 plunder as Sir John Kean, or any other general would be ; but the depredations would have been confined to the carrying off a stray, or weary camel, as opportunity presented ; and, moreover, it must be borne in mind that some of the tribes, and those who generally infest the pass, are JMarris and Khakas, not even subjects of Kalat. But for the artifice of Ghulam Khan, and Khan JNIahomed, the British army would have passed the Bolan defiles without loss, or any that a little vigilance might not have prevented. That the contrary happened, is to be ascribed to those men, the friends of the envoy and minister, and not to the hostility of jNIehrab Khan. That unfortunate chief was constantly urged by the Kandahar sirdars, and by Assad Khan of Kharan, with other people, to erect sanghars and defend the passage, Assad Khan volunteering to conduct the defence ; but the khan as constantly refused, adhering to his determination to oppose no obstacle to the march of the British army. As the charge of inciting the robberies in the Bolan pass was one of the graver kind advanced by the political authorities against ^lehrab Khan, and to substantiate which they gave themselves no little trouble, a smile is due to the proof they obtained, by purchasing penknives and surgical instruments from the tribes of Merv and Isprinji. Every one knew that the tribes plundered, but it was omitted to ascertain by whom they had been instigated ; and, on this 92 ACCUMULATION OF GRAIN. subject, no one knew better than Ghiilam Khan, the friend of the envoy and minister. If the treason of the brothers of Daond Mahomed vindicated the khan, as regarded the Bolan, there yet remained a point on which I desired to be satisfied, before I could assent to the conckisions of my Kalat friends, as to his innocence in his dealings with the British authorities, or before I could admit, with them, that he did not en- deavour to obstruct the march of the army. This related to the large quantity of grain he had stored up in Kalat, because I could not but conceive that, if professing to throw the country open to British agents for the purchase of supplies, he had secretly issued orders forbidding sales, and diverted all the grain into his own magazines ; such a mode of proceeding could not well be deemed friendly, for it was immaterial if the destruction of an army be effected by the sword or by famine, by open violence or secret fraud. The accumulation of grain at Kalat proved, according to my in- formants, to have had no reference to the march of the British force, but was owing to the advice of Diwan Bacha, the khan's Hindu agent, who re- commended it as a financial measure, the operation of which had commenced three years before the English expedition was thought of. The Hindu proposed to profit by the drought, and consequent scarcity of grain, and amused Mehrab Khan with the hopes of filling his coffers ; but, it was supposed, DEMANDS OF MEIIRAB KHAN. 93 that he profited more than his master by the speculation and monopoly he created, for all that Mehrab Khan did in the affair was to deposit, in store, the quantity of grain usually given to his dependents, paying them with cash, in lieu thereof ; while the Hindu, with his own capital, made exten- sive purchases throughout the country, and made the khan's authority subservient to his ends. The monopoly was exceedingly distasteful to the people, and when the diwan was slain (for he also shared the fate of his lord) no one lamented him. There was yet another charge I had to prefer against Mehrab Khan ; which, if it did not imply any great villany on his part, might evince that he did not estimate lightly the benefits of his alliance. I had learned from Sir Alexander Burnes, that the khan had demanded the restoration of the port of Karachi by the amirs of Sind, as the price of his friendship. I was a little amused at the time, not so much at the demand as at the rage Sir Alexander affected, in consequence of it ; as I could not forget, that the modest demand of Dost JNIahomed Khan at Kabal, for Peshewar and its territory, which had never belong- ed to him, was very kindly listened to ; and I could not but know, that Karachi had once belonged to the Kalat family. Now, however, when pressing this convincing proof of the presumption and crime of Mehrab Khan, I was rather ashamed to find my own good sense questioned for noticing it ; as 94 EXPLANATION THEREOF. it seemed the demand was only diplomatically set forth, neither the khan, nor any other person, sup- posing that Karachi would be restored. If such be the case, and I believe there is little reason to doubt it, the inexperience of Sir Alexander Burnes in oriental diplomacy, conduced to the same errors here as at Kabal ; Dost Mahomed Khan lost his authority, and Mehrab Khan his throne and life, because Sir Alexander, and the envoy and minister, were ignorant that it was the process, in eastern negotiations, to start with great and extravagant pretensions, and then gradually to diminish them, and finally to abandon them altogether. A depar- ture from this rule, as was observed to me, would have exposed Mehrab Khan and his statesmen to the charge of dulness and incapacity; and those who laughed at the notion that he expected Karachi, insisted, that he was most unfairly judged to be untractable and presumptuous, from having followed merely the forms of a science which his opponents had not the sagacity to comprehend. Such were the explanations and statements I received relative to some of the charges against Mehrab Khan, of which I had become cognizant. Those who advanced them, and those who advised and sanctioned the measures which led to the fall of the unhappy man in consequence, are of course free to offer invalidating testimony. Until they do, I fear the opinion may be too justly enter- tained that the chief of Kalat was sacrificed to the THE khan's original FEELING. 95 want of common sense and the resentment of the political officers employed west of the Indus. When the army had concentrated at Shikarpur, and was about to march towards Kandahar, if a per- son in any way acquainted with the state of the countries through which it would pass, and with the situation, and policy of the chiefs, had reflected on the contingencies likely to happen, the contumacy or hostility of the Kalat ruler was one of the events the least to be expected, for he had everything to gain by the movement, supposing, which was reason- able to be supposed, that no evil was intended him. His announced treachery was therefore to me a most unlooked-for piece of intelligence, and al- though I knew that he was surrounded by evil coun- sellors, and that he had but an ordinary capacity, I still suspected that much of his misfortune was rather owing to misunderstanding than to his guilt. I was anxious therefore to ascertain the feeling as to his sentiments when the expedition across the Indus became known to him, because the advant- ages which it placed within his reach were so j^al- pable, that, in rejecting them, if cleared from the imputation of crime, he was still liable to the minor charge of folly. I was assured that he heard the tidings of the advance of the British army with high gratification ; that he was so overjoyed, that, as my informant expressed it, "had he had wings, he would have flown to its meeting." At that time he justly appreciated the nature of his position, and the 96 STEPS OF THE BRITISH AUTHORITIES. benefits which must have followed his furtherance of the views of the British authorities. He saw himself about to be relieved from the continual dread he lived in, of the capricious and tyrannical sirdars of Kandahar, and of any mistrust he must have occa- sionally felt of the confederated chiefs of Sind. He also saw the certainty of his authority being firmly established in his own dominions, and his imagina- tion presented the agreable picture of the unruly and rebellious chieftains, who during his sway had given him so much trouble and disquietude, at his feet, as submissive and humble suppliants for mercy. In this happy temper, he addressed Sir Alexander Burnes, expressing his anxiety and wish to see him, but craving to be excused from the presence of Lieut. Leech, whose conduct had dis- pleased him. With the khan of Kalat in this disposition, a glance may be directed at the contemporaneous pro- ceedings of the British authorities at Shikarpur, for it is but just to inquire what steps they took to secure and confirm the good feelings of the khan, and in what manner they thought fit to conciliate him. I have noticed, that, as regarded the alleged confiscation in Kachi, Sir Alexander had addressed a letter to the khan, which would " astound " him, and that Shah Siijah al Mulkh had reminded him, that Shah Nawaz Khan (a claimant and pretender to the Kalat throne) was in the royal camp. The opening of the communications between the khan MEHRAB khan's MISSION. 97 and the authorities at Shikarpiir, was not therefore auspicious. At Kalat the necessity was acknowledged of an attempt to remove misunderstanding, and a mission to the envoy and minister was determined upon ; but the difficulty was to select a proper representa- tive, and it may be truly said the khan had not a proper person to send. The aspirants for the honourable employ were numerous, but Naib Mulla Hassan, in virtue of his office, carried the day. Here the weakness and infatuation of Mehrab Khan were first manifested. He did not oppose the mission of the naib, although conscious of his ill feeling, and morally certain that he should be betrayed by him. The only excuse for the extreme imprudence of the khan was, that from the recep- tion and countenance affi3rded to Shah Nawaz Khan, the menacing letters of the shah and Sir Alexander Burnes, and the notion he had that Lieut. Leech would injure him, he already considered himself a doomed man ; a fact pointed out and insisted upon by those near him who desired his downfall, and particularly by Naib Mulla Hassan, who aggravated the danger, with the view of displaying the urgency and importance of his mission. The naib selected for companion Saiyad Maho- med Sherif, another traitor, equally mistrusted and obnoxious. While this strange mission was in pro- gress, the khan followed, on his own part, the pre- cautionary policy of using every endeavour to avoid VOL. IV. H 98 ARRANGEMENTS WITH THE ENVOY. giving cause for offence, and his instructions to his chiefs and subjects in Kachi were all framed in the same spirit. I know not whether the interview between the envoy and minister and Naib Mulla Hassan took place at Shikarpur or Bagh in advance. Its results were remarkable. To accomplish the ruin of Meh- rab Khan, it was necessary for Naib Mulla Hassan to deceive the envoy and minister, as well as the intended victim. He perfectly succeeded. In place of advocating his master's interests, he ac- cused him of the most mischievous plots and inten- tions, and was unhappily credited by the credulous envoy and minister. In the same breath he avowed his own ardent attachment, was believed, and the chief political authority with the army of the Indus signed a document, by which he engaged to recom- pense the service and goodwill of a traitor. What- ever may be thought of this transaction, I fear it tells unfavourably for the common sense and prin- ciple of the envoy and minister ; for how could a man with common sense have been so easily de- ceived, and how could a man of ordinary principle have confided in the representations of a scoundrel, exerting himself to injure the ruler whose servant he was, and whose cause he had undertaken to defend ? Another mischief attending the affair was, that it was not so secretly done but that it trans- pired, and consequently confirmed all the gloomy forebodings of Mehrab Khan. PROCEEDINGS OF NAIB MULLA HASSAN. 99 The British functionary did not, however, at this time contemplate the destruction of the Kalat chief, or even his deposition ; but Mulla Hassan was instructed to return to Kalat, and to persuade tlie khan from his evil course ; and he took leave, re- joicing in the success of his villany, while his dupe, the envoy and minister, plumed himself on having made a clever diplomatic hit, in having gained over the minister of Mehrab Khan. At Kalat, Mulla Hassan assured the khan that the English were faithless, that their intentions were to send him to Calcutta, and that he had nothing to hope from them ; that they had sought, by bland speeches and the lure of money, to secure him, but, God be praised ! his devotion to the khan was unalterable. He consoled the khan, by representing that they were comparatively weak, that the amount of real force was small, and there was little to fear from them. Mulla Hassan did not confine his dexterity to such statements, but while he reported to the envoy and minister that all his efforts to induce the perverse khan to a becom- ing sense of his situation were useless, and that he still persisted in a course of opposition, and was constantly intent upon new plots and conspiracies, he issued a variety of letters in the khan's name, and authenticated by his seal, which by virtue of his office he had in possession, addressed to various parties throughout the country, calling upon them to molest the march of the British troops by every H 2 100 ARRIVAL OF ARMY AT QUETTA means in tlieir power. Many of these letters were intercepted, as probably they were intended to be, and tended of course to convince the envoy and minister of the turpitude of the khan of Kalat, who, in truth, knew nothing of them. The coadju- tors of Mulla Hassan, Saiyad Mahomed Sherif, and the brothers of the late Daoud Mahomed, were alike indefatigable in inciting the tribes to rapine, at the same time ascribing the evils occasioned by themselves to the unquenchable enmity of the khan. Under this complication of villany and infa- tuation, the British army passed through Kachi, the defiles of the Bolan pass, and encamped at Quetta. While in Kachi, as far as the khan was concerned, free permission was given to traverse the province by any and whatever route, and to an application made that the Bombay division should pass by the Mulloli route, and therefore to Kalat, no opposition was made. The route was not, indeed, followed, but the khan had shown that he was not hostile, for he offered no objection to it ; and his submissive disposition may be conceived when he consented to allow a force to approach his capital. Notwithstanding the depredations committed in the Bolan pass, and that they were ascribed to the hostility of Mehrab Khan, it does not ap- pear that the idea of revenge was yet cherished against that chief, and a final effort was made to MISSION TO KALAT. 101 enumerate him in the list of friends. Sir Alexander Burnes, attached to the mission with the title of envoy to Kalat, and other places, was, of course, destined to effect a reconciliation with the im- placable khan, and for that purpose left Quetta. So little was he, in common with the envoy and minister, acquainted with the nature of things at Kalat, that he selected for his companion Saiyad Sherif. It is believed that Sir Alexander offered the khan the sum of one lakh and a half of rupees per annum to keep the road open from Shikarpur to Quetta. A treaty to such effect was signed and sealed, and it remained merely for the khdn to accompany Sir Alexander back to Quetta, there to pay his respects to the shah, and the envoy and minister. To this visit the khan, no doubt, had great averseness, as, while very willing to see the envoy, he much disliked to be compelled to wait upon the shah, of whom he thought less fa- vourably than did his English allies. The oppo- sition of naib Mulla Hassan, and Saiyad Sherif, had proved ineffectual to prevent the treaty ; but they did not cease to represent to the khan, that his journey to Quetta would prove fatal to his liberty, if not to his life. As soon as the envoy and minister arrived at Quetta, it would appear that the naib and his associate traitors were in his presence ; the point then insisted upon was, that Mehrab Khan should come to Quetta, which Mulla Hassan signified to the khan, but, while 102 SIR ALEXANDER BURNES AT KALAT. promising to persuade him to comply with the request, he dissuaded him in the strongest terms, urging that it was certain destruction, and con- cluded by imploring that, if the khan, in his wis- dom, should take the fatal step, he might not be charged with the neglect of his duty, or of omis- sion in having warned him of evil. The letters were full of the most violent denunciations of the perfidious intentions of the British authorities. Sir Alexander Burnes had left Quetta, boasting that he would return with Mehrab Klian ; that he might the more certainly succeed, he gave the khan twenty thousand rupees for expenses on the road. So much unexpected liberality gave force to the insinuations poured into the khan's ears, and when the poor man wished to take a party of five hun- dred followers, that he might appear as became his rank, Sir Alexander told him that twenty were sufficient, which afforded a triumph to Mulla Has- san and his gang, who appealed to the khan whe- ther it was or not plain enough that the only wish of Sir Alexander was to decoy him to Quetta, there to be seized and sent to Calcutta. Still Merab Khan ordered his tents to be pitched with- out the town, preparatory to his march, but the precipitancy of Sir Alexander Burnes, who was in haste to convey the tidings of his own success, and to receive the gratulations his vanity sug- gested would be offered to him, gave the final blow- to the arrangement, as he started for Quetta, MEHRAB khan's FATE DECIDED. 103 leaving his munshi, Mohan Lall, to attend upon the khan. The unfortunate man observed, that Sikandar (Sir Alexander) fancied to delude him by grinning and leering, and now he had left his munshi behind him, of whom he spoke even more disrespectfully. Mohan Lall profited by the ab- sence of his indulgent patron, to pretend that he had a jiida rdJi, or distinct influence with Lord Auckland, on the strength of which he was anxious to j)urchase a beautiful kaniz, or slave girl. The bewildered khan was disgusted. Whether he would have proceeded with Sir Alexander is uncertain, but it was too much to expect he would follow the cortege of Mohan Lall. He delayed until a letter reached from Sir Alexander, stating that there was no longer occasion to visit Quetta, as the shah had marched; on which Mohan Lall left Kalat, and was escorted by Darogah Gdl Mahomed to the foot of the Khwojak pass. The bold and villanous expedient resorted to by the subtle Saiyad Sherif to consummate the khan's ruin, and the protest of Sir Alexander Burnes against the treaty concluded by himself, have been before noticed. The fate of Mehrab Khan was henceforth de- creed, and it was determined eventually to make an example of him. I shall not stay to moralise upon these startling events, or by any remarks endeavour to influence the judgment which may be formed upon them. At Quetta, when the army advanced, 104 NAIB MULLA HASSAN'S DUPLICITY. Capt. Bean, in command of the 1st regiment of the shah's contingent, was left by the envoy and minis- ter in political charge. Apparently as deeply con- vinced of the criminality of the khan as his patron, and aware that the unhappy chief was proscribed, he, it is complained, refused to see the persons de- puted by the khan to open an intercourse with him. When the shah and his allies had entered Kan- dahar, the khan, ignorant that his treaty had been protested against, ordered Naib Miilla Hassan to proceed there, with congratulatory letters and pre- sents for the king and political officers. The naib went as far as Quetta, where, no doubt, he practised upon the imagination of Capt. Bean, as he formerly had upon that of the envoy and minister, and wrote to the khan that the British army had been de- feated, and that in a few days he would hear of them as fugitives in his country ; that he was willing to go to Kandahar, as the khan wished, but it was better to wait awhile ; and he wished to avoid the reproach of being considered unskilful, or neglectful of his duty. The naib's letter, as usual, teemed with the most virulent assertions of the perfidy of the English. He delayed at Quetta, disobeying the repeated injunctions of the khan to proceed to the allied camp, until Ghazni was captured, and Kabal was in possession of the shah. The khan, in despair, directed Naib Rehimdad, his governor at Quetta, to take up the mission which Mill la Hassan declined, and to make the best MEHRAB KHAN'S PERIL. 105 of liis way to Kabal, with letters, and an increased stock of presents^ This worthy, either in league with Mulla Hassan, or alike desirous to implicate the khan, invented fresh falsehoods, and excused himself ; while he set on foot a series of depreda- tions upon the troops cantoned at Quetta, by carry- ing off the camels when foraging, and sending them for sale to Sistan, not daring to send them to Kalat. In process of time, the brigade under Major-Gen. Wiltshire reached Quetta, in its return from Kabal, and the opportunity presented itself to avenge the crimes and treasons of the Kalat chief Naib JMulla Hassan was again in the British camp, exercis- ing the same manoeuvres he had constantly put into play, and with the like success. He assured the political officer that all his endeavours had failed to alter the feeling or disposition of the khan ; and wrote to the latter on no account to repair to Quetta, or he would be sent a prisoner to Calcutta. A remarkable proof was now afforded of the delusion in which the khan had been kept, or, it may be, of his little expectation of being visited with vengeance for crimes which he was uncon- scious of having committed; for it was not until he heard of the advance of British troops upon Kalat that he thought of making preparations for defence. On the spur of the moment he appealed to the tribes, and despatched his son, JMahomed Hassan, under charge of Darogah Gul Mahomed, to Nushki. In the hour of need jMehrab Khan 106 DEATH OF MEHRAB KHAN. found himself abandoned ; he had alienated the chiefs of tribes, and few responded to his call. As the British force approached, he deputed Akhund Mahomed Sidik to confer with the political officer attending it. The reckless man observed that he knew the Akhund was a traitor, and would betray him. He was quite right, the Akhund did betray him, as far as it was in his power, and received drafts on Hindus of Kalat for sums of money. The interview of this representative of the khan with the political officer took place at Mangachar. The Akhund stipulated that the force was not to appear before Kalat until the morning of the 6th of November, which was acceded to, without the intention of abiding by the stipulation; the Ak- hund purposing that Mehrab Khan should have time for flight, to which he meant to persuade him. It was not, however, the intention to permit the khan or the booty to escape, and the force arrived before Kalat on the morning of the 5th of Novem- ber, when an attack on the place immediately fol- lowed, as its defences were too weak to require delay. The garrison consisted, with few exceptions, of the villagers neighbouring to Kelat, and the greater part of them dropped from the walls and made oif when the assault commenced. The gates were blown open, the town entered, and the citadel forced, when Mehrab Khan was slain, with many chiefs, of more or less distinction, in one of the lower apartments. In an upper apartment were DISCOVERY OF TREACHERY. 107 Naib Mulla Hassan, Naib Rehimdad, the Aklmnd Mahomed Sidik, and some thirty persons; they, of course, surrendered when the khan was no more. It is supposed by the Brahms that the ultimate design of Mtilla Hassan was to procure his own advancement to the masnad of Kalat, but, unfor- tunately for him, in the search made by the politi- cal officers for documents, his letters to the khan were discovered under the pillow of that wretched man. His arrest followed, and, with Rehimdad, he was sent prisoner to the fortress of Bakkar. Capt. Bean is said to have reproached him with the death of Mehrab Khan ; he might have justly done so ; and, if he did, his reproach was a testi- mony to the innocence of the fallen chief. The scenes following the capture of the Brahui capital may be passed unnoticed ; the calamities suffered by the inhabitants were the inevitable con- sequences of war ; yet, it is due to relate, that the deportment of the general of the British force is spoken of with approbation, and the respect shown to a bed-ridden lady, one of the wives of the slaugh- tered khan, is remembered with gratitude. On the approach of the force, the first step of the khan was to order his brother, Mir Azem Khan, to leave the town, and provide for his safety. When the attack commenced, his wives and female attendants were put without the gates, and some of them, even on foot, were left to shift for themselves. When the town was entered, and all hope extin- 108 SPOIL OF KALAT. guished, the khan entrusted to some one, as a pre- sent for his son, deputed to Nushki, a rifle, on which were inlaid, in golden characters, the names of twenty-three of his ancestors. This was to be preserved as a token by which, wherever the son went, he might be recognized. Three injunctions accompanied it. 1st. Not to surrender to the Feringhis with too much haste. 2nd. Not to con- fide in the Brahuis until they had committed them- selves inextricably with the Feringhis, or he would be betrayed by them, as his father had been. 3rd. Not to smoke tobacco or to take snuff, as such indulgences would lead to drinking wine, and he would become as useless as his uncle, Mir Azem. This injunction the khan seemed to think the most particular, for he desired his son to be warned, that if he disobeyed it he would arise from his grave and reproach him. The khan's personal property (excepting cashknd jewels) fell into the possession of the captors, and to save them the trouble of collecting it, he had already packed it, as if for removal. The khan being reputed rich in jewels, inquiries were made for them, and in a few days information was given which led to their discovery in the house of Naib Mulla Hassan ; so it proved that the wily traitor had been sufficiently adroit to have them depo- sited there, of course intending to reserve them for his own benefit. Wonderful were the expectations raised by the discovery of the jewels, a portion only NEW GOVERNMENT. 109 of the khan's store, though probably the greater por- tion. But a fatality attended them ; the vessel in which the gems were despatched for Bombay w^as lost, and the treasure itself, although preserved, was found to be of little value, as the stones, although large and uncut, were flawed ; and, at the auction, by which they were sold, obtained but 60,000 ru- pees, or 6000/. The person who revealed the secret of their deposit received a reward, became the con- fidant of Lieut. Loveday, and eventually one of the evil geniuses who consigned him to destruction. In the house of Naib Mulla Hassan a discovery of another nature was made, not only furnishing evi- dence of his guilt, but curiously illustrating the mode by which he had effected the ruin of Mehrab Khan. Above one hundred blank sheets of paper were found, sealed, and ready to be filled up at discretion. They explained the origin of the mis- sives by which the tribes were inflamed and incited to action, the odium of which had been, it may be feared unjustly, ascribed to the Brahui chief. Kalat being in possession of the British, its chief slain, and his son a fugitive, it naturally became a subject of consideration as to the future govern- ment. The claims of the son never seem to have been thought of for a moment. Had his father been ever so guilty, their recognition would not have been the less politic or advisable ; but now that the train of events and disclosures had evi-s denced that he was not so criminal as had been 110 IMPOLICY OF SETTLEMENT. supposed, and that he had fallen a victim to treason, to the display of which the errors of the political authorities had unconsciously contributed, the claims of the son demanded every attention, not merely on the abstract principles of rightful descent and es- tablished usage, but on the score of generosity, which, with a British government, should have had equal weight. Had the claims of the son at this early period been acknowledged, or had the circumstances extenuating the supposed guilt of his sire been made known, it might be conjectured that the plunder found in the palace, being entirely personal property, could not have been retained ; if inconvenient to admit them on this account, it was doubly so as in a manner confessing that the khan had been sacrificed to error and misconception ; and this was an alterna- tive which honourable and high-minded men only could have been expected to embrace. It would have been unjust to have hoped so much from the political authorities of the army of the Indus. The foul deed had been done : it was necessary to preserve unsullied the reputation of Lord Auck- land's political clique, and, to conceal their inca- pacity, the injustice shown to the father was to be perpetuated by that offered to the unoffending son. Those so mal -adroit in matters of right were expert in matters of evil, and Shah Nawaz Khan, a de- scendant of Mohabat Khan, who ruled at Kalat a century befQre, was placed on the masnad of Kalat, DISMEMBERMENT OF COUNTRY. Ill on the plea of legitimacy. I know not with whom this arrangement originated ; it suffices that it was approved and adopted. The Brahuis were asto- nished to learn that their three preceding khans were illegitimate rulers ; but, unhappily, they did not acquiesce ia the validity of the decision, and their sympathies were directed to the son of Mehrab Khan in exile. By the partition of the country which accompa- nied the elevation of Shah Nawaz Khan, the north- ern province of Saharawan, with Quetta and its dependent districts, and the province of Kach Gan- dava, with the mountain districts east of it, w^ere annexed to the dominions of the king of Kabal, and by this dismemberment, the provinces border- ing on the Indus, of Harand and Dajil, were quietly transferred to Ranjit Singh. An object of this wholesale partition, is said to have been the desire to consolidate the Brahui nation. The real purpose, if a judgment may be allowed from the dismemberment of the country, and the transfer of the Saharawan tribes, was to disse- ver the Brahuis as a people, and thereby to aug- ment the importance and revenue of the newly formed kingdom of Kabal, for Shah Nawaz Khan, by being inducted into Kalat, had no authority be- yond that place, and no means to enfore it. The first step of the new khan proved, however, that he understood the principles of legitimacy. 112 STATE OF JIIALAWAN. which had placed him in Kalat, for obtaining a loan of 60,000 rupees from Mr. Ross Bell at Shi- karpur, he gave him in payment thereof orders on the customs of Las, affecting to cancel the re- mission granted, a century before, by Nassir Khan, and although this liberty was afterwards disap- proved by Lord Auckland, it was strictly in accord- ance with the legitimate notion of his lordship and his advisers, which influenced their recognition of the claims of the new khan. It may be observed that, prior to the fall of Meh- rab Khan, the chiefs of Jhalawan, as Isa Khan of Wad and Kamal Khan of Baghwana, emboldened by the distracted state of affairs at Kalat, and of the khan's danger from the British, were in open re- volt, and Rashid Khan of Zehri, the Sirdar of Jhala- wan, who had been for some years disaffected, had entirely ceased from attendance at Kalat, and all these chiefs had rejected the appeal to cooperate in the defence of the capital. They therefore became the friends of the British and of Shah Nawaz Khan ; and it was peculiarly unfortunate, and wliat might, and ought to have been avoided, that both in Balochistan and Afghanistan the traitors to the old order of things became the favoured and trusted adherents to the new. As might have been expected, the confidence unwisely reposed in them was be- trayed. The establishment of Shah Nawaz Khan led to the appointment of a political officer at Kalat, and MOVEMENTS OF THE NEW KHAN. 113 Lieut. Loveday, an assistant to Capt. Bean at tlie time of its capture, was nominated to the post. The first object of attention with the new khan was the young son of Mehrab Khan, who had taken refuge in Panjghur, and, accompanied by Lieut. Loveday, he started with a small party to dislodge him, and, if possible, to secure his person. His plans were well laid, and, but for secret intelligence con- veyed, be it remarked, by Kamal Khan of Bagh- wan, the youth no doubt would have been made a prisoner. His escape did not prevent the general plunder of the tribes who had afforded him shelter, and scenes were enacted so infamous, that those present spoke of them with horror. A large amount of spoil was obtained, and Shah Nawaz Khan returned to Baghwan and married a sister of Kamal Khan. Lieut. Loveday returned to Kalat from Panjghur, but made a visit to Baghwan, bringing to Shah Nawaz a treaty ratified by the governor-general, from which had been expunged an article binding the British government to main- tain the khan on the masnad in which they had placed him. Lieut. Loveday, again returning to Kalat, hearing that the son of Mehrab Khan had sought refuge in Nushki, started with Mir Fati Khan, the brother of Shah Nawaz Khan, to expel him. Intelligence conveyed to the youth, again enabled him to escape ; but the Zigger Minghal tribe were no better treated than the tribes of Panj- ghur, and the chief, Fazil Khan, who submitted, was VOL. IV. I 114 SON OF MEHRAB KHAN. brought to Kalat. Shah Nawaz Khan, about the same time, compelled the nominal allegiance of the Sah Saholi tribe, near Khozdar ; soon after which he returned to Kalat. The zeal of Lieut. Loveday obtained the appro- bation of Capt. Bean, and afterwards his disapproba- tion, when the envoy and minister expressed his displeasure at the excursions into Nushki and Panj- ghtir ; and Lieut. Loveday was instructed, that it was not his duty to interfere in the affairs of the country at all, much less to accompany the khan in his forays. But for this prohibition, it is probable that a third foray would have been directed upon Kharan, whose chief had, after some demur, received the wandering and destitute son of Mehrab Khan. Shah Nawaz Khan much urged the step, saying, the evil, if taken in time, would be easily removed, but that it might become dangerous if neglected. His prediction was soon verified. A step which might have prevented the revolt of the Brahuis was abandoned, because the khan was unable to follow it up unassisted, and Lieut. Loveday was forbidden to employ his guard or to lend assistance. I have now briefly explained the state of things ' . at the period of my arrival at Kalat. The son of Mehrab Khan, while known to be in Kharan, had no intention of appearing in arms, nor had Assad Khan any notion of interesting himself more in his favour, than to afford him asylum and subsistence as long as he continued his guest. Lender the new APPOINTMENTS. 115 distribution of the country, the district of JNlastung, annexed with Quetta, to the dominion of Kabal, was governed hy JNIahomed Khan, chief of the Sherwani tribe of Brahuis, with a salary of two hundred rupees per annum, and the title of Naib to his jNlajesty Shah Sujah al IMulkh. The revenue, which had been most arbitrarily fixed, was farmed to Diwan Ramu, previously in the employ of jMehrab Khan ; the district of Quetta, or Shall, the head- quarters of Capt. Bean and a military force, was governed, under the political officer, by JNIahomed Sidik Khan, a son of the late Samander Khan, Popal Zai. The resumed province of Kach Gandava was governed under JNIr. Ross Bell, the political agent in Northern Sind, by Saiyad JNIahomed Sherif, whose treason to INIehrab Khan had elevated him to the rank of Naib to His JNlajesty Shah Sujah al JNIulkh. 116 CHAPTER IV. Residence at Kalat. — Panic in the country. — Arrival of kafila. — Misfortune of Yaiya, a dehwar. — Consternation. — Commence- ment of revolt and slaughter of a party of s'lpabis at Mastung. — • Refuse to leave Kalat. — Proceedings of darogah Gul Mahomed. — Alarm at Kalat. — Removal to the Babi suburb. — Darbar of Shah Nawaz Khan. — Abode in Atta Mahomed's garden. — Faiz Ahmed's precautions. — Attack upon Quetta. — Lieut. Leech's promptitude. — Retreat of the insurgents from Quetta. — Lieut. Loveday's remark. — Shah Nawaz Khan's measures.— His levees. — Intrigues at Kalat. — Causes of dissatisfaction. — ■ Diplomatic blunders in Kachi. — Lieut. Loveday's invitation. — Interview with him. — Consent to remain with him during the siege. — Haji Osman. — State of the defences. — Efforts to im- prove them.— Manning of the walls. — Disposition of the forti- fications. — Preparations. — Scarcity of grain. I MIGHT have reasonably looked for the arrival of the kafila eight or ten days after my own, at Kalat, as, before leaving B61a, we heard of its departure from Sunmiani, and we knew that it had no object to tarry on the route. My inter- course with Lieut. Loveday had ceased, in the manner I have before described ; and that I had acted discreetly, I inferred from the nature of his obser- vations, which, from time to time, were reported to me. DETACHED SIPAHIS. 117 While residing in the garden, I was repeatedly visited by Shah Nawaz Khan and Mir Fati Khan, his brother, the garden of the latter joining the one in which I was located, and every morning he came to stroll in it. Shah Nawaz Khan never ceased to request I would call upon him in the miri, or palace, and converse with him, but I constantly declined, although there could have been no harm, yet I was careful to avoid giving the least cause for umbrage to Lieut. Loveday. In course of time tidings reached Kalat, that the kafila had been seen at Baran Lak, in a woful plight, from the failure of the camels, owing to the heat, want of water and forage, and other untoward causes. Subsequently we heard, that it had found its way to Wad ; but now symptoms of discontent in the country had become manifest. When I came to Kalat, Lieut. Loveday had with him some sixty sipahis, of one of the shah's regiments. In obedience to Capt. Bean's orders, he had despatched twenty-five of them from Kalat, tow^ards Quetta. His munshi, Ghulam Hussen, having business at Mastung, accompanied them. At the moment I, of course, regarded this as an indifferent circumstance. About this time an accident occurred, which served, perhaps, to precipitate the revolt which speedily followed. Amongst the many tyrannical acts, of which Lieut. Loveday stood accused by the general voice of the country, was that of worry- 118 ACCIDENT TO YAIYA. ing people with his dogs; and to describe the horror in which he was held, on that account, would be an impossible task. Yet, so incredible did such a charge appear to me, and so revolting was it to every notion of humanity, that I felt inclined to conjecture trivial circumstances had been magnified, and an accidental mishap construed into a premeditated deed. I was frequently told, that since I had been at Kalat he had discontinued to use his dogs ; and when I expressed anxiety to proceed, I was entreated to remain, that Lieut. Loveday might behave himself decently. However, any restraint he might have imposed upon himself, in consequence of my presence, did not suffice to prevent the ebullition of his passion ; and a miser- able and fatal testimony confirmed, beyond power of denial, how justly he was feared and disliked. Yaiya, a dehwar or agriculturist of Kalat, employed as a begar, or forced labourer, in some w^orks con- nected with the house in progress of erection, in- curred the displeasure of Lieut. Loveday, who gave the necessary signal to his dogs, and they inflicted several wounds on the wretched individual. He was carried home in a grievous state, and in a few days died. The consternation excited by this man's unhappy fate amongst the community of Kalat, to be conceived must have been witnessed ; the dread of vengeance limited the expression of public feeling to low and sullen murmurs, but rumour spread the catastrophe with rapidity over COMMENCEMENT OF REVOLT. 119 the country^ and there indignation was londlv avowed, and revenge determined upon. It became known at Kalat that the munshi, with his party of sipahis, had reached Mastung, and contemporaneously that the kafila was on the road from ^Yad ; but a panic, the forerunner of the outbreak which ensued, had now seized the minds of all. Lieut. Loveday was anxious about the safety of the kafila, as a very large quantity of stores, from Bombay, belonging to him, were with it ; and he ordered a party, of the few soldiers with him, to march on the road to meet it. They were ready to have started, when the disastrous news arrived of the slaughter of the munshi and his party, at ^lastung; and of the revolt of the tribes of Saharawan. The first act of Shah Nawaz Khan was to insist upon Lieut. Loveday, who was at the time in his tent witliout the town, to retire to his residence within the walls ; and thenceforth he never went beyond them. My friend, Faiz Ahmed, immediately called on me, and gave his opinion that the affair was serious. He said his chief solicitude was for me ; and urged me, in the most earnest manner, at once to provide for my safety, either by crossing the hills into Kachi or by retiring to Baghwan. He assured me, that he should be disgraced for ever if any mis- fortune befel me, his guest, or, to use his expression, that his nose would be cut off. I thought he over- 120 darogah's visit to mastung. estimated the danger, and determined to remain, at least until it was known what form the insurrec- tion would assume ; for, at the time, I was not aware that Quetta was unprovided with troops, and could not but suppose the revolt would be speedily suppressed. I may mention that, before these events tran- spired, there was a report at Kalat that Daro- gah Gul Mahomed had the intention to proceed to Quetta and endeavour to negotiate with Capt, Bean in favour of the son of the late khan. Va- rious were the opinions as to the probability of the report, and as to the darogah's intentions ; but many thought it possible, and wished it might prove true, from their desire to see the son of Mehrab provided for, and an end put to the un- easiness which his presence in Kharan kept up. It proved that the darogah did visit Mastung, and had a meeting at a village with some persons there, and amongst them with Diwan Ramu, the farmer of the revenue under the new order of things. What passed at this meeting I could never ascer- tain ; the darogah, if he ever had the intention of visiting Quetta, or of opening a communication with Capt. Bean, did neither, and returned to Kharan. In a few days followed the outbreak. Shah Nawaz Khan lost no time in summoning to Kalat the levies from the neighbouring villages and tribes. His mother, and Mir Fati Khan, were sent in all haste to collect those of Zehri, while ALARM AT KALAT. 121 messengers were despatched to Kamal Khan of Baghw^n, and to other chiefs of Jhalawan. It soon became known that the insurgents at Mastting had called the son of Mehrab Khan to countenance their proceedings. Amidst the alarm produced by this state of affairs a part of the kafila reached Kalat ; many of the merchants thought it prudent to secrete their goods in the hills. My camels had perished on the road, from eating (I was told) the poisonous oleander shrub. I had my luggage brought to the garden in which I re- sided. Some two or three days afterwards, a little past sunset, I was astonished at the discharge of large and small arms from the town, and still more when, after a brief interval, it was repeated. Before a third took place the young son of Faiz Ahmed ap- peared, and told me his father implored that I would instantly remove into the suburb. I had scarcely time to ask what had happened, when Faiz Ahmed himself came in the utmost trepida- tion. He besought me, for God's sake, to leave the garden, or I should be murdered ; when I could get him to explain, he informed me that Mehrab Khan's son was said to be at Garuk, six miles distant, and that his chapow was expected during the night ; that the town gates were closed, and that the discharges I had heard were i^art of Shah Nawaz Khan's precautionary measures. Re- flecting, that if a chapow did make its appearance. 122 CHANGE OF RESIDENCE. there was little doubt that I should be murdered^ I thought right to accompany him, and ordered his and my own servants to follow with the lug- gage. Before we left the garden a party of strangers had congregated around a fire, which they kindled at a little distance from me. They were unknown to the old woman in charge of the garden. I was surprised that Faiz Ahmed conducted me to the suburb by a circuitous path, and as he stumbled over stones, and into the pools of the narrow lanes he traversed, I could not forbear bantering him about it, and the terror he evinced, which occa- sioned him to complain that I was insufferably "jel,'' or rash ; I have since learned that he had received an intimation that two of the late khan's ghulams, or slaves, in full confidence that the cliapow would arrive, had buckled on their arms, intending to have assassinated me that evening. On reaching the suburb, he showed me into the house of Sahibdad, adjacent to his own. In a few minutes Faiz Ahmed, Kalikdad, and two or three of their relatives, came and urged me immediately to leave Kalat. I was still obstinate, and doubted if Mehrab Khan's son could be so near. Faiz Ahmed, in his anxiety, had engaged one Mahomed Arif to conduct me to Nichara, and had saddled my horse, but I over- ruled him. Completely beset by his terror, he upbraided me for my infatuation, and warned me I should repent the neglect of the opportunity. I had, however, the support of his relatives, less PROCEEDINGS OF THE INSURGENTS. 123 timid, and, perhaps, less wise than himself, and at length he yielded. 1SL\ friends sat up with me through the night, well-armed, and in much anxiety. Discharges of arms were continued until morning from the town, and Shah Nawaz Khan was con- stantly on the alert, patrolling the streets and ramparts. The peril was believed to have been extreme this night, of an insurrection within and without the walls. No enemy appeared, and, in time, it was discovered that jMehrab Khan's son had not exactly been at Garuk, but that he had skirted Nimarg and jNIangachar, some eighteen miles from Kalat, to which he was desirous to have directed his steps, but that the insurgents at jNIas- tung insisted upon his presence there, that they might make an attempt on Quetta, nearly destitute of troops, while Kalat they considered as always in their power. Shah Nawaz Khan continued his precautionary measures by night, until he was certain that the intention of the enemy was turned upon Quetta. For the first time, I was now aware that so im- portant a post had been denuded of troops, as I afterwards learned, by the orders of tlie envoy and minister. Faiz Ahmed, after the first alarm was over, at- tended the darbar of Shah Nawaz Khan, when Lieut. Loveday was present. The khan asked him what had become of me amidst the confusion, and Faiz Ahmed replied, that he had taken me to his 124 FAIZ AHMED'S PRECAUTIONS. house. The khan warmly commended him, and then asked what was my opinion on passing events. Faiz Ahmed answered, that I said the Brahuis had brought destruction upon themselves. The khan observed, it was true. As soon as the immediate danger was over, aware that I was incommoding Sahibdad and his family, I proposed to return to the garden. Faiz Ahmed would by no means consent, and, in truth, as the times were troubled, it was an exposed situation. He selected, however, another garden more to his mind, and nearer the suburb, belonging to Attk Mahomed, a cultivator, which was small, and sur- rounded with fair walls. The owner being agree- able, I removed to it from the house of Sahibdad. While in Sahibdad's house, Faiz Ahmed, whose sense of danger was greater than mine, had sent to Nichara for Shadi Khan, a respectable native of the village, to whom he was connected by marriage, and to whose protection he had intended to have consigned me, when wishing me to accompany Mahomed Arif Shadi Khan came, and I highly approved of him as a good and trusty man ; but as I determined to hold on at Kalat until sheer neces- sity compelled my departure, he returned to his home, leaving with me his brother Ibrahim, whom I took to the garden of Atta Mahomed, to be ready in case of emergency to conduct me to Nichara, it being arranged that Shadi Khan, with as many fire- locks as might be judged necessary, should escort CAPTAIN BEAN AND THE KHAKAS. 125 me through the hills to Gandava, and thence to Shikarpur. I was also glad to have this man in the garden by night, as the Brahui levies were coming in, and had spread themselves over the gardens of the place, while they were not too much to be depended upon. The greatest anxiety prevailed as to the issue of the attack contemplated by the Mastung insur- gents upon Quetta. To the extreme astonishment of all, we heard that Quetta had been assailed, not by the Brahuis, but by the Khaka tribes of the neighbouring hills to the north and north-east. It had been understood that Capt. Bean was about to employ these tribes to coerce the Marri Ba- loche tribe in the hills of Kahan, east of Kachi; wonderful was the intelligence, therefore, that he had been attacked by his quondam allies. The amazement was not less, I afterwards learned, amongst the political officers of Upper Sind, who received letters from Capt. Bean, developing his plans of annihilating the Harris by means of the Khakas, and a week after other letters reached, with the tidings that he was in danger of being annihilated himself by these very Khakas. The mystery, however, was easy of solution. The Bra- hiiis wished the Khakas to have co-operated with them, and the latter, supposing the destruction of the small force at Quetta as pretty certain, saw no reason why they should not anticipate the attack of the former, and secure the treasure, which they 126 LIEUT, leech's promptitude. believed to be immense, to themselves. The allies of Capt. Bean accordingly made a night attack upon his position in the cantonments near Quetta, and were creditably repulsed. Urgent reports of the state of affairs were of course despatched to the political authorities in Afghanistan, and the error of the envoy and minister, in withdrawing the troops from Quetta, became too obvious. Lieut. Leech, then political agent at Kandahar, did his best to meet the evil. Lieut. Travers, with the reinforce- ment received from Quetta, returned to it by forced marches, and threw himself into it, I believe, before the Brahui insurgents had invested it. Lieut. Leech did not stay his exertions, but calling Salu Khan, Atchakzai, gave him a sum of money, I heard twenty thousand rupees, and directed him to make the best of his way to Quetta, with as many horse- men as he could collect. Before Salu Khan arrived it was surrounded by the insurgents. The Atchakzai chief forced his way through their host, and brought the effective aid of six hundred horsemen, some ten or twelve having been slain or captured by the Brahuis. There can be no doubt that the promptitude of Lieut. Leech did much to preserve Quetta at this conjuncture. The Brahius still pressed the investment, and prepared ladders for an escalade. Disputes arose among them as to the points which particular tribes should assail, which ended in the nocturnal retreat RETREAT OF REBELS FROM QUETTA. 127 of Wad Derah, the leader of one of the most nume- rous bands, which, when known by the rest, created a panic and cry of betrayal, and the host broke up and retired. Assad Khan of Kharan, who, with fifty followers, had accompanied the son of Mehrab Khan, reconducted him to Mastung, where the darogah again set to work to reassemble the dogs of Brahuis, for so he called them. The news of the retreat of the insurgents from Quetta gave great satisfaction at Kalat, it being argued that, foiled there, they would scarcely march upon the capital. I had misgivings on this point, from the circumstance of their having retired un- broken; and I signified to Faiz Ahmed, that the moment we were certain they had advanced from Mastung I was ready to start for Gandava or Bagh- wan, as might be thought best. Faiz Ahmed, at this period, saw me only at long intervals, for he was irritated that I had not followed his counsel ; and when he did favour me with a call, seeing I was disposed to ridicule his notions of danger, ceased to notice it. I was hurt that my presence should be a source of solicitude to him, as he had enough of thought with his own affairs, without being encumbered by the consideration of mine. I am sorry to confess that, although I did not attach much importance to the revolt, and supposed it would be readily put down, yet I remained not so much on that account, as from the apj^rehension I should be laughed at if I returned to Karachi ; and 128 ANTICIPATIONS OF A SIEGE. this weakness, more than anything else, influenced my slay. During these days of alarm and consternation, Lieut. Loveday's people asked him why he did not send for me. He replied, that if he did, I might fancy that he was " mutahaj,'' or helpless. I did not understand by this remark that he considered his situation desperate, since it expressed only his dislike that I should consider it so, or that he stood in need of assistance. Shah Nawaz Khan fired a salute in consequence of the retreat of the rebels from Quetta, and again another on the al- leged approach of succours from Shikarpiir. These, however, were imaginary, and the salute turned out to be a stratagem. A call was also made upon the inhabitants of the town, and of the adjacent hamlets, to provide a certain number of water skins, and so completely in ignorance as to the real state of matters was the bulk of the people, that it was supposed the skins were required for the use of the khan and Lieut. Loveday, in a pursuit of the fugi- tive son of Mehrab Khan ; whereas, they were in- tended to lay up a supply of water in the citadel, in expectation of a siege. So lax, however, was the khan's authority, that the call was not answered. Lieut. Loveday, moreover, ever since he had retired within the walls, had been busily engaged in strengthening his house. The appeal of Shah Nawaz Khan to the country had been but faintly received. Levies from the INTRIGUES AT KALAT. 129 neighbouring villages were the first to join. Mir Fati Khan and his mother returned from Zehri, followed by Mir Boher, and the young son of Rashid Khan. Kamal Khan, Eltarz Zai, of Bagliwan, afterwards arrived, with Khan Mahomed Khan, son of Isa Khan of Wad. Besides these, other petty chiefs, with small quotas, attended. Still there was no want of men to hold the place, could their fidelity have been assured. Of Mir Bohir, of Zehri, there was great distrust, and even Kamal Khan was suspected. Shah Nawaz strove by li- berality, and the lavish distribution of khelats and gratuities, to confirm the friendly, and to gain over those of dubious disposition. The task of providing subsistence for the rabble also devolved upon him ; and besides his own scanty magazine of grain, he drew upon the stores of Lieut. Loveday. I am incompetent to unravel the plots and in- trigues which at this period transpired at Kalat, but I heard that many of the Brahui leaders pro- posed to connect the interests of Shah Nawaz Khan, and those of the son of Mehrab Khan. I know not which of the chiefs were concerned in this pro- ject, but heard that Kamal Khan had said, that unless Lieut. Loveday was removed, he would be dragging them all about by their beards. Mir Fati Khan was reported to have observed, that he would act in all things as his chiefs advised, but Shah Nawaz Khan entirely set his face against the pro- posal, and swore that as long as he possessed life VOL. IV. K 130 SUBJECTS OF DISCONTENT. Lieut. Loveday should be respected, and he would be faithful to his engagements with the Sirkar Company. The khan was universally commended on this occasion, even by those who otherwise ob- jected to him and his rule. He also displayed some dexterity in reconciling his disaffected par- tisans. The khan had professed a great desire to have marched to the relief of Capt. Bean at Quetta, and had pitched his tents beyond the Mastung gate. The intrigues and disagreements amongst his chiefs of course deprived him of the opportunity of acquiring the eclat which such service would have ensured him. I rather think Capt. Bean was angry that Shah Nawaz Khan did not march to his assistance, and that Lieut. Loveday had en- gaged that he would. The khan, paralysed by poverty and faction, could not march; and here was again evidenced the want of foresight in setting up a ruler in- capable of aiding his friends or of supporting him- self. No sooner had the firmness and fidelity of Shah Nawaz Khan counteracted the plots of the chiefs, in the matter above-mentioned, than fresh causes of dissatisfaction were found by them, and, what was to be lamented, they had some reason on their side. At this critical conjuncture it became known, for the first time, that it was Shah Nawaz Khan who had assigned over a moiety of the Sunmiam IMPOLITIC RESUMPTIONS. 131 customs to the political authorities, and that he was chargeable with the iniquity of a deed, which had before been considered as an arbitrary exercise of power by the British government, against which there was no appeal. Kamal Khan, who is con- nected with the reigning family of Las, and has an interest in its affairs, was sorely indignant ; and, unsparingly reviling Shah Nawaz Khan for his part in the transaction, retired from the town and threatened to return to Baghwan. To re- concile this chief, on whose support the khan mainly depended, Lieut. Loveday was obliged to enter into engagements, cancelling the demands upon the Sunmiani customs ; and no sooner was this done than the Baghwan chief was furnished with a fresh cause of discontent, for the news reached him that his estates at Kotru, in Kachi, were con- fiscated. It is impossible to describe the infatua- tion that could dictate such a step at such a mo- ment; yet it was merely consistent with the ex- traordinary method of administration which had been adopted in the province ever since the go- vernment had been conducted by the political authorities, in the name of the king of Kabal. Kamal Khan's estates had been before resumed, then restored, and now again resumed. Those of Mir Boher had also been resumed, but were for- tunately restored at the very moment when Mir Fati Khan called upon him to attend at Kalat, or otherwise he would not have complied. Lieut. K 2 132 MEASURES OF THE REBELS. Loveday was again obliged to pledge to Kamal Khan the restoration of his lands at Kotru, and once more he was pacified. To this good end I was unconsciously instrumental, as, one day, Kamal Khan, and Khan Mahomed of Wad, called on me, and inquired whether Lieut, Loveday's engagements were valid and binding on his superiors, whether the documents should be signed or sealed ; and, again, in what manner they should be drawn up. I re- plied satisfactorily to their queries, but did not trouble myself to ask what the engagements were. I questioned, however, Kamal Khan as to the probable number of the insurgents at Mastiing, and, affirming that he knew the Brahuis well, he said they could not exceed two thousand men, but that had the revolt commenced in Kachi, six thousand might have assembled. At Kalat vulgar report made the insurgents eleven thousand strong, and even Capt. Bean, trusting to rumour, had esti- mated his antagonists at Quetta to be seven thou- sand. Lieut. Hammersley subsequently told me that Assad Khan, of Kharan, had, on that occasion, seven hundred excellent horse, whereas he had only fifty followers and twenty-five camels, two men on each animal, and no horsemen whatever. While never-ending causes of dissension were distracting the attention of the khan and his chiefs from the measures requisite for the defence of the place, the Darogah Gul Mahomed was reassembling the tribes at Mastung, and by a singular fatality INTERVIEW WITH LIEUT. LOVEDAY. 133 Capt. Bean did not follow up their retreat from Quetta, and now allowed them to reorganize their host at leisure, although he had ample force to have dispersed them, and to have closed the rebellion. Abdul Wahid, one of my friends, being in the town, voluntarily called on Lieut. Loveday, who, when he took leave, gave him a note for me. It commenced by stating that he had thrice sent to me, but his people had not found where I resided ; and then, in the most polite and handsome terms, invited me to call upon him. On telling those about me what was written, they at once exclaimed that he had written a falsehood, as to having sent for me. I knew as much, but regarded it as a harmless preface to his invitation. Again ques- tioned whether I should go, I said it was too late that evening, but that in the morning I would see him. Every one dissuaded me from going, alleg- ing that he had not treated me well. I replied, that, on that very account, T would see him, as it would never do for him to be civil and for me to be otherwise. In the morning I sent for my horse from the suburb and rode to Lieut. Loveday's house. His reception was very different from what it had be- fore been. He started from his seat, came to meet me with extended hands, and exclaimed mildly, " Mr. Masson ! Mr. Masson ! " I immediately gave him my hand, and we sat down ; for now I found there were chairs in the house. A few words ex- 134 CONSENT TO REMAIN WITH HIM. plained the state of things — that the town was on the eve of a siege, as the insurgents had marched from Mastung, and that there was no hope of relief from any quarter. He requested me to remain with him, and I at once consented ; willing he should see that I had generosity, however his con- science might reproach him that he had been de- ficient. I sent for my luggage from the suburb, and with it came a message from my friends with- out, warning me that I had done wrong. I was quite alive to the danger I was incurring, and should have been much more gratified had it been my fate to be associated with a person in better estimation than Lieut. Loveday ; and I was also aware that, in mixing myself up with him, I was exposed to the vengeance which perchance awaited him. I should, moreover, have felt justi- fied in rejecting his invitation, with the knowledge of the remarks he had made from time to time ; but my better regulated temper permitted me to overlook them at this crisis. Above all other reasons, I thought I might be useful ; and I by no means considered the defence of the place as hopeless, in spite of the diflficulties which beset it. Our garrison were men of Jhalawan, our opponents of Saharawan, between whom existed a certain degree of rivalry, and even of enmity; and on all occasions of revolt they had espoused different sides. This circumstance was in our favour ; for I conceived tliat, with ever so little management on PROSPECTS OF THE SIEGE. 135 our parts, the Jhalawanis would never, from a feel- ing of shame, surrender the town to their oppo- nents. I knew also that the Sahara wanis were a mere rabble, and incapable of taking the town by force of arms, if the garrison merely maintained their position on the towers and ramparts; and so much might with some reason be hoped from them. Further, I was conscious that Lieut. Loveday, from the feeling with which he was regarded, did not dare to move beyond his house ; a misfortune par- ticularly grievous when activity was so urgently required, and his presence everywhere necessary in the various operations of the siege about to take place. This misfortune I was bold enough to think I might in great measure obviate, as I had no fear, and could move freely about the town and amongst the Brahuis. Confident of my strength in this essential point, I did not despair of the issue ; and, though upon it depended life or death, my career had been one of adventures and perils, and the same good fortune, I was fain to hope, might still at- tend me as heretofore. Yielding solely to generous feelings and motives, I became an inmate of Lieut. Loveday's house, and prepared to encounter and share with him the evils which impended. I now, for the first time, saw Haji Osman, a worthless fellow, known to me by report as the confidant of Lieut. Loveday^ and the man who had discovered the hidden jewels. When I consented to remain he made the remark to Lieut. Loveday, 136 STATE OF DEFENCES. Did I not tell you Masson Sahib would come V hy which I presumed that officer had his doubts whether I should or not ; and then the haji expressed to me his satisfaction, and declared I had avoided a great danger, as Faiz Ahmed had purposed to deliver me to Darogah G ill Mahomed, to be de- tained as hostage for Rehimdad, one of the Bakkar prisoners. I did not condescend to answer the scoundrel, but shuddered at the idea of how much evil such a man could effect, and regretted that Lieut. Loveday had no better counsellor or friend. I naturally inquired of Lieut. Loveday what measures had been taken to repel the expected foe. It was too plain that Shah Nawaz Khan had been either too much occupied in the management of his unruly Brahuis, or too naturally careless to take any. Neither had Lieut. Loveday inte- rested himself, although in this instance he had neglected the advice of Haji Osman, who had re- commended him personally to take charge of the defence, which certainly would have been his cor- rect course, had not his unpopularity stood in the way. I had heard a good deal of the works with which Lieut. Loveday had strengthened his own residence; they were, however, trifling, and the place was untenable for a quarter of an hour un- der attack. I pointed out the sad state of the town walls, which I observed riding along them ; and some of the apertures in them, by which people actually passed in and out from the town, were INSPECTION OF THE WALLS. 137 closed by orders of Shah Nawaz Khan, who, in the course of the day, came to visit Lieut. Loveday. The khan was much pleased to see me, and more so when he learned I intended to remain dur- ing the siege; and I told him that now I knew that matters were serious, saidlddri, duty to my friends had brought me into the town. I ques- tioned the khan as to the supply of ammunition at command, and found that there were as many as sixty barrels of European powder in store in the citadel, and many pigs of lead ; but it had been omitted to convert any of them into bullets. I observed to him, that if he wished his men to fight he must provide them with the wherewithal to do so, and accompanying him to the citadel, saw the pigs of lead produced, and persons set to work upon them. I also at this time took a cursory view of the guns, and I was extremely sorry to find them useless; the largest, indeed, might be considered a curiosity, for it was cast at Modena in Italy, and above three centuries old. There were three of small calibre. Towards evening I made the circuit of the walls, and particularly examined the western line, having been informed there was a place where people could easily walk up and down. This I found at the point where the wall connected with the citadel, and on my return prevailed upon Lieut. Loveday to go and look at it ; and so much assur- ance had he, in common with others, acquired by my presence, that he not only ventured to leave 138 EXPLANATIONS. his house, which, excepting a hurried visit to the Mm, he had not done since the commencement of the outbreak, but actually accompanied me with- out the town to the spot. His sipahis walked up the breach ; and Shah Nawaz Khan, being apprised of the inspection w^e were making, appeared on the rampart, and promised to repair it, which he did, and placed a party of men there under one of his shahghassis, in whom he could trust. I forbore in any manner to allude to the remarks which Lieut. Loveday had made concerning me, but in the course of conversation this evening, the topics we discussed allowed me to state such facts and explanations as must have convinced him of the error of his notions, and how unjust and unnecessary had been his observations. When I briefly related to him my reasons for resigning the service of go- vernment, he told me he admired my feeling of independence, and bore willing testimony to the good reputation I held at Kalat ; and, mentioning certain persons, said, it was astonishing how well they spoke of me. In the same casual mode I corrected the misconceptions under which, appa- rently, he had laboured, and, from the tone of his discourse and manner, I might have supposed he resetted he had formed them. o Next morning Shah Nawaz Khan retired his Bra- hm levies within the town, and told them off to their respective stations on the walls. With this task I did not interfere, presuming the khan would FORTIFICATIONS OF KALAT. 139 know best the dispositions of the chiefs and their followers, but was careful to see that the men at the citadel were constantly at work, and had some low walls and buildings near the northern gate of the town, which might serve as shelter to an enemy, levelled. I wished to have extended this operation to the buildings close to the eastern gate, but Shah Nawaz Khan did not like to destroy a masjit, the principal of them, neither did he choose to level the walls enclosing an orchard, because his father had planted it, although I explained that there was occasion only to remove the walls, not the trees. Lieut. Loveday told me that he had before tried in vain to induce the demolition of these buildings and the orchard, for they were manifestly too close, and, what was worse, afforded the opportunity for parley between the besiegers and besieged, which it was part of our plan to prevent, if possible. Kalat has three gates: — the northern, or Mas- tiing ; the eastern, or Dil Dar ; and the southern, or Gil Kan. Adjoining the latter is a triangular outwork, called the Sanghar, entered by a gate close to that of Gil Kan. There are no houses in the Sanghar, formed by the continuation of the western wall, along the ridge on the eastern face of which the town is built ; and by another wall carried from it to the gate Gil Kan. At the apex is a large tower. The work was probably erected to protect the Babi suburb lying beneath it, and to remedy its occupation by an enemy. To Kamal Khan, in 140 DISPOSITION OF GARRISON. concert with Khan Mahomed Khan, was confided the defence of the southern face, comprising that of the gate Gil Kan and the Sanghar. To Mir Boh6r of Zehri, the portion of the eastern wall ex- tending from the position of Kamal Khan's party, and to the young son of Rashid Khan and his fol- lowers the remainder of the eastern front, includ- ing the gate Dil Dar. From the youth of Rashid Khan's son, Mir Boher was held virtually the leader of the Zehris. On the western front, in the centre of which stands towering the Mm, or citadel pa- lace, the line of wall from it to the south, and terminating at the Sanghar, was assigned to the Lutiams and Kambararis, and the line to the north was guarded by the shahghassi. Khan Mahomed's party, and the people of Pandaran, Nichara, and Skalkoh, villages in the vicinity of Kalat, and by the Jetaks from the hills of Zehri. The northern gate being under the immediate observation of Lieut. Loveday, was considered under his protec- tion, although held by Omar Khan, Rakshani, of Nushki ; and the wall extending from it to the west was occupied by small village levies. By all the rules of native warfare, the gates Gil Kan and Dil Dar should have been built up ; the Mastung gate, little liable to attack, only remain- ing open. When I suggested they should be closed, with the view of raising obstacles to com- munication between those within and without, I was told it could not then be done without imputa- AMMUNITION AND STORES. 141 tion on the valour of their defenders. Shah Nawaz Khan, moreover, had determined to pass his nights at the gate Dil Dar, to prevent the display of trea- chery. He also assumed the duty of patrolling the ramparts by night, and of exercising a general vigi- lance, while his brother, Mir Fati Khan, had espe- cial charge of the citadel palace. Such were the arrangements ; it remained to be seen whether the garrison would defend the walls or admit the foe. Of ammunition there was plenty, but of provisions there was only a scanty supply, the stores of Shah Nawaz Khan having already been exhausted by the levies, and he had been compelled to draw upon those of Lieut. Loveday, who still, however, had about a hundred kharwars of grain, besides a three months' supply for his own soldiers and establishment. 142 CHAPTER V. Appearance of the enemy — Instantaneous attack. — Assailants repulsed. — Enthusiasm of Kamal Khan's men. — Discourse with Kamal Khan and Khan Mahomed. — Illiberality of Shah Nawaz Khan and of Lieut. Loveday. — Conversation with Mir Boher. — His scruples set at rest. — Practice with the guns. — Renewed attack. — Plans of the rebels. — Firing the suburbs. — Assad Khan's carefulness. — Expectation of an assault. — Pre- parations to meet it. — Assault. — Its repulse. — Gallantry of Nas- rulah and a party of sipahis. — Peril of Shah Nawaz Khan. — Surrender of the son of Jelal Khan. — Results of the discom- fiture. — Treachery of part of the garrison. — Visit to the scene of the assault. — Renewed attack. — Lieut. Loveday in danger. — Repulse of attack. — Panic in the town. — Equivocal conduct of Kamal Khan. — Shah Nawaz Khan dejected. — Arrival of vakil from the rebels. — Conference between Kamal Khan and the rebel chieftains. — Shah Nawaz Khan and Mir Boher anxious to continue the defence. — Lieut. Loveday's indecision. — Arrangement of Shah Nawaz Khan. — Evil counsels of Lieut. Loveday's advisers. — Lieut. Loveday's missions to the rebel camp. — Frustration of Shah Nawaz Khan's endeavours to sup- port himself. — Knavery of Lieut. Loveday's agents. — Their exultation at his credulity. — Lieut. Loveday refuses to leave Kalat. — Communications from Quetta. — Final effort of Shah Nawaz Khan to induce Lieut. Loveday to accompany him. — Renewed missions to the rebel camp. — Terror of Mir Fati Khan. — Shah Nawaz Khan repairs to the rebel camp. — His abdication and solicitude for Lieut. Loveday. — Entry of the son of Mehrab Khan into the town. — Visit of Faiz Ahmed. — Farewell visit of Shah Nawaz Khan. — Lieut. Loveday pre- sents nazzers to the young khan and Bibi Ganjani. — His fatal errors. — My counsels and conduct. — My farther stay, and causes thereof. ARRIVAL OF THE ENEMY, AND ATTACK. 143 On the following morning, about nine o'clock, for we had just breakfasted, the scouts of the enemy appeared on the summits of the low^ hills through which the road to Mastung leads. They halted awhile, as if to ascertain w^h ether the fol- lowers of Shah Nawaz Khan were within or with- out the walls, and as their main body approached, descended into the plain, allowing their horses to graze in the fields of lucerne. Being within gun- range, a few rounds were fired upon them from the citadel. Some time elapsed before the main body arrived, when, crossing the plain, it filed round by the dry bed of a water-course into the gardens east of the town. Immediately, or as soon as the insurgents had alighted from their horses and camels, they advanced towards the walls, and one body rushing into the Babi suburb, attacked, under its shelter, the southern face, and the gate Gil Kan ; another body occupied the buildings outside the gate Dil Dar, and thence attacked it, and the eastern line of wall stretching therefrom to the south. Kamal Khan and his party were as- sailed with much vivacity ; the enemy's attempt on the eastern line was less determined. An inces- sant fire was maintained until two or three o'clock in the afternoon, when the rebels retired. It was clear our antagonists had intended to despatch their work quickly, or, it may be, that they had expected the gates would have been opened to them. 144 REPULSE OF ATTACK. Two or three men were slain on either side, and some wounded, a great point in Brahui war- fare, as it authorized the hope that accommodation was out of the question, and that, as blood had been shed, the hostile parties must now fight in earnest. We had waited with anxiety the result of the first conflict, because on it so much de- pended, not only as it would show the mettle of our opponents, but, what was of more importance, it would test the fidelity of our friends. As the event proved, we considered the chances of hold- ing the town as ten to one in our favour, and were justified in so doing. The enemy, I should have observed, were not above one thousand to twelve hundred men, of all descriptions, armed and unarmed, and in the number of firelocks our garrison must have ex- ceeded them, supposing it mustered from six hun- dred to seven hundred. Certainly we could have overpowered them on the plain, had it been pru- dent to trust our men so far ; unhappily, we could not. Shah Nawaz Khan offered his congratulations to Lieut. Loveday, and I made a tour of the walls, encouraging and conversing with the several chiefs. The followers of Kamal Khan received me en- thusiastically, exclaiming, they were not fight- ing for Shah Nawaz Khan, but for the Sirkar Company. I assured them the Sirkar Company would not forget them, applauded their good con- m ■ f CONVERSATION WITH KAMAL KHAN. 145 duct, and cheered them to continue it. I found Kamal Khan and Khan Mahomed Khan in the gateway, like their men, black with smoke and powder, and after wishing them joy of their suc- cess, discoursed for some time with them. I ob- served to Kamal Khan, that our task was not a difficult one, after all, and the Saharawams were so few in number, that I wondered they had the confidence to present themselves. He agreed with me, expressed surprise there were not more of them, and even thought I overrated their number at one thousand. Both he and Khan Mahomed seemed to have a latent distrust that their exer- tions might pass unnoticed ; and this notion I strenuously combated, conjuring them to believe, that their services would not merely be noticed, but recompensed. On the whole, they were in high spirits, and apparently w^ell satisfied with the result of the day. On taking leave, I told them they had the good luck to have the merit of the defence, as the Saharawams had honoured their po- sition by making it the principal point of attack, and jocularly remarked, that, as we had not been favoured with a visit, the enemy were unwilling we should get any share of the credit. Kamal Khan gave me a commission to procure some European gunpowder from Lieut. Loveday, for priming, and made a request concerning a sup- ply of provisions, which I promised should be at- tended to. VOL. IV. L 146 CARE OF THE WOUNDED. I wished Lieut. Loveday, in some mode, to have evinced his approbation on this occasion by a small largess, or by the distribution of provisions to the garrison, but he first hesitated, and finally sent parcels of dates to Kamal Khan's party and to the Zehris, but to no others. It was a time when a little liberality was necessary, and he well knew the men were fighting on no better subsistence than dry bread and parched grain, and against their country- men, for a cause in which they had no interest, and even disapproved. It appeared to me that bounty would have been seasonably shown, and that no harm would have been done in proving to the men, that we thought of their wants, and appreciated their labours. Lieut. Loveday hardly thought this necessary, and Shah Nawaz Khan affected no other opinion ; and when I urged him to distribute some sheep amongst the levies, laughed, and said he would keep them to eat himself. - The care of attending the wounded men devolved upon me ; and Lieut. Loveday having a quantity of medicines and ointments, I did as well as I was able with them. The wounds were, of course, gun- shot ; and although I was not skilful enough to ex- tract the balls, my patients did very well, and grate- fully acknowledged the inadequate attention they received. During the night a firing was again opened upon Kamal Khan's position and that of the Zehri levy, and continued throughout the next day and night, but no particular attempt upon the MIR BOHER^S SCRUPLES. 147 gates, as before, was made, the rebels having deter- mined to attempt an escalade, and were therefore busy in the preparation of ladders. Mj calls upon the wounded men brought me into the company of Mir Boher of Zehri, who had been always a suspected man, but who, in common with Kamal Khan, had fought with sincerity since the attack. In conversation with him, I found that he had the same misgivings as Kamal Khan, and others, that his exertions would be little prized or regarded ; and he farther complained of the precarious tenure on which he held his lands in Kachi. I assured him that he might rest perfectly satisfied on all these points ; for now the course of events would press these matters on the consideration of govern- ment, and, for the future, such arrangements would be made that all irregularities and annoyances would cease. Mir Boher was a staunch old man, and, like Kamal Khan, had a reputation for valour ; I there- fore spared no trouble to convince him, that he was right in the support of Shah Nawaz Khan, and that he might depend upon the countenance of the government. I could perceive he was pleased to be so assured, and henceforth he became very zealous in the defence of the place. This day, moreover, I went to the citadel, both to see that the casting of bullets was not inter- mitted, and to try if anything could be done with the guns. The enemy occupied 'the houses of the Babi suburb, which were nearest to Kamal Khan's L 2 148 PRACTICE WITH THE GUNS. position, and again, the houses without the Dil Dar Gate, particularly the large masjit, which Shah Nawaz Khan had neglected to level. I wished, if possible, to compel them to retire. The artillery- men at Kalat, old servants of the late Khan, had discontinued to work the pieces, being exposed to the musketry of the sheltered insurgents. For shame's sake, they returned to tliem, when I stood by them, although, in truth, the shots whizzed freely about. Even Shah Nawaz came for a moment ; but I bade him go away, telling him he might not be charmed against Brahui shots, as I hoped I was. It was a sad pity the guns were unservice- able ; they were fixed on their uncouth carriages by rolls of cord, intercepting the sight, and rendering it impossible to point them with any tolerable precision. In place of vents were apertures as large as the palm of a hand, and the chambers were so honey- combed, that it startled me to think how they could stand being fired. One of them w^as three centuries old, as I have noted before, and the others had not a more youthful appearance. I first tried the old one, as being the largest, and, as well as I could, pointed it to the garden in v^^hich we knew that the son of Mehrab Khan, Assad Khan of Kharan, and other principal chiefs, had taken up their quarters. After a few rounds in that direction, I had it much at heart to have knocked in the side door of the large masjit, wdthout the gate Dil Dar, which was full of the enemy. The effect would have been FIRING THE SUBURBS. 149 excellent ; and, had the attempt succeeded, no one would have dared to venture there again. On bringing the gun to bear upon the point, the upper part of the gate only was visible above the line of rampart, and to have hit it, it was necessary that the ball should exactly clear the parapet. The distance was, indeed, trifling, but the impossi- bility of pointing the gun correctly perplexed me ; and, I was demurring whether to fire or not, when I saw the Zehri people forsake the walls; I then abandoned the intention, fearful of doing more harm than good, as the chance was against success ; while, if a ball had struck the parapet, the men of Zehri, not too trustworthy, might have found a pretence for withdrawal from their post. I then repaired to the other guns, but being on the same level, similar obstacles presented themselves, and I could do no more than fire random shots amongst the gardens, and, as nearly as I could, direct them towards that occupied by the khan and the liite of the insurgents. I next urged upon both Lieut. Loveday and Shah Nawaz Khan the necessity of firing the sub^ urbs adjacent to the two exposed gates, and the measure was at length agreed upon. That near the Dil Dar gate was effectually fired, but the Babi suburb suffered little injury from Kamal Khan, who undertook the task. The good consequences that would have attended an effective shot at the door in the masjit were 150 ASSAD khan's prudence. acknowledged by all ; and subsequently, when pri- soner, I heard it frequently remarked by the rebels, that it would have ruined them. It was a singular misfortune there was not a serviceable piece of ordnance ; the valley of Kalat is entirely within range, and the insurgents, in that case, could not have stayed in it. This had been exemplified in former years, when the tribes of the country were in revolt against Mehrab Khan, and were com- pelled, by the fire from the citadel, to break up their encampment and disperse. On this occasion, owing to my presence, the artillerymen were obliged to be honest, and dis- charge ball ; and it was afterwards known that a shot had passed close to tlie young khan's tent, and that another had killed the charger of Assad Khan, picketed with the khan's, which so terrified the Kharan chief, that he removed from the garden to the Babi suburb. His subjects had implored him, when he accompanied the khan, to take care of himself, and he promised them he would, assuring them he did not intend to expose himself to Fe- ringhi grape. The Brahiiis used to laugh at this promise, which, how^ever, he religiously kept, and was now driven away by a round shot. We were perfectly aware of the determination of the rebels to attempt a nocturnal escalade, but were ignorant as to the point they intended to assail. Their ladders were prepared from the tim- bers they found ready for them at Lieut. Love- EXPECTED ASSAULT. 151 day's house, constructing without the town. Shah Nawaz Khan had taken the native precaution of distributing torches along the ramparts, which when lighted, illumined the space for some distance around them. He was also, as usual, active in patrolling the place, retiring occasionally to the Dil Dar gate, where his couch was placed. The third night after the first attack, or the fourth of the siege, we expected our assailants ; the torches were kindled, and shouts of Kabadar ! take care ! and Shah Baz ! bravo ! resounded throughout the town. The appearance of the place was singularly picturesque, and, had the time been favourable to such contemplation, we could not have sufficiently admired the magnificent spectacle of the effulgent lights tracing the outline of the ramparts, and en- circling the turrets of the time-honoured and vene- rable Mm, or the broad lights and shades cast over the houses of the town, and the objects to a certain extent without the walls. The darkness of the night increased the grandeur of the scene, con- ferring an additional and impressive effect upon the illumined town, and the factitious and lurid atmo- sphere enveloping it. Hour after hour passed ; no alarm was given, and no foe appeared, when, between two and three o'clock in the morning, the torches burning very dimly, the fire of the garrison having for some time relaxed, the shouts of the sentinels being sel- dom heard, and the appearance of the town being 152 REPULSE OF ESCALADE. that of repose after some great exertion, a sudden and violent renewal of firing announced that an attack was made ; and we soon discovered that the point menaced was the part of the wall on the western side held by the levies of the villages near Kalat, and the Jetaks of Zehri, and therefore near us. The four or five Brahuis we had in the house were instantly despatched to the several quarters of the town for intelligence, and Nasrulah, a servant of Lieut. Loveday, and much trusted by him, re- turned, informing us that ladders were fixed, and implored that a party of sipahis should be hastened to the spot. Lieut. Loveday permitted his havil- dar Allabaksh to select eight men ; they were ac- companied by two or three others, as amateurs, and conducted by Nasrulah. Their presence was most opportune. A party of the enemy, about forty-five or fifty, had entered the town, and their companions were being assisted over the walls by those stationed to defend them. The little band of sipahis most admirably per- formed their duty ; some fifteen of the rebels and their friends of the garrison were brought down on the walls, and the remainder, with the son of Jelal Khan at their head, dropped into the town and secreted themselves, as they saw their retreat cut off. Nor was this the extent of the service done; the insurgents, persisting in the attempt to escalade, were completely baffled, and fled, leaving their lad- ders, and a number of dead, at the foot of the walls. PERIL OF SHAH NAWAZ KHAN. 153 The party under the son of Jelal Khan left their hidrng-placOj and fell in with Shah Nawaz Khan and a few attendants, advancing to the perilled point. Being desperate, they attacked the khan, and slew two or three of his men. The khan himself cut down one of his opponents, but, being nearly alone, retreated to the gate Dil Dar, with torches before him. The son of Jelal Khan, unsupported in the town, made the best of his way to Kamal Khan, and craved his protection. He was allowed to retain his arms, but was held a prisoner, with his men, whose arms Avere taken from them. It was reported that Shahghassi Wall ^lahomed was also in the town, and Lieut. Loveday, through Nasrii- lah, offered a reward for his discovery and appre- hension. The conduct of Nasrulah on this occasion was eminently zealous and deserving. We after- wards heard that Mahomed Khan Sherwani, who conducted the escalade, was so surfeited with his reception, that he took the road to Mastung, and was induced to return only by the darogah and others, who hastened after him, praying him, in God's name, to await the morning. Most of the men slain proved to be Langhows, residents at Mangachar. When the young khan first arrived amongst them, en route to Mastung, they at once espoused his cause, and delivered to him the grain reserved as tribute for Shah Nawaz Khan. They pretended to have serious cause of complaint, both vrith the khan and Lieut. Loveday, 154 VISIT TO TPIE SCENE OF THE ESCALADE. on account of one of their chiefs, who, as thej as- serted, had been innocently blown from a gun, and for other reasons. Being an inferior tribe, the duty of carrying the ladders was assigned to them. It proved that the insurgents were unprovided with ammunition, and that the garrison lowered down supplies to them, while they themselves fired blank. The garrison, also, by means of their united lunghis, helped the assailants over the walls, the ladders being too short by nearly a third of the requisite height. The victorious sipahis, on their return to quar- ters, wished that a guard should be set over the slain on the ramparts until morning, in order to secure their spoils, and to prevent them being taken by the Brahuis. I very much opposed this measure, from its obvious indelicacy, and hoped it would be considered enough to have killed the men. Lieut. Loveday tartly replied, that the spoils were the " Hak," or right of the soldiers, and a guard was sent. Nasrulah was desired to accompany it, but, conscious of the impropriety, he declined. In the grey break of day Lieut. Loveday left his house, to visit the scene of the achievement. I would rather he had stayed until broad daylight, and then have gone in company with Shah Nawaz Khan, or his brother, or with some of the chiefs ; and this because I thought it would be the safer course. He, for the same reason, went now witli the notion he should not be recognized, which was RENEWED ATTACK. 155 hardly possible, with his soldiers crowding around him. As he went, I accompanied him, and we as- cended the walls, and cast a glance on the corpses strewed about, and on the broken ladders, some resting still against the walls, and some fallen on the ground. We had scarcely time to do this, when a brisk fire re-opened on the opposite side of the town in Kamal Khan's quarter. The levies amongst whom we were, immediately loaded and lighted their matches. Lieut. Loveday as speedily descend- ed, for his situation was perilous, his sipahis fol- lowing and surrounding him. I had difficulty in getting down, and when I did, as the best thing for myself, and to cover Lieut. Loveday's retreat, I fronted the walls and stepped backwards, until a corner was rounded which screened us from the fire of the traitors, had they, exasperated by the loss of their comrades, opened it upon us. Nasrulah and our Brahuis were sent forthwith to ascertain the meaning of this fresh attempt, and if Kamal Khan required aid, — for our sipahis were in such good-humour that they were eager to go and acquire more fame, and we had found that we could detach a party without risk. Kamal Khan was too proud to accept assistance, and, after a period of two hours, the insurgents retired. We understood that the assailants did not know that the son of Jelal Khan had surrendered, and that they had hoped, that he and his party would have been able to open the gates from within. Kamal 156 PANIC. Khan pretended that the attack was most furious, and that the sanghar was once in possession of the enemy. The nagara khana, or band of Shah Nawaz Khan, had, with martial melody, commemorated the re- pulse of the escalade, and again resounded with notes of triumph at the success of the morning. We were momentarily expecting a visit from the khan, as the occasion seemed to demand, but were disappointed ; and, on inquiry after him, learned that he was fatigued, and asleep in the citadel; although he sent a supply of sweetmeats for the soldiers who had so distinguished themselves. We were not long allowed to rejoice at the events of the past night, for the symptoms of a general panic were too plain to be mistaken. They communicated to our own people, who universally exclaimed, there was treachery, and that the guns, occasionally discharged from the citadel, were load- ed with blank cartridges ; judging from the reports. I w^as quite at a loss to account for the extra- ordinary and sudden change in feeling at a moment when victory had left us nothing to fear, and our enemies nothing to hope ; but so it was. The sipahis indeed, with a number of the assailants, had slain and wounded some of the traitors of the Jetaks and village levies, and on this account some precautionary step was necessary, but that was all ; and although I saw a cause for the panic in this circumstance, I did not think it a sufficient one to create so much SUSPICIOUS CONDUCT OF KAMAL KHAN. 157 alarm. From the first we were aware our men were not too trustwortliy, and our house had been continually fired upon by various parties within the town, and, as we knew, in some cases, by the Zehris under Rashid Khan's son ; the act, however, of individuals, without the order or knowledge of their chiefs. Succeeding events better explained the cause of the panic, and of its origin. I believe Kamal Khan first, on a visit to Lieut. Loveday, informed him, that it was dangerous to continue the defence, and that it was necessary to negotiate. This was strange news. The very notion of further resistance seemed as if, by common consent, to be abandoned ; the workmen at the citadel ceased their labour, and all preparations were suspended. In the evening Shah Nawaz Khan appeared down- cast and dejected. I strove to encourage him, and proposed to dismiss, armed or disarmed, the traitors of the garrison. He thought it unadvisable, and in his gloomy mood seemed reconciled to submit with composure to his fate. He represented, with Kamal Khan, that the defence of the place was hopeless. Lieut. Loveday concurred, although I could not conjecture why. Shah Nawaz Khan had, I suspect, not been sleeping, as he had given out, but had been painfully kept awake in expostula- tion and remonstrance, in supplication and reproach, with Kamal Khan, upon whom, and upon whose fidelity, he principally confided. This man declared the place untenable ; that arrangements were indis- 158 INTERCHANGE OF VAKILS. pensable, and all but avowed that lie would fight no more ; and, perhaps, went so far as to threaten that he would betray the town. A kind of mystery hung over the morning attack ; and it seems the enemy, enraged at Kamal Khan's opposition, affirmed they would send to Baghwan, lay waste his property, and bring up his wives and children, then placing them in front of their host, advance upon the town, and compel him to surrender it, or to fire upon those dearest to him. Whether alFected by this menace, or that he had previously inclined to play a double part, he wavered, and Shah Nawaz Khan could no longer reckon on him. It may be, also, that communion with the son of Jelal Khan did the Baghwan chief no good. It was too evident that we had more to dread from the defection of this man than the treachery of the Jetaks and vil- lage levies. About sunset a vakil arrived on the part of the enemy, either in pursuance of some arrangement mutually concerted, or that, finding force inefiect- ual, it was deemed necessary to have recourse to fraud. I know not to whom he was commissioned, but Shah Nawaz Khan brought him to Lieut. Loveday. I pointed out to the khan his error in receiving him, but Lieut. Loveday did not oppose it ; and an elchi, on the part of Shah Nawaz Khan, was, in return, despatched to the rebel camp. This was again a capital error; but neither the khan nor Lieut. Loveday seemed to look upon it in that TREATY. 159 light. I never learned to whom these elchis were deputed. It was easy to predict what would be the fruit of negotiation. On the next day it was arranged that Kamal Khan was to meet the sirdars of Saharawan, and on the following one the meeting took place in a garden without the town. God knows what passed between them. We afterwards learned that th§ Saharawams joked with Kamal Khan for having married his sister to Shah Nawaz Khan. The Baghwan chief observed, he had been sJietdM, or precipitate ; and was asked, in retort, why he had been precipitate. The result of the conference was an ehrdr ndmeJi, or engagement between the sir- dars of Saharawan and Jhalawan, by which the takJit, or sovereignty of Kalat, was vested in the son of Mehrab Khan, and the districts of Bagh- wan, Zidi, and Khozdar were ceded to Shah Na- waz Khan, who was to vacate Kalat after three days ; while Lieut. Loveday was to be escorted in safety to Quetta, with his sipahis, establishment, and property. Kamal Khan brought a copy of the ekrdr ndmeli to Lieut. Loveday, attested by the seals of himself, on behalf of the Jhalawan sirdars, and by those of Mahomed Khan, Sher- wani, Malek Dinar, Mahmud Shahi, Jan Mahomed, Bangui Zai, and Mahomed Khan, Lari, all sirdars of Saharawan, or so calling themselves. Kamal Khan vindicated his proceedings on the plea of necessity, and Lieut. Loveday expressed his satis- 160 APATHY OF LIEUT. LOVED AY. faction. I could not forbear expressing great in- dignation at the transaction, and Kamal Khan reproached me with not understanding the matter, and represented that he wanted to gain time. When he left I pointed out to Lieut. Love- daj, as forcibly as I was able, the absurdity of the whole business, and how unlikely it was that the government would recognize the engagements of such men, at all times incompetent to make treaties, but more particularly so now, when one of the par- ties, the sirdars of Saharawan, were traitors, and very probably denounced outlaws. Besides^ I re- minded him how carefully the principals had avoid- ed to commit themselves, and that they might hereafter plead the treaty was not binding upon them. To all the objections I raised, Lieut. Loveday, as usual with him, made few remarks, but in consequence of the absence of the seals of the princijials, he made an effort to obtain them through Kamal Khan. They were not given, as the engagement was declared to be, and truly, one between the sirdars of Saharawan and Jhalawan, but the seal of Assad Khan of Kharan, was affixed to the instrument, as a further proof of its validity. This, in my opinion did not mend the matter ; but Lieut. Loveday was satisfied. Li Lieut. Loveday's household and establish- ment were four persons, in an especial and singular degree possessing his confidence, and admitted to council, — Ilaji Osman, Nasrulah, Sampar, a Hindu EFFORTS TO REJECT THE TREATY. 161 servant, and the Havildar Allabaksh, the two latter in political questions being influenced by the opinions of the two former. All these men ap- plauded the ekrar nameh, encouraged Lieut. Love- day in the belief that its engagements would be fulfilled, and anticipated the increased honour and fame he would secure under the accession of Mir Nassir Khan, the name conferred on the son of Mehrab Khan, Mahomed Hassan, now that he as- sumed sovereignty. No sooner had the ekrar nameh been concluded than free intercourse was established between the town and rebel camp, and Nasrulah, with Lieut. Loveday's permission, went to pay his respects to Darogah Gul Mahomed, his ancient , master. Of course he made his peace, and in return for his par- don, which, with tears, he implored, consented to be- come an instrument to further the darogah's views. On his return Nasrulah brought the kindest assur- ances from the old man, — never made, or made only to deceive ; but, I afterwards learned, never made. Shah Nawaz Khan, as soon as he had recovered from the consternation into which the treachery of Kamal Khan had thrown him, and upon a cooler view of the transactions, in which he had implicated himself, sought to retrieve his errors, and being supported by Mir Boher, and others, proposed to reject the ekrar nameh of the sirdars, and to con- tinue the defence of the town. Many circum- stances confirmed him in this resolution. From the VOL. IV. M 162 LIEUT. LOVEDAY'S INDECISION, communication opened between the town and rebel camp, it became known that the insurgents had neither ammunition nor provisions. Mir Boher, Hehim Khan, Liatunj, and all the Kambararis of the garrison inveighed against the disgrace of surrendering the place to the Saharawams, and it was discovered that, contrary to the reports circu- lated, no persons of respectability had joined the rebel standard from the neighbourhood. The khan had, moreover, received letters from Kachi, repre- senting Saiyad Mahomed Sherif active in seizing Brahuis : from which he became assured of his fidelity, before suspected, it having been surmised that the saiyad had favoured the flight of Mehrab Khan's widow, Bibi Ganjani, from Bagh, when she joined the rebels at Mastung. Mir Boher came several times to Lieut. Love- day alone, or with Shah Nawaz Khan. Once, when both were visitors, I so far prevailed with that officer as to induce him to give them his hand, and to promise his support to a continued defence, but the fatal influence of Haji Osman, Nasrulah, and the rest, paralyzed and defeated everything. These men made the grossest misrepresentations as to the number of the rebels, and the abundance of grain and necessaries in their camp, and were too readily credited. Mir Boher proposed to obviate treachery in future by a change in the disposition of the men on the ramparts. He, with Shah Nawaz Khan, was DONATION TO MIR BOHER. 163 averse to ejecting the traitors, wliich I still thought the wisest measure, but did not press when a re- medy was suggested. I asked Mir Bolier what had come over Kamal Khan's mind. He replied, that he had become faint-hearted ; and engaged to bring him round. The Zehri chief spoke with real anguish to Shah Nawaz Khan of the disgrace about to fall on them, affirming that it was " bini burida," or equivalent to cutting off their noses. He further bitterly lamented that Kamal Khan had spoiled all. I must always consider it most unfortunate that Lieut. Loveday did not at this period give his hearty support to Shah Nawaz Khan, and the chiefs desirous of breaking up the treaty. I recommended, and had done so from the first of the siege, that a little liberality should be displayed, not as being prudent only, but what was reasonable on such an occasion. I failed to make any impression on either Lieut. Loveday or the khan. I had even suggested, when it was decided to retain within the walls the traitors discovered by the attempt at escalade, to give them the merit of a triumph, and to make a small donation to the garrison of some five rupees each, and try what effect it might produce. Subse- quently, when we became prisoners to the insur- gents, the Brahuis, while indulging in invective against Mir Boher, constantly alluded to the receipt of money by him from Lieut. Loveday. I hardly took notice of it, further than supposing their imagination had prompted the invention of a tale in unison with M 2 164 ARRANGEMENT OF SHAH NAWAZ KHAN. their hate, until, one day at Mastung, I asked Lieut. Loveday if he did give money to Boher. To my surprise, he said yes, two or three thousand rupees ; and then regretted that he had not taken better care to see it distributed. I had always understood that he would not give money, but never had the opportunity to ascertain whether Boh^r had received the sum, or, what was quite as likely, that one of Lieut. Loveday's people had intercepted it. Shah Nawaz Khan, in his anxiety to secure Mir Boher, had made an arrangement with him, in which Lieut. Loveday, I believe, had no part, nominating him sirdar of Jhalawan, to the detriment of the young son of Rashid Khan, a minor, and now with his followers in the town. The Zehri levies never had a friendly feeling to Shah Nawaz Khan ; and this had been inflamed by the oppressive con- duct of his brother, Mir Fati Khan, even when he had recently been in their country soliciting their aid. The arrangement with Mir Boher was not so secretly managed but that it transpired, and of course exasperated them in no slight degree. The consequence of the khan's carelessness was, that they sent a message inviting the Darogah Gill Ma- homed, on the next attack, to advance upon the gate they held, and it should be opened to him. From this nothing of evil would have happened had the defence been prolonged, as the Darogah had not intended to accept the invitation, supposing it in- sidiously made. These facts were not known to MISSIONS. 165 Lieut. Loveday or myself at the time. That Shah Nawaz Khan was imprudent there can be no doubt, and his error might have done his cause great mischief. I neglected no opportunity to impress Lieut. Loveday with a sense of the danger he must incur by putting himself in the power of the insurgents ; but all arguments I could employ were set aside by the assurances of Haji Osman, Nasrulah, and Sampat. By night, pacing up and down his room, we discoursed to a late hour ; and once, momen- tarily influenced by the efforts I made to arouse him to a course of energy and action, representing the duty he owed to government, the shame in submitting to a vanquished foe, and the reputation within his grasp, which he was about to throw away, he made a theatrical jump, and exclaimed, I will die ! The resolution vanished as soon as the words expressing it had passed his lips, and the counsels of his advisers reconciled him to life. To counteract the exertions of Shah Nawaz Khan to get up resistance, Haji Osman and Nasrulah set on foot a variety of missions to the rebel camp. Had not the consequences been so fatal, this zeal for negotiation, and the rank and quality of the negotiators, would have been amusing. With Nasrulah were despatched Imam Baksh, the young drummer attached to the sipahis, and Morad Khan, a naik, or corporal. Nasrulah privately communed with the darogah, and the other two 166 ARAB TESTIMONY. eicliis were admitted to a formal audience by the young khan, after which they were sent to a shah- ghassi, to communicate their errand. Haji Osman introduced on the scene his uncle, Atta Mahomed Khan, brother of Akhund Mahomed, Sidik ; and this man, with Rais Pir Mahomed, of Kalat, was sent privately by night on a mission to the camp. The result was, of course, gratifying, as, on the next day, Atta Mahomed Khan marched publicly on a second mission, attended by a retinue of some forty to fifty persons he had collected. It occurred to me, that there was something very indelicate, to speak no worse of it, in the despatch of these persons to the rebels, while Shah Nawaz Khan was yet in the town, and T must confess I was ashamed, if I may not say shocked, when I beheld Lieut. Loveday, who was wont, when the khan called upon him, to put his arm around him, in the affectionate familiarity of friendship, affecting to concur in his plans, while at the very time his agents were negotiating with the enemy the subversion of the khan's authority. I may here observe, in relation to this subject, that months after the events occurred here described, I saw, at Bombay, Captain Hamerton, then the representative of the East India Company, now also her Majesty's Consul at Maskat. I had pub- lished in India a statement of the siege of Kalat, which Captain Hamerton had seen at Maskat. He assured me that an Arab agent of the Imam, who was })resent at Kalat during the siege, con- SUCCESS OF THE MISSIONS. 167 firmed every fact, even to the circumstance of Lieut. Loveday putting his arms around Shah Nawaz Khan, and he, like myself, witnessed it with shame, I was going to write horror. Shah Nawaz Khan reproached Lieut. Loveday for sending his man, Nasrulah, to the Darogah Gul Mahomed ; and at another time employed language so strong to Haji Osman, in the presence of Lieut. Loveday and myself, that a person stand- ing by afterwards gave his opinion, that had he received the least encouragement from Lieut. Love- day, he would have drawn his sword and have put an end at once to the haji and his treason. Lieut. Loveday's envoys always returned with the same unqualified promises of kind treatment and pro- tection ; the young khan, the darogah, Bibl Ganjani, and the sirdars, were all animated by the best feel- ings, and the latter were determined to adhere with fidelity to their engagements. Lieut. Loveday was to do exactly as he pleased ; he might go to Quetta or remain at Kalat. If he went to Quetta, the Bibi Ganjani was to accompany him ; if he remained, a splendid residence was to be built for him, in place of the one which had been demolished by the Brahuis. Nasrulah, in particular, certified to the good intentions of the darogah ; and Atta Ma- homed Khan, who professed to be in the confidence of the Bibi Ganjani, assured Lieut. Loveday of that lady's good will, and that she looked upon him as her son. The young khan had declared, as 168 DELUSION OF LIEUT. LOVEDAY. he was tutored, to the drummer and naik, that all he wanted was, using his expression, the few sticks of the citadel, and that he had no desire for the country, which Lieut. Loveday was to go- vern as heretofore, and this sentiment was always inculcated by the others. So completely was the unfortunate officer deluded, that it afterwards proved he had written to Quetta, boasting of his good fortune in being adopted as the son of Bibi Ganjani. A letter, purporting to be from the Bibi, was even brought by Atta Mahomed Khan, but, instead of a seal, her name was scrawled merely within a circle. As I doubted the authen- ticity of the document, Atta Mahomed Khan said the lady had given her seal to Postans Sahib, who had promised to arrange some business for her with the government. Lieut. Loveday seemed satisfied, and to believe all that was told him ; and I think he was angry with me for cautioning him, and for presuming to suggest that he might be deceived. Yet I knew it was so; and with bitter disgust I heard Rais Pir Mahomed, returning from one of his missions, repeat, sitting with Nasrulah, a Persian couplet, probably impromptu, expressing that *' The wicked man has fallen into his own snare, And he who devoured men with dogs, will in turn be de- voured by dogs." Lieut. Loveday was standing by me when these HAVILDAR ALLABAKSH. 169 words were uttered, and that he heard them too, I might suppose, from the significant look he di- rected to me. Besides the envoys mentioned, there were a number of others, for the aid of no one was re- fused ; Wall Mahomed, a tailor, was brought from his shop, and Gliulam and Fati, merchants, and brothers, were despatched at various times. Even the dependents of Lieut. Loveday formed missions on their own part, but with sanction, and the ha- vildar, Allabaksh, sent Buta Singh, a sipahi, to the son of Fazil Shah, a saiyad, residing at the springs. The havildar himself, with Buta Singh, and another sipahi, then repaired to this saiyad, and brought him to a masjit, near Lieut. Love- day's house. The object was to induce him to escort the party to Quetta. Mentioning the havildar, it is just also to state, that he was a good man and worthy soldier, and acting with the best intentions, though misled by his faith in the honesty of Haji Osman and Nas- rulah. Shah Nawaz Khan had frequently urged Lieut. Loveday to retire into the citadel, and in the debate on that question I had taken no part, as I saw no reason to abandon the town ; and learned, moreover, that there was no well in it, while sixty skins were all that could be mustered to insure a supply of water. On the morning of the panic the havildar again most urgently im- plored Lieut. Loveday to take up his quarters 170 EFFORTS TO CONTINUE THE DEFENCE. there, and Shah Nawaz Khan, when resolving on further resistance, had seconded his entreaties. Lieut. Loveday lent a deaf ear to what was urged, and still hoping to have prevailed upon him to support the khan and the fighting party, I did not strenuously advocate the measure, which I now regret, as any course would have been preferable to that eventually followed. It was in vain that Shah Nawaz Khan appealed to Lieut. Loveday by every argument in his power. No influence could induce him to suspend his communications with the rebel camp ; and these being openly and publicly carried on, completely baffled the khan's endeavours to confirm the dis- : positions of his chiefs ; yet it was humiliating to observe that while Lieut. Loveday so effectually counteracted the khan's plans, he affected still the same tenderness to him, still pretended to accede to whatever he proposed, and still encircled his waist with his arm. The third day arrived, and the Hindus of the place, with permission of Lieut. Loveday, went in a body to offer their congratulations to the young khan in the rebel camp. Shah Nawaz Khan, with Mir Boher, Rehim Khan, Ltitiani, and some of the Kambararis, were again with Lieut. Loveday, conjuring him to re- flect, and throw no obstacles in the way of farther defence ; but no reasoning could prevail against his resolve, supported by the advice of those about him. Kamal Khan also came and vindicated his ENTREATIES OF SHAH NAWAZ KHAN. 171 conduct ; but finding I did not agree with him, he took Lieut. Lovedaj aside, and secretly communed with him. He complained before me that Shah Nawaz Khan had upbraided him with treachery, and Lieut. Loveday consoled him, and lamented the khan should have done so. I know not what passed in secret, but Kamal Khan actually pro- cured an order from Lieut. Loveday, making over to him the whole of his grain. Shah Nawaz Khan coming immediately after, asked, with some reason, why, if the grain were given away, it had not been bestowed on those who wished to defend the place, instead of on those who had betrayed it. I in- quired of the khan whether, as a last resource, it would not be advisable to confine Kamal Khan, but he said no,^ — I presume on account of his sister. He next urged Lieut. Loveday to accompany him either to Zehri or Baghwan, where, as he pleased, he could retire, or renew the contest. He pre- ferred Zehrj, being assured of Mir Boher ; and al- leged, that the Mulloh route would thus be kept open, and that Shikarpur was near. He honestly confessed he could not undertake the responsibility of the Quetta route. Lieut. Loveday stated that he had not a sufficient number of camels ; the khan oifered to supply as many as he needed. Lieut. Loveday then stated, that he must abandon much of his property, and the khan told him on no ac- count to abandon any, not so much as a mat. Lieut. Loveday then asked how the sipahis were 172 GLOOMY PROSPECTS. to go, and the khan replied, they should all be mounted, for of all men they were the most needed. I warmly supported the khan's recom- mendations, but those who had influence with Lieute Loveday opposed it, and he was clearly in- capable of acting contrary to their counsels. He seemed, however, to acquiesce when the khan was present, and a faint attempt was made to pack up, but the duty devolved on Sampat, who did it un- willingly, and it was soon abandoned. Communications from Quetta were occasionally received, and one reached at this crisis. Capt. Bean held out no hope of assistance ; and we sup- posed, as a matter of course, that the succours he had received from Kandahar had returned to that place, or, it might have been expected, a force would have been moved on Mastung for our relief. Letters also came from Shikarpur. These declared any aid from that quarter was not to be expected, for they were in danger themselves, and the Khad- jiks of Siva were in arms. This unfortunate state of things had, of course, a pernicious influence in augmenting the terrors of the disafliected chiefs of the garrison, and of encouraging the enemy. X Kamal Khan was even anxious to learn whether there was any chance of relief, and a favourable report from Quetta at this crisis might have done us essential service. Lieut. Loveday revealed the truth, and this did not mend our prospects. Shah Nawaz Khan in course of this day made ABDICATION OF SHAH NAAVAZ KHAN. 173 a last effort with his chiefs by assembling them in the citadel, and administering to them an oath to stand by him, and to reject the treaty. The oath was taken by all, but Fati Khan reported, that many of them on leaving the apartment vowed, it was not binding, as it was compulsory. The morning came wdien the town was to be evacuated by Shah Nawaz Khan and his friends. He was early with Lieut. Loveday, entreating him even then to accompany him with his entire party, taking only his valuables, as it was too late to think of removing the bulk of the property. It was dis- tressing to hear the trifling objections raised by Lieut. Loveday. The khan justly remarked, that his property could be replaced, but that his life and honour could not. He had once before asked him if all the Feringhis were as laghor, or unmanly as he was, and now prophesied to him all the indig- nities and perils to which he would expose him- self by remaining. It was not until this period that Shah Nawaz Khan, baffled in his efforts to defend the town, and to induce Lieut. Loveday to accompany him, thought of abdication. The time was most critical. He had not deserted Lieut. Loveday, but had been deserted by him. He took the bold and even dan- gerous step of repairing to the rebel camp and of resigning his authority to the son of Mehrab Khan. Scarcely had he left the town for this purpose, when Nasrulah and Haji Osman, returning from the camp, 174 FRIGHT OF MIR FATI KHAN. with singular impudence implored Lieut. Loveday, whose power of doing so was past, to accompany the khan, as there was evil in his stay. The mis- creant liaji enforced his supplications with tears. Fati Khan at this juncture visited Lieut. Loveday, and urged him in like manner to accompany his brother, the khan, and instanced that they had their mother and families to protect, and were unlikely to expose them to unnecessary peril, or to neglect due precautions. Lieut. Loveday could not be moved, but gave Fati Khan a paper, setting forth that he had been solicited to leave, but had deter- mined to remain and to negotiate for the safety of himself and his party. Fati Khan went away, and shortly returned, when Lieut. Loveday took back the paper he had before given, and wrote another, in which he stated, as his motive in remaining, the determination to die at his post. The result of the interview between Shah Nawaz Khan and the son of Mehrab Khan was unknown, when a person came to Fati Khan, still in the house, and whispered some- thing in his ears, which exceedingly terrified him, and, falling on his knees, he crouched under Lieut. Loveday's chair. I suspected, for the instant, that Shah Nawaz Khan had been made a captive, or had been worse treated, no unlikely circumstance, and asked Lieut. Loveday whether the soldiers had not better stand to their arms. He said nothing ; and I spoke again and again to him to no purpose, when I inquired if I should pass the order, and receiving SURRENDER OF KALAT. 175 still no reply, I turned to the havildar, who was waiting, and told him to call out the men, and to close the doors. A second messenger came to Fati Khan, who left the house and took sanctuary at the tomb of Mehrab Khan. While waiting in anxiety the development of events, we beheld from the ramparts the son of Mehrab Khan and Shah Nawaz Khan moving in procession towards the town. As the cavalcade advanced, we had the mortification to witness to what a contemptible rabble the town was surren- dered. Augmented with the followers of Shah Nawaz Khan, and the persons who on such an occasion would congregate, there could not have been five hundred men. To account for this de- ficiency in number, we were obliged to suppose that many had dispersed after the failure of the escalade, or that, sure of their game, they had re- tired to Mastung, which it appeared, although un- known to us, was now threatened from the side of Quetta. After attending the son of Mehrab Khan to the citadel, Shah Nawaz Khan, in tlie act of quitting the town, called, for the last time, on Lieut. Love- day. I was not present at their interview, having gone downstairs to see my friend Faiz Ahmed, who, with his son, had taken the earliest opportu- nity to visit me. The khan sent for me, but before I had time to go he stood by me. He called upon me to witness that he had done his duty to the 170 INTERVIEW BETWEEN THE TWO KHANS. Sirkar Company and to Lieut. Loveday. I affirmed that, in my opinion, he had, and that I regretted the issue had been so unfortunate. He then turned and appealed to Faiz Ahmed, who spoke flatteringly to him, and, when he had left, warmly eulogized his deportment when conferring the khelat upon Mehrab Khan's son, and the solicitude he expressed on behalf of Lieut. Loveday ; and, moreover, con- fessed that he was a genuine Ahmed Zai, and that he would have made a good hakam, had it been his fortune to have been better directed. The walls and houses surrounding our residence were covered with the insurgents, and while speak- ing to Faiz Ahmed I was obliged to leave the court, or I should have been shot, under the belief that I was Lieut. Loveday. I inquired of my friend what passed at the interview between the two khans, and he answered, that Shah Nawaz Khan explained that Kalat had been given to him by the Sirkar Company, and not by Lieut. Loveday ; that he had one friend, Lieut. Loveday, whose kind treatment he expected in return for the resignation of power. In the figurative style of the Brahuis, he declared that Lieut. Loveday was his beard; that is, as dear to him as that appendage ; and the son of Mehrab assured him that Lieut. Love- day was henceforth his own beard, and would be regarded as a brother. The testimony of Faiz Ahmed was valuable, both because he had been present at the meeting, and LIEUT. LOVEDAY'S OFFERINGS. 177 that, like most other citizens of Kalat, he thought unfavourably of Shah Nawaz Khan, and was un- likely, therefore, to offer evidence to his credit, unless, in truth, compelled to do it. Haji Os- man, however, whose supplications had scarcely been made, and whose tears had hardly dried up, had the unparalleled audacity to tell Lieut. Love- day, that Shah Nawaz Khan had proposed to be the first to lay hands on him, and that Kamal Khan had spoken to the same purpose. To so infamous a scoundrel did Lieut. Loveday trust for information, and by such information were his opinions formed and his conduct determined. The son of Mehrab Khan, installed in the palace of his father, received during the day the congra- lations and offerings of his people. Lieut. Loveday sent his mohdraki^ or salutation of welcome, with two nazzars, of fifty rupees each, for the young khan and Bibi Ganjani. Four men were appointed to attend at Lieut. Loveday's gates, avowedly to keep the turbulent Brahuis from intruding, but also to watch over the intercourse with the house, and to take care that no one left it. I cannot close this chapter of folly and treason without deprecating the resolution taken by Lieut. Loveday. From the commencement of the revolt he had been overpowered by a languor, which, excepting at momentary intervals, apparently inca- pacitated him from any effort of mind or body, and to such an extent that his Hindu servant, Sampat, VOL. IV. N J 78 ERRORS OF LIEUT. LOVEDAY. in vain strove to arouse him, by instancing my exer- tions, and reminding him that I should acquire the credit of the defence. From the reserve which generally clouded him, it would be impossible to conjecture the motives influencing him, but I doubt not the fatal step of his stay at Kalat was owing mainly to a desire to preserve his property, or to avoid the trouble attendant on its package, which afterwards he repeatedly alluded to with regret. Although I could sympathise with the young son of Mehrab Khan, and lament that his recognition, on his father s death, had not prevented the evils which now beset us, as matters stood, especially when he was made an instrument by a band of insurgents ; I saw no course open to Lieut. Love- day but that of supporting the chief nominated by the government. The fatal consequences attending Lieut. Love- day's placing himself in the power of the insur- gents proclaim more forcibly than words can con- vey the extreme folly of the step. Inexplicable is the infatuation which induced the resolve, as there were none of the chiefs who had not, in some mode, been personally aggrieved, and for the lives of some of them even premiums had been offered ; a fact spoken in sorrow, yet in truth. The singular requital I experienced subsequent to these events, and in the face of Lieut. Loveday's testimony to my " devoted and noble conduct at Kalat," will be INTENTION TO DEPART. 179 my apology for asserting, what otherwise would be unbecoming, that during the few busy days of the siege I was unremittingly vigilant and active, and never by night closed my eyes in sleep while it lasted. Neither did I on any occasion shrink from the dangers of our situation, although often besought to be more careful by Shah Nawaz Khan and those of Lieut. Loveday's establishment. I was unable to overcome the obstacles opposed to a successful resistance, yet I shall never cease to deplore that I was not called upon seven days soonefs that I might have had time to have exactly ascertained our position, and to have become fa- miliar with the several parties composing the gar- rison, when I might have hoped a very different result. Having acquitted myself of every obligation I owed to my conscience, to a sense of duty, and to Lieut. Loveday as a British officer, I by no means considered he had further claims on my presence or services, and when he declined to ac- company Shah Nawaz Khan, I informed him that I should, as I intended to do. Then, however, I found that some of the sipahis had determined to follow me, averring that Lieut. Loveday was ham dkkal, or of little understanding, and would ruin them. I could not permit such a procedure, and it made me waver in my determination, until the incidents consequent upon the evacuation of the town by n2 180 COMPELLED STAY. the one party, and its occupation by the other, occurred in such rapid succession, and produced so much confusion, that the place was filled with the enemy, and I had no longer the power to depart. 181 CHAPTER VI. Continued delusion and treachery. — Distraction of Brahui coun- cils.— Mahomed Sidik's appointment. — Orders from the cita- del. — Communications with and from Capt. Bean. — Advance of troops to Mobah. — Their retreat. — Haji Osman's defection. — Capt. Bean's proposals. — Efforts to procure a letter to the king. — The darogah's obstinate convictions. — Arrangements contemplated. — Their rejection. — Departure of Gafur to Quetta. — Capt. Bean's replies. — Demands on Lieut. Loveday. — Nasrulah's final acts of treachery. — Meditated attack. — ■ Preliminary steps. — Attack from the citadel and surrounding houses. — Operations during the night. — Parley. — Defection of part of the sipahis.- — The darogah's measures. — The house entered. — Transfer of Lieut. Loveday and myself to the citadel — Incidents there. — Interview with the son of Mehrab Khan. — Apartment assigned for our confinement. — Rejoicings of the Brahuis. — -Loss of property and manuscripts. I KNOW not what Lieut. Loveday thought of his situation, but those in his confidence vied with each other in certifying that he had nothing to fear, and brought him a number of the kindest messages, in- vented by themselves, from the young khan, Bibi Ganjani, and Darogah Gul Mahomed. Until the town was fairly given up, and while there existed a lingering hope that the defence would be continued, I had always expressed my opinion to Lieut. Love- day that we should get over our difficulties. He 182 CONSEQUENCES OF PEACE. now asked what I thought, and I confessed I knew not what to think. Sampat, observing me thought- ful, took upon himself to cheer me, and inquired why, having been so MiusJi, or glad when there was war, I was so dik, or sad, now that siUali, or peace, was made. I replied, that I did not fear the Brahuis' war, but very much feared their peace, and was thinking what would be the end of it. Haji Osman and Nasrulah, who heretofore had passed their nights in Lieut. Loveday's house, removed with their effects. Confiding in the peace, one of the servants ventured into the bazar, and returned stripped and naked. A demand was made for the arms taken from the Brahuis on the morning after the escalade, and, being complied with, other de- mands were made for arms and plunder, obtained in the foray upon Nushki. Morning and evening crowds assembled around the house, and showers of stones were hurled into it. On remonstrance, the offenders were represented to be low fellows, un- worthy of notice. Lieut. Loveday much wished to see the young khan, who, it was affirmed, had an equal desire to see Lieut. Loveday, but no inter- view was arranged ; in like manner the Babi Gan- jani. Nasrulah amused his master, if he still might be considered such, with the tale of Darogali Gul Mahomed intending to call upon him. It would be tedious to relate all the deception and chicanery practised. Strange to say, Nasrulah, Haji Osman, and his uncle, Atta Mahomed Khan, received large UNCERTAIN STATE OF AFFAIRS. 183 sums of money for their services, in effecting the peace, or, as I understood, for placing Lieut. Love- day in the power of his enemies. I was not made a party to these donations, but they were not so secretly made as to escape notice. They were given by Sampat, and were not less than five hun- dred rupees each, perhaps even Atta Mahomed received a thousand. While Lieut. Loveday was so duped, I received a visit from Faiz Ahmed, and seriously questioned him as to the state of matters. He told me, what I could not but be certain of, that the messages brought to Lieut. Loveday were fabricated, or in- tended only to delude him. He assured me, that he had placed his turban before the darogah, and had craved of him to preserve the daman, or shirt of the young khan's garments pak, or unstained, and to commit no violence. The darogah had not replied? but when he related a story, current in these parts, of the generosity of Mr. Elphinstone, to one Faiz- ulah Khan, a Barechi, and thereby showed the advantage of meriting the favour of Feringhis, the old man remarked, that he must acknowledge that Feringhis, although his enemies, were generous. Faiz Ahmed farther said, that the darogah had not suffered a word to escape his lips as to the course he intended to pursue, and it would require a few days to ascertain whose councils prevailed, for, in the present confusion, it was unknown whether the Bibi Ganjani, the darogah, or the sirdars of Saha- 184 APPOINTMENT OF MAHOMED SIDIK, rawan, had the ascendancy. I requested Faiz Ah- med to apprise me if anything- particular occurred. He expressed fear of Lieut, Loveday and Haji Osman, but I overruled his scruples on their ac- count, and he promised to let me know when any- thing transpired. In truth, for several days after the entry of Mehrab Khan's son into Kalat the various factions with him had too many conflicting claims to settle amongst themselves to permit them to think farther of Lieut. Loveday than to take measures to delude him, and to prevent his escaj)e. Akhund Mahomed, Sidik, the brother of Atta Mahomed, and therefore uncle to Haji Osman, had arrived at Kalat from Kachi, and his appearance promoted rather than allayed disunion in the Brahui councils. Darogah Gul Mahomed was, or pretended to be, sick for some days, but it was arranged that the Akhund should take office, under the title of Vakil of Saha- rawan. He was supported by the rebel sirdars, and producing a seal of the former Nassir Khan, sus- pended it on his neck, and commenced the duties of his appointment by announcing that he should adopt many vigorous measures, amongst them the closing of the Mulloh and Bolan passes. The activity I had shown in the defence of the place, and the known desire I had to continue it, caused me to be very unfavourably looked upon by the new occupants of the citadel, and intercourse with me had been specially prohibited to persons CORRESPONDENCE PERMITTED. 185 of the place, with the exception of Faiz Ahmed, who, on the strength of ancient acquaintance with the darogah, was excepted. Soon after Akhund Mahomed Sidik's arrival, Khadardad, one of the four guards, addressed my servant : " Brother, you and I are Mussulmans : your sahib is a good sahib ; tell him not to come down stairs." In explanation Khadardad imparted the secret that orders had been issued from bdlla to shoot me if I came down stairs. Balla, or above, of course meant the citadel ; but Khadardad would not communicate who had given the orders, and in the citadel there were many to give them : neither did I ever learn, although I suspected the Akhund. In course of time it was proposed that Lieut. Loveday should write to Capt. Bean, and it was insisted that he should write in Persian. Lieut. Loveday consented to write in Persian. I objected, on the ground that the letter would be considered compulsory. Faiz Ahmed chancing to call, under- took to represent the impropriety to the darogah, and the consequence was that Lieut. Loveday was permitted to write in English. I have previously noted, that Capt. Bean's let- ters, received during the siege, positively stated the impossibility of affording us relief, and that they had an evil influence on the determination of those to whom we looked to hold the town. We were excessively surprised, immediately after that un- lucky event, to receive accounts of an advance upon 186 ADVANCE OF TROOPS ON MASTUNG. Mastuiig of a large force, some fifteen or sixteen hundred men, cavalry and infantry, with horse- artillery guns. Lieut. Hammersley, the assistant to Capt. Bean, accompanied this force, which at Mobah came by surprise upon some two hundred Brahms, and cut many of them up. The troops then encamped near the adjacent village of Feringabad, and received the submission of the inhabitants of Mastung. The design was to have replenished the commissariat at Mastung, and then to have march- ed upon Kalat. By the fatality which accompa- nied whatever was done, Lieut. Loveday's letters to Capt. Bean were brought into camp, and be- ing opened by Lieut. Hammersley, he retrograded to Quetta, as the occupation of Kalat by the rebels was announced, as well as the tidings that peace was concluded. If Capt. Bean had apprised Lieut. Loveday that this demonstrfition would be made, it is not too much to assert that Kalat would have been pre- served, but Capt. Bean was a remarkably prudent man, and until strong reinforcements reached him from Kandahar, he did not venture to think of de- taching the force. It was large enough to have traversed Balochistan at that time, and Salu Khan, with his six hundred horsemen, formed part of it. Now that a correspondence was permitted with Capt. Bean, Haji Osman conceived the notion of officiating as envoy, and brought Lieut. Loveday a REPLIES OF CAPTAIN BEAN. 187 forged letter from Bibi Ganjani, appointing him the medium of intercourse between Lieut. Loveday and herself, and describing him as the fittest person to be employed on a mission to Quetta. Lieut. Loveday prepared his letters for Capt. Bean, and urged the Haji to depart with them, when he disco- vered that the Brahuis would kill him on the road. None of the Brahui principals were aware of the Haji's proceedings, until he could no longer conceal them, and the discovery excited so much indigna- tion that the weak man, terrified perhaps more than was necessary, sought refuge in the house of a pir, or holy man, in the Babl suburb, feigned mad- ness, and ultimately departed with his protector for Kandahar. In his pretended insanity, he did not omit to reveal Lieut. Loveday's secrets, by way of atonement, although I never heard what they were. In reply to Lieut. Loveday's letters, an official announcement arrived from Capt. Bean, expressing his readiness to receive an envoy from the Brahuis, and his intention to recommend that the son of Mehrab Khan should be acknowledged ; but that it was essential that a letter of submissive allegi- ance should be addressed to Shah Sdjah al Mulkh. This was the course we had recommended without success, the Brahuis unanimously complaining that the shah had behaved ill to Mehrab Khan and to themselves, while he was in fact no shah, but the mockery of a shah. To the lord sahib, as the 188 LETTER TO THE KING OF KABAL. envoy and minister at Kabal was called, they were willing to write in the humblest style, as he in reality was the shah. Lieut. Loveday having lost Haji Osman, and be- ginning to suspect that Nasrulah had made his peace with the darogah, was at a loss how to pre- vail upon the Brahuis to write a letter to the shah, and thought of Faiz Ahmed, and with my approval he sent a Brahui lad, Salu, in his service, for him. When Faiz Ahmed came, I had some conversa- tion with him, and pointed out, with reference to Capt. Bean's letter, that the abdication of Shah Nawaz Khan, however brought about, had opened a chance of settlement, which, if neglected, must be followed by ruin to all in a few days sooner or later. As nothing could be done without a letter to the shah, and as Lieut. Loveday was anxious to procure it, if he could get it by his influence with the darogah, the Bibi, and others, he would be doing a service to all parties. Faiz Ahmed urged that he feared Lieut. Loveday, and might involve himself in trouble. I assured him there was no occasion to fear Lieut. Loveday, that I was myself present, and the moment I saw there was the possibility of his being committed with us I would warn him to desist. I then introduced him to Lieut. Loveday, and, encouraged by that officer's assurances, Faiz Ahmed engaged to do his best to procure the consent of the chiefs that a letter should be addressed in the name SCRUPLES OVERCOME. 189 of the young klian to the shah, and that an envoy should be sent to Quetta, as suggested by Capt. Bean. Faiz Ahmed had difficulty in overcoming the ob- stinacy and convictions of the darogah. He placed his turban on the ground before him, and assured him that if an endeavour was not made to come to an arrangement, or if the Brahius made another attempt on Qaetta (as they were talking of), he, and one half of the Babis, had determined to remove from Kalat, with their families and property. The perverse old man, in yielding observed, that he was still incredulous as to any good result ; it might be, he said, that misfortune and suffering had affected his understanding, and that Faiz Ahmed's view of things was more correct than his own, but he doubted it. Nearly similar repugnance was shown by the turbulent sirdars ; but the darogah and Bibi having been gained over to think of peace, they also acceded, and it became for the moment agreed, that a letter should be written to the shah, and that an envoy should be despatched to Quetta. A munshi, Akhund Musa, was brought to Lieut. Loveday, that the letters should be prepared under his instructions. The letter to the shah I thought unexceptionable, but that addressed to Capt. Bean, although suggested by Lieut. Loveday, contained demands, and declared expectations, in my opinion, which had better been omitted. The envoy selected for the mission was one Rehimdad, a respectable 190 EFFORT TO PROCURE MY FREEDOM. man, and about as good a one as could have been fixed upon. Faiz Ahmed availed himself of this opportunity to attempt my enlargement, yet he did not intimate the course he was pursuing until he apprised me that the darogah and the rest had consented that I should accompany Rehimdad to Quetta. He assured me nothing was expected from me but my good offices, if able to employ them, but that before I went I must see the darogah and chiefs, and give my hand as a pledge that, in return for liberty, if I could do no good, I would do them no kallal, or injury. Faiz Ahmed now revealed, that from the commencement he had incessantly endea- voured, by every means in his power, to procure my release, but the part I had taken in the defence was constantly urged against me ; that when inclined to accede, the Brahuis feared the evil I might do them. He also affirmed that, but for the hope of effecting that object, he would not have interested himself in the pending affair. I was too well av/are of the fickle dispositions of the Brahuis, to place much reliance on their consent to my departure. The letter to the shah, however, was, after some delay, sealed, but the objection was started that Rehimdad would be detained at Quetta. Another envoy, in the person of Gafur, a writer, in the employ of Diwan Ramu, was proposed in his stead, it being asserted that Gafur was of little consequence, and that his deten- DISCORD IN THE BRAHUI COUNCILS. 191 tion was unimportant. This Diwan Ramu, it may be noted, had been the farmer of the revenues of Mastung under Capt. Bean, and had fled to Kalat, on the advance of Lieut. Hammersley to Mobah. Gafur was now to start, and Faiz Ahmed warned me to be ready to see the sirdars, and went his way, but in a few minutes returned in great alarm, stating that a violent discussion had taken place ; that the letter to the shah had been torn to pieces, and that I should not be suffered to go to Quetta, where, the rebel chiefs asserted, I was required to repair a gun. Gafur might still proceed if Lieut. Loveday wished, but alone. Lieut. Loveday's letters to Capt. Bean were returned to him, and he was directed to erase my name, with his own hand. This he did, and I made no remark, but strongly pressed the evil of omitting the letter to the shah, but to no purpose. In the evening Gafdr departed. In the course of these transactions a number of diplomatic notes passed between Lieut. Loveday and Akhund Mahomed Sidik. In one of them Lieut. Loveday wrote, that the restitution of Quetta would be muskil, or difficult ; the Akhund replied, that if the restitution of Quetta were muskil, that of Kachi would be muskilter, or more difficult. I doubt not that the Akhund instigated the opposition which led to the rejection of the shah's letter, and the refusal to comply with the forms officially pointed out by Capt. Bean as essential to accommodation. As regarded my departure, it 192 CAPTAIN BEAN'S CONSOLATIONS. was almost too much to be expected. The people in Lieut. Loveclay's confidence were averse to it, and represented to him, that I should impede a settlement when at Quetta, — on account of my warlike propensities. Sampat got up on the occa- sion an intrigue of his own, in concert with Hidu, one of our guard, who carried two or three messages to Bibi Ganjani, until he was rebuked by that lady. The presence of Diwan Ramu led to a demand upon Lieut. Loveday for money, which was met by authorising the Hindu traders to contribute five thousand rupees, in part of the sum advanced to them by government. An amount of seven hun- dred and fifty rupees had been taken in some other mode by Ramu. Tidings of the fruitless mission of Gafur preceded his return to Kalat. When he came he had little to say, and a note from Capt. Bean explained, that he was in such haste to leave Quetta that there was no time to converse with him. I had constantly urged Lieut. Loveday to repre- sent to Capt. Bean the necessity of moving a force upon Kalat, without reference to any notion of peace; — however, he may have done this inadequately, owing to the delusion under which he laboured ; Capt. Bean now observed that it was impossible, as the Bra- huis were assembled along the entire route, and that he should have to fight every inch of his way. Cheer- less as this announcement was, it was no less dis- gusting, as we well knew the route was quite open PROJECTS OF THE BRAHUIS. 198 and clear of Brahtiis, however, the intelligence upon which Capt. Bean trusted had deceived him. It was jet consolatory to learn that Capt Bean con- sidered himself secure, and that, strong in the num- ber of troops around him, he was even elate, and defied the Brahms to pay him a visit at Quetta. Soon after Gafur's return from Quetta, Rehimdad, the first selected envoy, attended, with Ramu, upon Lieut. Loveday, to demand a further advance of money. I was not present at the interview, which passed in Lieut. Loveday's sleeping-room. The money was refused, and Rehimdad, on his return to the citadel, reported that Lieut. Loveday, in reply to the question as to what the Brahuis were to eat, had answered, they might eat stones. ' : : r: Since the return of Gafur the angry feelings of the insurgent chiefs had been strongly evinced, and probably they now determined to resort to acts of violence, which all along had been wished by many, who were restrained with difiSculty. An attack upon our house was possibly now only delayed from a lurking distrust as to the success which might attend it, from the disunion of the principals as to the mode of conducting it, and as to the division of the spoil. The sinister intentions of the chiefs had been intimated to us, and an effort was made by Lieut. Loveday and his confidants to put off the evil day, by presents, and holding out new expectations. For this purpose a sword-blade, the hilt studded VOL. IV. o 194 nasrulah's proceedings. with emeralds and pearls, was sent to the young khan by Nasrulah. The blade was said by Lieut. Loveday to have been taken from a soldier at the capture of Kalat, and was recognized by the young khan as one which had been presented to him by his late father on the day of his circumcision. Nasrulah came daily once or twice to Lieut. Loveday, communed privately with him, repeated what he had learned, and carried back to the darogah all he heard in confidence. Lieut. Love- day did not yet withhold faith in him, and so thoroughly was the error of the master shared in by those about him, that Sampat was accustomed to say, if all others betrayed them, Nasrulah would adhere through good and evil. Latterly this man began to beg, getting as much as he could before the day of general spoil. Sometimes he requested in his own name, sometimes in that of the daro- gah, always amusing Lieut. Loveday with the ex- pectation of an interview with the old man, who hitherto, he said, had been deterred by the appre- hension that witchcraft might be practised upon him. One day Nasrulah, informing Lieut. Love- day that a trustworthy merchant was about to go to Quetta, suggested the opportunity as a good one for sending his money to Capt. Bean. Lieut. Loveday, in this instance, asked my opinion ; and T told him, if he wished to give Nasrulah his money, the op- portunity was certainly a good one, for it was ridi- culous to suppose it would be taken to Quetta. On SIGNS OF HOSTILITY. 195 the following morning, in another private confer- ence, Lieut. Loveday refusing to give his money, wrote, at the request of Nasrulah, a note to Capt. Bean, recommending that four hundred horse should be despatched by a circuitous route to Kalat, as the Mastung gate being at command, the party could be introduced, and the town, with the young khan, taken. When Nasrulah left, Lieut. Loveday told me what he had just done ; it was useless to expos- tulate with a man who could so commit himself. The note, in course, was carried to the darogah, and served to allay any scruples of conscience the meditated assault on our house might have raised in his bosom ; and in all probability for that very pur- pose Nasrulah had been commissioned to procure it, as the darogah made the fact one of his many charges against Lieut. Loveday. Showers of stones had been continually poured upon the house since the occupation of the town. Such missiles were now yet more abundantly em- ployed, and as matters progressed a few musket- shots were fired from the citadel, as was explained, merely in sport, and directed at a tower of the town walls, forming also the angle of our premises. The next evening these shots were repeated, and on the following morning we learned that a serious attack would be made in the evening. Messages were brought to Lieut. Loveday, desiring him to repair to the citadel, and there make his salam, or obedience, to the khan ; but no fit person was de- 0 2 196 ATTACK ON THE HOUSE. puted to conduct him, and it was impossible that he could pass harmlessly through the infuriated Brahuls, setting aside the almost certainty that he was sent for to be secured. Nasruiah, who the day before had obtained Lieut. Loveday's cows, on pre- tence of sending them for fuel, was not to be found when sent for ; all the Brahui servants, horse and camel-keepers, had disappeared, and the guards at the gate had gone, taking their effects with them, excepting Khadardad, who did not appear to be in the secret. ; Two guns on the ramparts of the citadel had been pointed towards our house, and Bibi Ganjani, feign- ing to be averse to violence, had left the town for one of the adjacent villages. A little before sunset a smart fire of musketry was opened from the cita- del, but without effect, as we were well sheltered, and no return was made to it, the rather, as in two or three minutes the sun would go down, and we were not certain that it would continue. Some of the Brahuis and others crept, however, into the houses near, and overlooking us. From one of these, belonging to a Hindu, Tekh Chand, three of our sipahis were shot, when Lieut. Loveday gave the word to return the fire. In an instant the heads seen over the battlements of the citadel vanished, and the fire on the house from that quarter and from the surrounding houses ceased. Nothing more oc- curred until about midnight, when a party with torches and pickaxes made a hole through the outer OPERATIONS BY NIGHT. 197 wall of the court, where Lieut. Loveday's horses were picketed, the object being, possibly, to carry them off. We had heard that part of the Brahui plan was, by means of combustibles, to burn our house ; and therefore our men re-opened fire. Pre- sently it was announced that a responsible person had appeared on the part of Bibi Ganjani, request- ing that the firing might cease, as a party had been sent to occupy the Mastung gate, and to take care that no one should be suffered to enter the premises. The hole was made in readiness for future opera- tions. During the night one of the sipahis lowered him- self from the walls, and went off, — I believe he was never heard of again, — and in the morning many others, finding the affair drew near a close, fol- lowed the example, first throwing over their ef- fects, and then following them. When, at length, Lieut. Loveday called the slpahis up-stairs, not one half of them were present. It was told us that the darogah and Akhund Mahomed Sidik were sitting at the entrance to the citadel, while the town was being cleared of the Brahuis, that Lieut. Loveday might pass Uninterrupted through the streets to make his salam. It seems the da- rogah, having, as he thought, cleared the place, (although many of the Brahuis had secreted them- selves,) proceeded to close the town gates, that none of us should escape, as well as that none of the spoil should slip him. This measure brought 198 PLUNDER OF HOUSE. him near us at the time the better part of the sipahis left the house. He collected them, and placed them somewhere or other, and returned, but not in time to prevent the house from being filled on every side. The stables and Lieut. Love- day*s apartments were taken possession of by the followers of Akhund Mahomed Sidik, and of Shah- ghassi Wall Mahomed, who entered by the aper- ture made in the night ; the apartments of the servants and sipahis were penetrated by a horde of Brahiils, who had scrambled over the walls. We were now in a somewhat delicate position, but that the Brahuis fell to plunder, and were so intent upon it that they hardly seemed to notice us. The men of the Akhund and Shahghassi sat quietly on the boxes, chests, &c., which they now accounted their own, and made no attempt to interfere with us. I had the satisfaction to witness one of the Akhund's men assume my property ; I knew the fellow quite well, as he had been in the service of Shah Nawaz Khan, and was named Shakur. When we descended into the outer court with the ten or twelve sipahis remaining, the scene was ridiculous, the Brahuis being occupied in break- ing open the boxes and ammunition-chests found in one of the ground-floor chambers, and in the highest glee chasing the fowls, now let loose. The gateway opening to the town had been locked, and a little delay took place until the key was found. The darogah and his party preceded us, as we PASSAGE TO THE CITADEL. 199 passed through empty streets, amid the revilings of women from the houses, towards the citadel. At the entrance thereto the sipahis were led off to the right, where one of the guns was stationed. They were despoiled of their arms, and Lieut. Loveday, with myself, was conducted into the citadel. After we had passed up the dark and ascending passages leading to the suite of apart- ments, and darbar room, some thirty or thirty-five of the principal men brandished their swords. A Langhow chief, Maha Singh, recognised me at this juncture, and placed his arms around me. I sus- pected this to have been merely a feint, but since learned that it was not altogether so, and that a combat had nearly ensued between those eager for violence and those anxious to prevent it. The darogah now appeared, and placing his arms around me, who happened to be first, led me through the infuriated crowd into the Ahina Khana, as called, (the darbar room,) and returned for Lieut. Loveday, whose situation was critical, and bringing him in, the doors were closed, some half dozen individuals only being within the apartment, The darogah reproached Lieut. Loveday with the death of Meh- rab Khan, and with other injuries ; but assured him that, as he had entered that house, he was safe. His passion did not allow him to speak much, and he left the room ; in a few minutes he returned, saying the khan wished to see us, and directed us to be searched, lest we carried *pistols. 200 INTERVIEW WITH THE YOUNG KHAN, One Yiisef Khan, Raisani, searched Lieut. Love- day, and took his pocket-book, in which were two or three documents, amongst them the copy of the ekrar nameh, or engagement entered into by the sirdars ; and this Yusef Khan would not re- turn. I was searched by two or three persons, and my lunghi, bordered with golden tissue, was taken from my head. We were then conducted to an apartment where the young son of Mehrab Khan was sitting with Akhund Mahomed Sidik, the sirdars of Sahara wan, and others. In passing we had to encounter volleys of abuse and menaces. The darogah took charge of Lieut. Loveday, and Maha Singh rendered me the good office. This Avas the first time we had seen the young khan, and were both surprised to find him a youth of so respectable an appearance. He w^elcomed Lieut. Loveday with " Khush amaded," and addressed me in the same terms ; then desired both of us to be easy on all points, and assured us we had nothing to apprehend. The several sirdars omitted no formality, and each of them respectively bade us welcome. Mahomed Sidik made a brief oration, setting forth that, as Lieut. Loveday would neither advance money nor come to the citadel and make his salam^ they had been compelled to adopt the only course left to them. It became a question as to where we should be lodged : the young khan pointed out some place, but the darogah said no, and directed us to be taken to a suite of two apart- LOSSES. 201 ments still higher up in the building, where brick- layers were sent, in haste, to close all apertures, and we were located therein, under charge of one Molahdad, an acquaintance of Lieut. Loveday's, as he had for some time been naib at Quetta under Mehrab Khan. As soon as we were secured guns were discharged, and music at the Nagara Khana struck up, as if a victory, or important advantage had been gained. On this miserable termination of Lieut. Loveday's peace, I suffered the loss, not only of what other property I possessed, but of a large accumulated stock of manuscripts and papers, the fruits of above fifteen years' labour and inquiry. But, three or four days previously to the attack, my servant, who had become familiar with one of the keepers, Kha- dardad, before mentioned, proposed to remove the chest containing them from the house, assuring me he could do so with Khadardad's connivance- Fearful to show a bad example, and to discourage the sipahis, I spoke angrily to him, and threatened, if he dared to mention such a thing again I would punish him. He reminded me that the worst was to be expected, and that Lieut. Loveday, by burn- ing his papers, was clearly preparing for it. I only repeated the menace to him. I need not have been so scrupulous, for I since discovered that not only had the sipalns for some days been trans- ferring their effects to houses in the town, but that, strange to say, Lieut. Loveday had been dis- 202 STRANGE SALES. posing of various articles at low prices, particularly all his copper utensils ; perhaps, on account of their being, in common with much of his property, the spoil of Mehrab Khan, and bearing his marks on them. 203 CHAPTER VII. Chamber of Blood. — ^ Nature of our custody. — Insults of Brahuls. — Shahghassi Wall Mahomed. — Treatment. — Lieut. Loveday's attendants. — The darogah's disappointment. — Interview with Darogah. — His proposition. — Lieut. Loveday's stipulation. — The darogah's anger. — The darogah's intention. — Abstraction of Sampat. — His return. — Suspicions as to treasure and jewels. — Lieut. Loveday's danger. — Averted by Faiz Ahmed. — Inter- view between Lieut. Loveday and the darogah. — Letters writ- ten for Capt. Bean. — Intended advance of Brahuis from Kalat to Mastung. — My release refused on account of Lieut. Love- day's sayings. — Arrival of letter and messenger from Rehim Khan. — ^^Regret of messenger. — Arrival of Mir Azem Khan at Kalat. During our abode in the house from which we had just been transferred, I had reconciled my mind to the belief that our lives and occupation of it would cease together. I had been mistaken, and we were reserved for further scenes and perils. The apartment which now confined us was called the Chamber of Blood, and deservedly, as being that where state-offenders were usually put to death. The last slaughter of this kind committed within its walls was, I believe, that of the late khan's Ghilji minister, Daoud Mahomed. Its ap- pellation, and the uses to which it had been 204 ANNOYANCE FROM THE BRAHUIS. devoted, were calculated to suggest but gloomy anticipations for the future ; yet, dispelling associa- tions so cheerless, it was spacious, and commanded a fine view of the valley in front, and of the en- circling hills of Arbtji. Molahdad, appointed our keeper, with eight or ten men, was located with us, and every night an additional guard was provided. These men, with their incessant clamours, were very annoying; but we were further mortified by visits from crowds of all classes, who came both to gratify their curi- osity and to indulge in the expression of their tri- umph and resentment. Nothing could be more galling than to be compelled to hear the offensive language employed by most of them ; and the bad feelings of many were so excited, that it often required the interference of our keeper and his party to prevent our being ill-treated by them. Mo- lahdad was, perhaps, as good a man as we could have had in charge over us, since he was not so strict as to forbid any slight indulgence, or even intercourse, being enjoyed by us ; yet his mildness and indifference were inadequate either to hinder the visits or to check the insolence of the crowds which daily pestered us. Probably he was in- structed to permit everything short of actual vio- lence, and I observed, or thought so, that he took secret pleasure in the taunts, menaces, and ribaldry with which we were assailed. On the first day of our confinement, Shahghassi TALES OF THE PLUNDER. 205 Wall Mahomed sat with us until evening. He was brother to the late Nur Mahomed, shahghassi of Mehrab Khan, and one of his most effective ad- herents. Nur Mahomed was slain at the capture of Kalat, while gallantly fighting, after having pre- viously sacrificed his wives, and other females of his family. Wall Mahomed alluded to the disas- ters which had fallen upon his house, but assured Lieut. Loveday that he should be kindly treated, and should experience what generosity a Baloch w^as capable of. I suspect Wall Mahomed was not permitted by the darogah to act as handsomely as he wished. We were inundated with tales of the plunder of Lieut. Loveday's house, and, indeed, during the day witnessed the many conflicts that took place on its roof between the spoilers themselves. It seemed to be considered by the multitude rather as a good joke than an atrocious act. Two or three persons killed themselves by drinking vitriol instead of wine ; and this accident brought bottles and their contents into such distrust that numbers were made over to us. So great a store had we of both wines, and liquors of various descriptions, that Lieut. Loveday consigned them to the charge of Diwan Ramu, who had, on his own part, con- tributed a teapot, jug, and other articles of plated ware, which were not much prized after it w^as discovered they were not silver. He also provided Lieut. Loveday with a few articles of his own 206 TREATMENT IN PRISON. clothing, and the young khan sent him a chair and his postin; the latter, however, deprived of a number of jewels which had been sewn over it, the youth asserting they belonged to him, and not to Lieut. Loveday. Wall Mahomed had promised a bed to Lieut. Loveday, but it was not sent ; and neither he nor I had anything to sleep upon but the coarse carpet spread under us. Our food was supplied twice daily from the khan's kitchen, and was the same he himself partook of. Tea and coffee were furnished by those who had rifled our late abode; so that, on the whole, our fare was what we had least to complain of. Lieut. Loveday's house was most rigidly exa- mined, the floors were all dug up, excavations were made in the cellars, and the wells were minutely searched. The pair of bull-dogs, the ministers of his anger, were literally cut to pieces. Attending on Lieut. Loveday, were Sampat and Naihal Khan, an old Mahomedan servant and cook ; the latter accompanied his master to the citadel, and was severely beaten and robbed on the road; the former joined in the course of the day. One of my servants followed me into the citadel, but retired when he saw swords drawn upon us, con- cluding all was over. He then went to Faiz Ah- med's house, where my other servants had gone before him. The latter soon set out for Kandahar ; the former remained, determined to abide the result of events, and ultimately rejoined me at Quetta. THE DAROGAH DISCONCERTED. 207 The sipahis were deprived of their arms, and plundered ; the stibahdar, or native officer, an infirm old man ; the havildar, Allabaksh ; Buta Singh, a sipahi, and one or two others, were sorely maltreated. All were put on an allow^ance of flour. Some managed to preserve their regimental dresses, others were wholly despoiled; but all w^ere supplied by the young khan with shirts and trousers. We w^ere soon apprised that the darogah re- pented of the plunder of Lieut. Loveday's house, his share of the spoil being nothing at all, while he had to incur the odium abroad attendant upon so disgraceful an act, and to support the ridicule at home, of having been foiled. Akhtind Mahomed Sidik and Shahghassi Wall Mahomed having so largely benefited by the measure, alike increased his disappointment. The darogah's plan was to have secured Lieut. Loveday in an interview at the citadel, and then to have taken possession of the house and property in the young khan's name, when he would have obtained some document from that officer, in his power, to have justified, according to his ideas, the appropriation. No doubt the sirdars of Saharawan, and their vakil the Akhund, precipitated, if they did not wholly bring about this affair, although it is nearly as certain that it must, sooner or later, have happened. There were too many desirous of such a finale, whether urged by hopes of plunder or by feelings of revenge, and the most extravagant expectations were formed of 208 AUDIENCE OF THE DAROGAH. the wealth to be found, to say nothing of the ne- cessities of unscrupulous men. Report gave out> that twenty-three lakhs of rupees were in charge of Lieut. Loveday ; chests of ammunition were supposed to contain treasures and it was believed that a large stock of Mehrab Khan's jewels, and other property, was deposited in the house. After a lapse of four or five days, it being Roz Juma, and the citadel clear of its usual occupants, who had attended the young khan on an excursion to the tomb of his father, a man came and said the darogah wished to see me. I was led down stairs to the Ahina Khana, where he was sitting with Faiz Ahmed, and an old woman, a slave probably, who retired. The old man prefaced his discourse by the declaration that he never savr a Feringhi, or even thought of one, that blood was not ready to gush from his eyes, by reason of the wrongs and injuries he had endured. He dwelt much upon them, some concerning the late Mehrab Khan, some concerning particularly himself. He told how Sikandar (Sir Alexander Burnes), in that very room had sworn by Hazrat Tsa, or holy Jesus, that no designs were entertained upon the country; he enlarged upon the services Mehrab Khan had rendered to the army on its march, and of its requital, and expressed his horror that the corpse of his late master had been exposed in a masjit, unhonoured and unburied : in like manner, he pointed to a hole in the apart- ment, made by a cannon-ball at the time of the CONVERSATION WITH THE DAROGAH. 209 assault. He next commented on Lieut. Loveday's attempts to surprise the young klian, and on the offers of reward he had hekl out to those who would assassinate himself ; affirming, that Nasrulah had disclosed all, and declaring that the man had always been in his service, although allowed to remain with Lieut. Loveday, for the purpose of gaining a knowledge of his plans and movements. Observing that the past could not be recalled, and that he w^as willing to forget it, while he wished peace rather than w^ar, he ex23lained his object in sending for me, by desiring me to tell Lieut. Loveday, that he purposed to go to JMastung in two or three days, and would take him ; that he 'wished an interview with Capt. Bean, a certain number of men attend- ing with each. I was instructed to inquire of Lieut. Loveday whether or not he still wished for peace^ and to let him know the reply. Moreover, I was told to represent the mischief it was in his (the darogah's) power to cause, the interruption to communications, and other evils, all of which might be prevented by peace. : In the course of this conversation, as opportunity permitted, I urged upon the darogah, that I feared he had not w^ell understood that Capt. Bean, judging from his letters, had pacific intentions, and appealed to him how awkwardly they were responded to by the unfortunate business of plundering Lieut. Loveday's house. He seemed to include it in the catalogue of things past — to be forgotten. I also VOL. IV. p 210 RESULTS. explained to him, how earnestly Lieut. Loveday had written in recommendation of peace, and assured him that if it were not granted, it would not be on account of any deficiency in his exertions. I even asserted that Lieut. Loveday had written much more in favour of them, and of an arrange- ment, than I should have done in his situation, how much soever I desired for all our sakes so fortunate a result ; and this I implored him to believe. : - ; The darogah asked my opinions as to the pro- bability that an arrangement could be made, and I frankly gave them, stating as a reason the favour- able tendency of Capt. Bean's letters, previous to the plunder of the house ; how that action might alter circumstances I could not tell. I was dis- missed to talk with Lieut. Loveday, and to return with his answer. This was the first time I had conversed with Darogah Gul Mahomed, a tall, spare, aged, and harsh-featured man, blind of one eye, and his head affected with palsy. I spoke as freely to him as I could, avoiding to give offence. Neither did I find him displeased when I told him I feared he was wrong, and had not sought an accommodation in the spirit likely to get it. I had, however, Faiz Ahmed to support me, and he joined his entreaties to mine, that in future a more rational line of conduct should be followed. I related to Lieut. Loveday what had passed. IRE OF THE DAROGAH. 211 It struck me that the journey to Mastung might, or might not, be intended. That Capt. Bean would accept an interview with the darogah, from all I had heard of his extreme prudence, I thought very doubtful. Lieut. Loveday reasoned as I should, that he had no choice but to accompany the daro- gah, if he wished it, and desired me to express his willingness to do so, provided his sipahis attended him in full dress, accoutred and armed, but without ammunition. I was so certain this would never be allowed, that I wished the stipulation to be omitted, but Lieut. Loveday insisted upon it. Returning to the darogah, I informed him that Lieut. Loveday sincerely wished for peace, and did not intend to relax in his endeavours to procure it ; that he was agreeable to attend him to Mastung, but had suggested that his presence would be more beneficial if he was accompanied by his soldiers, without ammunition ; for in proportion to the re- spect shown to him, would be esteemed the weight of his arguments at Quetta. On hearing this, the darogah instantly rose, shook his head, and bursting into a violent passion, asked me if I took him for a child, and broke up the conference by telling me to go back again to my room. Faiz Ahmed strove in vain to mollify him, and I was obliged to retire. The next thing we learned was, that the darogah wished Lieut. Loveday to be made over entirely to his charge and custody, but that Shahghassi Wall Mahomed opposed such a step, and that they had p 2 212 DANGEROUS BELIEF. quarrelled on the subject. Shortly after, Sanipat, the Hindu servant, was sent for, and was absent some days. Lieut. Loveday was very anxious on his account, and repeatedly inquired for him ; but Molahdad answered evasively, and all that could be learned was, that he was in the darogah's house. We both feared the object with Sampat was to ex- tort disclosures from him, as he was known to be Lieut. Loveday's treasurer, as well as his servant and general confidant. At length Ramu brought back Sampat, and it proved that, after having been at first caressed and made much of in vain, he was subjected to slight torture, the effects of which were manifest on his wrists and arms. Sampat was very reserved upon his return, and what little he commu- nicated was in whispers to his master. Subsequently I learned many particulars relating to the transactions of this period, which I could not possibly then be aware of. Besides the prevailing belief that Lieut. Loveday had in charge a great sum of money, there existed the conviction that he was in possession of three caskets of jewels, which, after the march of the army from Kalat, had been discovered in a house near the springs. I shall not enter into the particulars of this alleged discovery, the belief in which brought Lieut. Loveday into imminent danger, from which, it may suffice to observe, that my friend Faiz Ahmed saved him, and the same man effected the discharge of Sampat, with the slight injury inflicted upon him, when it EXERTIONS OF FAIZ AHMED. 213 was the intention of the ddrogah to have put him to extreme torture, and when cords and stakes were ready for the purpose. I also learned that Faiz Ahmed, as soon as we were lodged in the citadel, made the most earnest entreaties that I might be dismissed, and that the darogah consented, even telling Faiz Ahmed to take me to his house. This he feared to do, lest he might draw upon himself the fury of the Brahuis. Again, when desirous to transfer Lieut. Loveday to his own residence, the darogah renewed the offer to Faiz Ahmed to remove me, remarking, that as he had acceded to my liberation, it might as well be done at once, and that I could not be easy where I was. Faiz Ahmed excused himself, and said to my servant, that I should not myself wish to come away at such a time, my stay with Lieut. Loveday being in some degree protection to him ; as he, and those who interested themselves for me, were obliged also to intercede for Lieut. Loveday, which they could not do, were I at this moment to leave him. Such remarks could have been made by no other than a most excellent man. Li course of time, Lieut. Loveday expressed to Molahdad his desire to see the darogah, and to con- cert measures to renew correspondence with Capt. Bean. Ramii and Faiz Ahmed were sent to Lieut. Loveday, and after conversing with him, and report- ing favourably to the darogah, the old man returned with them. When seated, he accused Lieut. Love- 214 LETTERS FOR QUETTA. day of the treachery he had on various occasions practised towards him, repeated his wrongs, and then announced his expectations. He had not, how- ever, patience to sit ; his anger became evident as he hurriedly passed his beads through his fingers, and shook his palsied head. He rose, and told Hamu and Faiz Ahmed to talk in his place to Lieut. Loveday, who had promised to write a letter to Capt. Bean, and as he was leaving the room he turned to me and sternly said, " Do you write too." Paper was supplied to Lieut. Loveday, and the re- mainder of the day he occupied in writing his let- ter. In this instance he made the strange remark to me, that it was now necessary to write the truth ; to which I replied, " You should have always done so." The first letter written was cancelled, and an- other hastily prepared, and it was late before it was ready. I had not written, nor did I intend to write. When the letter was conveyed to the darogah, Molahdad came back and asked where my letter was. On this demand, to comply being preferable to making excuses, which would neither have been understood nor accepted, I took up a fragment of native paper, and with a native pen wrote in sup- port of Lieut. Loveday's wishes for peace. I showed what I had written to Lieut. Loveday, who remarked to Molahdad that it was good, and enclosed it in the packet intended for Capt. Bean, to be conveyed to Quetta by Hussen, a servant of Diwan Ramu. Faiz Ahmed, after his visit to Lieut. Loveday on MOVEMENTS OF THE BRAHUIS. 215 this day, rebuked tlie darogah for his neglect in not furnishing us with decent carpets, cots to repose on, and other little necessaries. The old man grew exceedingly angry, upbraided my friend for having turned kafr, or infidel, and reminded him of the in- dignities offered to Rehimdad and Mulla Hassan. This language again drove Faiz Ahmed to the re- tirement of his house, from which he was only withdrawn by some concession in favour of huma- nity. Before a reply was received from Capt. Bean to the letters sent by Hussen, the Brahul chiefs at Kalat considered it necessary to advance to Mas- tung. Oar intercourse being under restriction, we did not know exactly the reasons of the movement, though many might have been imagined. We were since told by Molahdad, who one day remarked, it would have been better had all remained at Kalat, that on large reinforcements reaching Quetta from Kandahar, Assad Khan, the Raisani sirdar of Klia- nak, near Mastung, had sent his son to Kalat, to explain, that unless a movement were made he should be compelled, now that the Feringhis were in force and near him, to make terms with them. It was very clear, that by marching to Mastung the chances of arrangement, at any time doubtful, were considerably diminished, while those of collision were increased ; but the miserable Brahuls were so indifferently combined, that their confederacy was liable to dissolve by the least accident, and the de- 216 ARRANGEMENTS TO MARCH. fection of Assad Khan would, no doubt, have been imitated ; to prevent which, a course known to be evil was followed. Seven hundred Kandahari ru- pees, not sixty pounds, were distributed amongst the Saharawani sirdars and the young khan's fol- lowers at Kalat, and their numbers were, of course, trifling, when this sum provided them with money- rations for three days, and afforded besides presents to the sirdars and chiefs present. It was first arranged that the young khan and the sirdars were to leave on one day, and the darogah, with Lieut. Loveday and myself, on that following; but the sirdars would not accede to this, and insisted that Lieut. Loveday should leave the town before they did. They were perhaps apprehensive that he might remain behind altogether, or their jea- lousy suggested that the darogah might make some agreement independently of them. It was there- fore decided, that Lieut. Loveday should accom- pany the young khan, the darogah and sirdars to follow. When the march to Mastung was concerted, Faiz Ahmed called upon the darogah to redeem his promise to liberate me. The old man forbade him to speak any more on my behalf, asserting that he had been informed, on trustworthy au- thority, that I was of more importance than suspected. Faiz Ahmed demanded an explana- tion, and the darogah answered, that Nasrulah had apprised him that Lieut. Loveday had disclosed to LETTERS FROM REHIM KHAN. 217 him that I was a jasus, or spy, on the Feringhis, and that when asked how I procured funds to travel, replied, that I had hundis, or bills, for twelve thousand rupees with me. Faiz Ahmed's protes- tations, as to the falsehood of this tale, were, for the moment, ineffectual, and the darogah com- manded him to resign me to my fate. The infor- mation given by Nasrulah was, indeed, acquired from Lieut. Loveday, for I had before heard of it amongst the many idle things he was accustomed to repeat, although, from whatever other unworthy motives he indulged in such observations, he could not have foreseen that this one of them, in par- ticular, would hereafter prove dangerous to my liberty and life. When we left Kalat for Mastung, Faiz Ahmed observed to my servant, with whom he was not in the habit of conversing, " Both you and my- self have been bi waffa, or faithless, to Masson Sahib," meaning, I suppose, that he had been de- ficient in having omitted to profit by the consent to my freedom, formerly given by the darogah. While we were yet in the citadel two or three letters came to the young khan and the darogah, from Rehim Khan, deprecating any violence to Lieut. Loveday and myself No doubt Faiz Ahmed was instrumental in these attempts to prevent far- ther evil. At length Rehim Khan's confidential agent, Mahomed Khan, reached Kalat, unfortu- nately, the day after we had left for Mastung. 218 MIR AZEM KHAN. My servant, who saw liim, represented him as de- jected even to tears, when he found we had been carried aw^ay, and that he asked him why, in God's name, I had not come down to them, when I knew they were all friends ; and how I came to place myself in the power of so many villains. He also brought a letter, addressed to me, which I never received. It seemed that Rehim Khan was ignorant that our house had been attacked, and that we were prisoners in the citadel ; and supposing us still respected, hoped, by his arrival, to put matters in a train for adjustment. When informed of what had passed, on the return of Mahomed Khan, he declared he would have nothing to do with men so unprincipled, and a letter from him to that effect reached the camp afterwards at Mastung, and exceedingly irritated the insurgent host. As soon as the tidings of the possession of Kalat by the son of Mehrab Khan spread over the coun- try, the young man's uncle, Mir Azem Khan, set out from Bela, where he w^as indilFerently si- tuated, and where I had visited him in his ad- versity. He arrived at Kalat in so bad a state of health that his dissolution was expected, but change of air so agreed with him, that he improved suf- ficiently to be entrusted with the charge of the town on the departure of the khan. I never could learn that he interfered in state affairs, or, per- HIS AMUSEMENTS. 219 haps, was not well enough, but he was wont tjo inveigh against the inhospitality he had experienced in Las, and betook himself to the free use of strong liquors, from which poverty had for some time de- barred him, and which, possibly, contributed to re- cruit his health. 220 CHAPTER VIII. Departure for Mastimg. — Scene at Kalat. — Nasrulah. — The young khan. — Route to Mastung.— -Incident at Karez Amanu- lah.-— Arrival of darogah and sirdars. — Interview with darogah. — Captain Bean's letters.— The darogah's vigilance. — Lieut. Loveday fettered at night. — Yusef Khan's rancour. — Entry into Mastung. — Place of confinement. — Interview with Kalik- d4d. — Preparation of letters for Quetta. — Intelligence respect- ing Ghulam Khan. — His arrival in camp. — Captured daks, or posts. — Indignation of the Brahuis. — Kalikdad's apology for me. — Interview with the darogah. — Report of conversation. — ' Extra guards, and their evils. — Incidents at Mastung. — Ma- homed Khan's discontent. — Kotrii chiefs and Mir Boher join. — Major Clibborn's disaster. — Arrival of Saiyad Mobarak Shah. — His instructions from Capt. Bean. — Indulgence to Lieut, Loveday. — Formal interview with the young khan and sirdars. — Capt. Bean's letters. — Indignation of the Brahuis. — Repeti- tion of fatiha, and determination to slay us. — Misgivings of Lieut. Loveday. — Terror of his domestics. — Good offices of Rais Harun. — Interview with the darogah. — Intercession of Rehimdad's relatives and friends. — Disgust at Capt. Bean's letter. — The darogah accords protection to Lieut. Loveday.—- Permission obtained by Rais Hariin for my departure to Quetta. — Leave Mastung. — Incidents on the route. — Arrival at Quetta. — Interview with the political officers. We had passed our ordeal in the ill-omened Chamber of Blood ; we were now to leave it and Kalat ; what new trials were in store for us it was vain to conjecture ; in helplessness we awaited DEPARTURE FROM KALAT. 221 them, certain only that every moment shortened our captivity, and accelerated the final issue, which, there were too many reasons to fear, could be no other than disastrous. Led down to the entrance of the citadel, we found the darogali and sirdars of Saharawan stand- ing, while the avenues were crowded with specta- tors. Camels were at hand; on one of which Lieut. Loveday and Molahdad were placed ; on another I was seated, with Naihal Khan; and, on a third were accommodated Sampat and a man, named Maho- med Kasim, remarkable as having been the person who, from what I have learned, ultimately slew Lieut. Loveday near Dadar. We passed through the streets amid the yells and hootings of the Bra- huis and populace, the very women spitting upon us, crying pet ! pet ! shame ! shame ! and reviling us for having had the presumption to sit on Nassir Khan's throne. Many made use of their hands as well as tongues, and Lieut. Loveday being pro- tected by Molahdad, I fared the worst in the transit through the narrow bazar and enraged multitude. When outside of the Mastilng gate we were not followed ; and there I saw many of my Bibi ac- quaintance, who by signs, desired me to trust in God, which was all they could do, although Kalik- dad ventured to tell me, as I passed him, that he would follow me to Mastung. We were now attended by only four or five mounted men, dependents on Molahdad, and had 222 INCIDENTS OF ROUTE. not jiroceeded far when we were hailed to return, to witness the young khan's exit from the town and the concourse which followed him. Amongst these was Nasrulah, so w^ell appareled and equipped that I did not recognise him, as he rode, conversing for some time, with Lieut. Loveday, and found out only on coming to the ground, when I asked my companion who that Durani was talking to him on the road, for Nasrulah had assumed the costume of Kandahar. The young khan gave us a specimen of his skill in horsemanship, which I thought he might have spared, especially as the horse he rode was one of Lieut. Loveday's chargers. The youth soon turned off the road to visit a shrine at Ziarat, a village so called, where it is customary for khans, and persons of rank, to offer their vows, when leaving Kalat on a journey or expedition We kept on to Karez Garani, where the khan's tent had been sent up, and immediately adjacent to it a small one was erected for us, and Molahdad's party. Four other servants of Lieut. Loveday, before at large in the town, followed their master, and the young khan ordered them to be supplied with provisions. The youth sent us melons, and was so remote from any bad feeling that the objec- .tions of his people could scarcely overcome his desire to send for us into his tent, that he might converse with us. The next day we moved on to Mangachar, over the country, believed by Capt. Bean to be filled sherbet's offer. 223 with enemies and Brahms ; not a living creature was to be seen ; not a solitary tent at the skirt of a hill attested the presence of a human being. Our small party moved independently of the khan and his retinue, and as we paced over the silent waste I lamented to Lieut. Loveday our misfor- tune in not having friends, when half a dozen mounted men would have extricated us from our embarrassment. At Mangachar we heard that Hussen, with Capt. Bean's reply, had passed on to Kalat. Our next march was to Karfe Amanulah, in the vicinity of Mastung, and there we halted two or three days. At this place one Sherbet, a Ban- gui Zai, accustomed, when we were in the ci- tadel, to bring wine and other things, and even to tell a little of what he knew, came into our tent, saying, he took leave of us, as he had per- mission to go home to Isprinji for four days. Sit- ting down with Lieut. Loveday, Sherbet asked if he could do anything for him. Lieut. Loveday pro- mised him a thousand rupees if he would provide two horses and effect his escape. Sherbet replied, he could or would do as much service, but it must be on his return. Lieut. Loveday gave him a ring. This communion was carried on between Lieut. Loveday, Sherbet, and Sampat, by whispering over a book. Sherbet occasionally asking, in a louder tone, what this picture and that picture meant, pretending to be merely indulging his curiosity. 224 ARRIVAL OF THE DAROGAH. To divert the attention of Molahdad and the two or three attendants, who only chanced to be in our tent at the time, I sat over with them, and engaged them in conversation. Unluckily, Khan Mahomed, the younger brother of the late Daoud Mahomed, came to the entrance of the tent while this confabulation with Sherbet was in progress ; he looked in merely, and said nothing at the time ; but reported to the khan what he had seen. Sher- bet started for Isprinji, and in the evening was brought back. We heard a loud altercation at the khan's tent, in which Sherbet's voice, a most so- norous one, was very conspicuous, and we could understand that he was indignantly repelling the charge' of familiarity with Labadin. Sherbet was too impudent to be easily put down, or convicted on mere surmise, and he was again allowed to depart, but came no more to us. Molahdad, en- tirely unsuspicious of what had transpired between Lieut. Loveday and Sherbet, although present in the tent, expressed resentment, in no measured terms, at the conduct of Khan Mahomed, especially as it reflected on his vigilance and fidelity. The day following this affair Darogah Gul Ma- homed arrived, with the sirdars of Sahara wan- The latter paid a visit to Lieut. Loveday, and Ma- homed Khan, Sherwani, sent him a small quantity of sugar-candy, and a bottle of madeira. The da- rogah, jealous of such intercourse, desired the wine to be given up. He afterwards had a long con- COMMUNICATIONS FROM QUETTA. 225 ference with Khan Mahomed, who, of course, com- municated his suspicions of Sherbet. He next came near our tent, and seated himself on a carpet some fifteen or twenty feet distant from it. I was then summoned, and producing the packet addressed by Capt. Bean to Lieut. Loveday, he desired me to open the letters and tell him what was written in them. I prayed him to send for Lieut. Love- day. He said, no. I then requested that he would, in the first instance, permit me to take the letters to Lieut. Loveday, when I would return and ex- plain to him what was written. He again said no. I then asked him to allow me first to see Lieut. Loveday ; to which he assented, and I stepped into the tent and mentioned what had happened. Lieut. Loveday told me, by all means, to open the packet, and acquire a knowledge of its con- tents, particularly of what Capt. Bean had written privately to himself. I offered peremptorily to refuse to open it, but Lieut. Loveday did not think it necessary, nor, in fact, did I. I returned, and saying to the darogah, I could now read the letters, opened the packet. I inquired of him what Capt. Bean had communicated to himself, when he complained of the tone used, but added, that the hope of arrangement was still held out, with the recommendation to seek it in humility. I observed that such was exactly the tenour of Capt. Bean's letters to Lieut. Loveday, as it was in truth, but the darogah was not satisfied with so VOL. IV. Q 226 CAPTAIN BEAN'S MYSTIFICATION. general a version, and required a more detailed one, in which I attempted to please him, not by translating the letter, but telling him something to the purport of what he admitted to be found in his own epistle. He then desired me to read it in English, which I did, omitting names, and he smiled at the unintelligible jargon. I next re- quested that he would permit me to give the letters to Lieut. Loveday, as, having seen them, I should of course tell him their contents, and there could be no reason to withhold them. I even put them into my pocket, but he obliged me to give them back. In the official letter of Capt. Bean to Lieut. Loveday the concluding paragraph related to me, and was worded nearly, if not quite, as follows : The mystery of Mr. Masson's appearance at Ka- lat at the period of the present outbreak, com- bined with his clandestine residence at that place, has given rise to suspicions, in my mind, of that individual, which I have not failed to communicate to government." If I felt surprise at this an- nouncement, I was perfectly able to conceal it from the darogah. On return to Lieut. Loveday, I related to him the contents of Capt. Bean's letters, and what the darogah had said, before I alluded to the above paragraph. He was abashed, and also, to do him justice, apparently much hurt, remarking to me, " Poor fellow, your case is a hard one, to be a sharer in my misfortunes, and, at the THE DAROGAH'S SEVERITY. 227 same time, to be so ungenerously suspected." I consoled him by expressing the opinion that Capt. Bean would have addressed his suspicions to those who would treat them with ridicule. Lieut. Love- day, perhaps, recalling to recollection that, in his former letters to Capt. Bean, he might have written in a disparaging tone, as it was his custom to speak of me, observed, that he wondered I had not gone on to Kandahar. I asked why he should have wondered, when he knew I was awaiting the ar- rival of the kafila for my servants and luggage to join, and when he knew, as well as myself, the kafila's detention on the road, and that, when it did arrive, the country was in arms. I prayed him to be as easy about it as I was myself, and remarked, that it was Capt. Bean's mode of acknowledging the receipt of the letter I had sent ; and this I sus- pected it to be. Late this evening the darogah sat in conference with Khan Mahomed and Yusef Khan Raisani ; and orders arrived that the four servants of Lieut. Love- day, who had joined on the road, should leave our tent, and be distributed in various quarters ; I believe their arms were bound behind them. Presently after a man, called the kalifa, came with a pair of fetters, with which he secured Lieut. Loveday's feet to the tent-pole. Not a word passed while this outrage was committed. Additional guards were stationed within and without the tent. I expected the kalifa would have returned with another pair q2 228 MARCH TO MASTUNG. of fetters for me, — he did not. The night we passed in deep anxiety. I feared the fetters were but a prelude to a worse crime. Neither Lieut. Love- day nor myself slept. He did not speak, nor had I the heart to speak to him. By daybreak, to our great joy, the kalifa appeared, and removed the fetters ; the servants were unbound, and the mea- sure proved to have been one of precaution, adopted at the suggestion of Khan Mahomed and Yusef Khan. Early in the morning tents were struck ; first the darogah, then other parties took the road to Mastung. The young khan and our party re- mained some time longer on the ground. Yusef Khan tarried to accompany the khan, and on this occasion, while he spared Lieut. Loveday, was very severe upon me, particularly as he had failed to have me fettered as well as Lieut. Loveday; he swore he would kill me in spite of Faiz Ahmed, and have my hundis ; also, that he would burn Faiz Ahmed's house, and do many other things. I was ignorant at the time what he meant by the hundis. We were now denied stirrups, and Molahdad mount- ing a horse, another man was commissioned to ride in front of Lieut. Loveday. Mahomed Kasim had rode in front of my camel since leaving Karez Garani, as neither I nor Naihal Khan had been skilful enough to manage the animal. In time we advanced, preceding the young khan and his suite. As we neared the town, the Brahuis and LODGINGS. 229 inhabitants lined both sides of the road, and we passed between them, amidst jeers, execrations, and menaces. This mortifying exhibition continued until we reached the gardens on the northern side of the town, where we were to be lodged, and we were conducted to a gardener's house, with one room above and another below. We were first placed in the upper apartment, but it was dis- covered that we should be higher in position thau the young khan, whose tent was fixed in an ad- jacent garden, and we were transferred to the lower room, unused by the owners but as a place for fuel and rubbish, on account of mangurs, large and troublesome bugs. The horrible imprecations bestowed upon us this day were keenly felt by Lieut. Loveday, who ap- peared to be nearly exhausted when he entered the apartment assigned to us. The insults of the rabble were feebly repressed by the laughing re- monstrances of our guards. On the following morning, the filthy state of the lower chamber and the grievance of mangurs being represented, the scruples respecting our ele- vation as regarded the khan were surmounted, and we ascended into the upper room. We suffered much from the curiosity of the fresh people we encountered here. Our room was very small, and thronged with us, our guards, and visitors. The gardens around us were filled with the levies of tribes, and if we had occasion to leave the chamber 280 MEETING WITH KALIKDAD. we liad enough of insult to endure, and were always pelted with stones and clods of earth. Once a fellow presented his firelock at me, and too close to have missed, had not one Safar Khan, a Lari, averted his aim. On the tops of the walls, and even on the trees in the gardens, spectators were constantly perched. Moreover, the khan's morning and evening darbars attracted large mobs, and the daily distribution of grain was distinguished by the utmost confusion and violence. In this, the third stage of our confinement, our situation had become desperate indeed, but it was too critical to endure long without change. We had been at Mastung three or four days when I was desired to attend the darogah. His tent was in the adjoining garden, separated from us by a wall only. I found Kalikdad, my acquaint- ance, had arrived from Kalat, and had so urgently entreated the darogah that he might see me as to obtain permission. The darogah said little, and nothing on business, but told Kalikdad he might take me aside and converse with me. We went and sat by the bank of a canal of irrigation near. Kalikdad detailed the efforts made by Faiz Ahmed in my favour at Kalat, and of the success attending them, until the tale about the hundis upset every- thing ; that, before the darogah left Kalat, Faiz Ahmed had made another effort, and had sworn on the Koran that the story was untrue, and that I had no hundis. The darogah replied, that he REPORT FROM QUETTA. 231 could not, as a Mussulman, reject Faiz Ahmed's oath ; still, he confided in his own intelligence ; but, whether I had or not hundis, he would, in consi- deration of Faiz Ahmed, consent to liberate me, but not until the mokadami, or contest, was over, and then I should go neither to Quetta nor to Kan- dahar. Faiz Ahmed compelled the darogah to swear upon his beard that no injury should happen to me. I observed my fate was in other hands than the darogah's, and I absolved Faiz Ahmed and himself from all interest in the matter. Kalik- dad said the darogah was a man of his word, which I ridiculed. He then told me that he was deputed by Faiz Ahmed solely to watch over me, and to keep the darogah to the observance of the pledge he had made. Kalikdad added he had brought my servant, Rasul, with him, and I prayed him to keep him quiet, as he was better at large than with us, and we needed no more company. The packet detained by the darogah was at last sent to Lieut. Loveday, and another letter was proposed to be written to Capt. Bean : the darogah, besides, consented to write to the envoy and minis- ter, but would not listen to a letter for the king. Before these were framed, some one from Quetta sent intelligence that Ghulam Khan (brother to the late Daoud Mahomed, and to Khan Mahomed, who had played the evil part at Karez Amanulah,) would repair to Mastung, and that it was necessary to observe great caution, as he had concerted with 232 GHULAM KHAN. Capt. Bean to rescue Lieut. Loveday. So accurate was the intelligence received by the darogah of Capt. Bean's actions, and even of his sayings, that he must have had informants in the persons em- ployed by the political agent, if not amongst those in his confidence. About this time it was known at Mastung that Sherbet had been to Quetta, and had shown to Capt. Bean the ring given to him by Lieut. Loveday. We did not know what to make of it, as Sherbet, according to Lieut. Loveday's ac- count, had not been told to go to Quetta; yet it proved true, he had gone there to get money from Capt. Bean. The Brahuis seemed to enjoy it as a joke, and were for some time laughing and talking about Sherbet and the ring ; and Sherbet much exceeded his four days' leave of absence ; when he did return, he was unable to force the guards, but contrived to deliver, through others, some papers and a bottle of brandy, received from Capt. Bean for Lieut Loveday. Ghulam Khan at length ai3peared in the camp, alleging that he was in quest of a camel stolen from him at Quetta. Increased precautions were adopted towards us, and an additional guard by night v/as set over us. Ghulam Khan was strictly watched, although much outward respect was shown to him. Lieut. Loveday was sent for one evening by the darogah to see Ghulam Khan, and told me, on his return, that the old hypocrite affected ex- treme civility, rose when he entered the tent, and INTERCEPTED POSTS. 233 neglected no mark of respect. Gh61am Khan was compelled to proceed to Kalat. This man had been a prime instigator of the disorders committed by the tribes in the Bolan pass ; the enemy of Meh- rab Khan, he became necessarily the friend of the English, and now reappeared, as was believed, laden with the favour of the political officers. His bro- ther. Khan Mahomed, had, as before noted, urged the darogah to fetter Lieut. Loveday. About this time I was summoned to the darogah's tent, as it proved, to witness the fragment of an intercepted dak, or post. The darogah said, three messengers with the packets had been killed, and he desired me to tell Labadin that it would be better to make peace and prevent such mischief. The dak was of old date, and amongst the few papers preserved was, singularly enough, a copy of Lieut. Loveday's despatch, announcing the capture of Kalat by the rebels. I was not asked to read the letters, indeed, was not permitted ; for, having taken up a document purporting to be intelligence from Khiva, I wished to have read it, for my own satisfaction, and it was snatched from me. Upon another day I was taken to the young khan's tent, where, besides the youth, were the daro- gah and a host of rabble, sitting over the contents of a whole dak from India, a recent prize. It was comprised entirely, as far as I observed, of news-' papers and private letters, with the exception of a public letter from Ferozpiir ; a circumstance which 234 KALIKDAD'S APOLOGY. Lieut. Hammersley, at Quetta, explained, by inform- ing me that official letters had been for some time despatched by KabaL The darogah again observed, that four messengers with the packet had been slain, and I was anew exhorted to represent the evil to Lieut. Loveday. I was not asked to read the let- ters by the darogah or young khan ; but the mob sitting around would throw them towards me, ask- ing, what is this, what is that ? and, throwing them back to them, I observed they were letters from men to their fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters, and so forth, and could not concern them. They became angry, and very abusive ; neither did I care or fear to retort. The darogah himself was busy in reading Persian letters ; he found one which con- tained, as he said, a barat, or money-order, that he thought worth keeping, and then took up another ; but when he had in part perused it, he cast it away, exclaiming it was bi fahida, or profitless. He then rose and directed me to be led back. My friend Kalikdad had been summoned to this scene, and, when I had gone, the young khan remarked to him, " Your acquaintance refuses to read the letters ; " and the Brahuis asserted that I was worse than La- badin, and jeered them ; Kalikdad explained that, amongst Feringhis, it was infamous for one to open and read the letters of another, and that great men would die rather than do it. On the road to our prison apartment, some who wished me well came by my side, and entreated me to be careful in my CONVERSATION WITH THE DAROGAH. 235 language, or, as they said, the Brahuis would cut me to pieces. I was too enraged to be able to con- ceal my feelings, and replied, " Curse the scoundrels, it's the only thing remaining for them to do." The letters to Capt. Bean, and the envoy and minister, were at length written, and sent to Quetta, with a letter from Lieut. Loveday. That officer took the opportunity to correct Capt. Bean, in respect to his unfounded suspicions relating to my- self, and instanced, what he was pleased to call my noble and devoted conduct at Kalat, besides point- ing out the extent and irreparable nature of my losses. I was perfectly indifferent as to what Lieut. Loveday might write, but he considered himself bound in justice to refute Capt. Bean's prepos- sessions. I was not present at the interview be- tween the darogah and Lieut. Loveday when these letters were decided upon, but had seen copies of what was intended should be written. Afterwards the darogah sent for me, and asked my opinion of them. I replied, that the letters to the envoy and minister had been pronounced by Lieut. Love- day, to be very good ; but I would not venture to say so much for his (the darogah's) own letter to Capt. Bean. He told me not to be afraid, and to tell him what harm there was in it. I said its tone was much too high, and that, if he had an object to gain, and that object worth gaining, he should at least be moderate in his language. The darogah affirmed that he had no help, for Bean had written 236 PROPOSAL TO THE DAROGAH. to him in the same style. At this meeting, the darogah being somewhat reasonable, I conjured him to think seriously on the state of things, and, by a little concession, facilitate the commencement of arrangement, which never would be accomplished so long as letters merely recriminatory and boastful were exchanged between Capt. Bean and himself. He declared, that he sincerely desired an arrange- ment; when I ventured to tell him, there was one thing, if he would do it, which would compel the government to accord terms. He asked what? I replied, to appoint Lieut. Loveday your envoy, and despatch him to Quetta. He looked amazed ; but I continued, that no one would do his business so well ; experience had opened his eyes, and he had become so convinced of former errors, that he was prepared to advocate the cause of the khan, and Brahuis, to an extent far beyond what I could conscientiously advise. The darogah said, Labadin would betray him. I answered, he could not, or he would be spurned by his own countrymen ; and then added, I know you have promised Faiz Ahmed that I shall be dismissed, and that 1 shall not be harmed. I am in your hands : keep me, dismiss Loveday, and if peace be not the result, cut me to pieces. The darogah stared at me for two or three minutes, when, shaking his head, he said, he would not release Labadin. Much more passed, but the darogah represented, that he must await answers to the letters sent. Kalikdad, who was ANNOYANCE OF MUSIC. 237 present, told my servant that, fearful my plain-speak- ing might offend, he had, when I was gone, put forth some excuse for me, but the darogah assured him that he was pleased I should speak my mind, and that my frankness was a proof of honesty. The extra guards by night were regularly changed, so that we never had the same set of men twice. They sat up all night, and were supplied with oil to replenish the lamp kept burning at the foot of Lieut. Loveday's bed. To divert their incli- nation to sleep, they told tales and sang songs, without any respect to our rest. At length mu- sical instruments were brought, and kept ringing until morning, so that it was impossible to sleep. Both Lieut. Loveday and myself thought it was a plan to annoy us. For two or three nights we had endured this new evil, when the darogah, at the instance of Kalikdad, sent for me very late. My head at the time was distracted, as I had no bed like my companion, nor any pillow on the ground, and the grating of the harsh music horribly vi- brated through my ears. I said to the darogah's man, that his master had hit upon a good method of destroying us with his infernal music, and the fellow nearly tumbled over with laughter. On seeing the darogah, he asked if I was well, and I asked how I could be well, when we were al- lowed to sleep neither by day nor night, and men- tioned the music. I also told him he had better kill us at once, than in so cowardly a manner. 238 INTERVIEW WITH THE DAROGAH. He smiled, and desired me to return. That night the music was continued, but for the future he directed Molahdad to take the instruments away from the men who brought them. Kalikdad, it seems, was exceedingly afraid the darogah was practising some severities upon us, not thinking I should complain so strongly about mere music, and, when I left, he taxed the darogah, but the old man denied it, pro- testing he did not wish to give us pain, but that, if we got away, he should be laughed at. As for me, he said I was drunk. The letters sent to Quetta were not replied to promptly, and this occasioned my being sent for one night, when Molahdad and Rais Harun were present ; for the darogah had so unconquerable an aversion to Lieut. Loveday, that he was often accustomed to apply to me when he had anything to communicate to, or ask of that officer. He now wished to know why no reply had been sent from Capt. Bean. At this meeting he asked Molah- dad, in Brahmki, whether it would be of any use to send me to Quetta. Molahdad answered that I should be murdered on the road. Rais Harun, here mentioned, was an aged inhabitant of Kalat, trusted by the darogah, and, therefore, placed by him as a check upon the guards in our apartment. He was reserved and civil, but un- relentingly vigilant. As at Kalat, we were supplied with provisions from the young khan's kitchen, but at length be- INCIDENTS AT MASTUNG. 239 gan to suffer exceedingly in our narrow apartment. Lieut. Loveday was attacked with an ague every second day. Sampat was also sick. I had no fever, but was otherwise unwell, and two or three of our keepers were ailing. Rais Harun, amongst them, was brought very low. We knew little of what was passing amongst the Brahuis, or more than could be gathered from the conversation of those about us, in which they were chary, having the belief that I understood them. Some time after we reached Mastiuig a kafila of eighty loads of tobacco, almonds, &;c., belonging to the town, and destined for Kachi, was plundered, when about to start, by the law- less men assembled in the gardens. A quarrel ensued, and Mahomed Khan, Sherwani, absented himself from the insurgent councils for some time. Now, a difference of opinion prevailed as to the better course to be followed, this same Mahomed Khan proposing to march into Kachi instead of attacking Quetta. About this time, moreover, a report spread that a kafila of government stores was on the road from Dadar to Quetta : the Brahuis put themselves into motion, and set off to intercept it. The report proved false ; and there was time to recal the men on foot, but the horsemen had gone too far in advance to be overtaken, and had a journey to Mach, a spot in the Bolan pass, for nothing, but to return as empty-handed as they went. It was calculated that a thousand horse 240 ARRIVALS IN CAMP. and about five hundred foot, started on this foray, and which was nearly the strength of the camp, few remaining in it. We, of course, were able to tell when any fresh arrivals came into the insurgent camp, as they generally visited us. Naihal Khan, of Kotra, had joined at Karez Amanulah, and Mahomed Khan, Eltarz Zai, of Kotra, joined at Mastiing. With the latter came Mir Boher, of Zehri, but with only fifty followers, — neither could he have ven- tured into the Sahara wani camp, to save himself from future vengeance, but under the protection of the Kotra chiefs, uncles of the young khan. He was entirely distrusted, and called to no de- liberation. No other chiefs of Jhalawan were pre- sent, and no one of the least consequence from Kachi, or other places. At the period when the greatest number of men was assembled, it was said that forty kharwars of grain were expended daily. It was wonderful to conceive where it could be found ; but there is little doubt, but that for the aid of Diwan Ramu, the rebellion could neither have originated or have been sustained. The tidings of the disaster of Major Clibborn's force in the Kahan hills did not produce so much sensation as might have been expected, the Doda Marris, I believe, declining any intercourse with the insurgents, or to make common cause with them. The darogah was fond of saying, that, if peace were made, he would undertake the chastise- ment of these Marris. MISSION FROM CAPT. BEAN. 241 When Lieut. Loveday had written his last letter to Capt. Bean, the darogah desired him to request that Saijad Mobarak Shah, of Karani, and Munshi Jan All, should be sent over to treat. In course of time, we heard that a person resembling the saiyad was in the camp, and so it proved. In the evening I was summoned, and Lieut. Loveday de- sired me, if there was any letter, by all means to open it. I found the darogah and saiyad together, and, on entering the tent, the former was explain- ing to the latter, who wished Lieut. Loveday to be called, that his blood boiled at the sight of him, as he had fed his dogs on human flesh. Letters were produced, and after urging, to no purpose, that Lieut. Loveday should be called, I said I was authorized to open them, and did so ; after which I gave a version of such parts of them as could do no harm; and in these letters there was matter relating, for instance, to Sherbet and the ring, which it did not behove the darogah to know. I then renewed my entreaties that Lieut. Love- day should be called, and so earnestly, that the darogah, being alike pressed by Saiyad Moba- rak, yielded, first asking me whether he was in his senses, and collected. When Lieut. Loveday came, the saiyad explained, as he had before done to me, that he was commissioned by Capt. Bean to inform them that instructions had been received from the envoy and minister to treat, that VOL. IV. ^ 242 CONFERENCE WITH THE KHAN. there was one condition to which the khan must consent, and then all other terms should be granted. Lest, he added, addressing the darogah, you should consider me nakabil, or unskilful, in not ascertain- ing what that one condition was, I asked Capt. Bean to disclose it, and he said that I must first go and learn what the khan and Braliuis wanted. The darogah, this evening, was reasonable ; Lieut. Loveday was pleased at the presence of the saiyad, by whose intercession the fetters were remitted ; and many thought a ray of hope beamed through the dark clouds of despair which enveloped our prospects. On the following day both Lieut. Loveday and myself were summoned to a formal interview at the khan's tent, where the sirdars and principal men were convened. On the right of the khan were sitting two saiyads of Kalat, Mahomed Khan Sherwani, Malek Dinar, Mahmudshahi, Mahomed Khan, Eltarz Zai, and another person. On his left were Akhund Mahomed Sidik, and various chiefs I did not know. Saiyad Mobarak Shah and the darogah were seated in front of the khan, and to their right Lieut. Loveday and myself were placed. After salutations, the Akhund made an oration, setting forth what was wanted ; the darogah also spoke briefly, and the young khan attempted a speech, saying something about Sulah ! sulali ! peace ! peace ! and Samshir ! samshir ! sword ! REPLIES TO CAPT. BEAN. 243 sword ! meaning, that if peace were not granted, the alternative must be the sword. Lieut. Love- day was called upon to speak, and said, that he was aware the Brahuis required subsistence, that the khan wanted his father's country and money, that he had always pressed these things on Capt. Bean's consideration, and should do so again. I was told to say something, and observed, I had nothing to say. This conference was remarkable for the order observed ; no one spoke amongst the Brahuis but the three persons mentioned ; at least, not audibly ; the saiyads on the khan's right, how- ever, whispered to him many remarks to the pre- judice of Lieut. Loveday, and of his appearance. The demands put forth were extravagant, and the darogah's tone was different from that he em- ployed on the preceding evening. Letters to Capt. Bean were despatched by Kamal Shah, another saiyad, and companion of Saiyad Mobarak, who awaited his return to camp. Mo- barak Shah and the darogah called on Lieut. Love- day, and the former called once or twice alone, but always so watched that he could communicate no- thing if he had wished. The first time I saw Mobarak Sh^h the darogah asked him, in Br^huiki, whether there would be any benefit in sending me to Quetta ; the saiyad hesitated, and made no reply ; now, when he came to see Lieut. Loveday, he said, that when Capt R 2 244 INDIGNATION OF THE BRAHUIS. Bean's reply reached, and he returned, as he could not ask for Lieut. Loveday, he would take me with him. The period allowed for the reply in question had passed, and a letter came from Kamal Shah, stating, that he met with nothing but promises and delays. Eventually, however, he appeared, bear- ing letters for the young khan and for Lieut. Loveday. A packet, containing Capt. Bean's let- ter, and many private letters, was given to the latter, without observation, and unopened. The pri- vate letter, explanatory of the terms proposed, I did not think objectionable, as, on condition of hold- ing Kalat from the shah, the son of Mehrab was to be acknowledged khan of Balochistan. Saha- rawan and Kachi were not to be immediately re- stored, but remuneration was held forth. It was even said, that the only way by which an advance of money could be justified would be by the prompt acceptance of the terms. Supposing Capt. Bean wrote in sincerity, I supposed that the Brahufs had no occasion to be displeased. We heard, however, that high indignation was excited by Capt. Bean's letter to the young khan, but it was not shown to us, nor were we made cognizant of its contents. Some time after I was summoned by the da- rogah, and Lieut. Loveday gave me Capt. Bean's letter, that I might be prepared if it was needed. I put it into my pocket. Mahomed Khan, Eltarz NEWSPAPERS. 245 Zai, and many chiefs, were present, but none of the sirdars or principal ones. They had a batch of newspapers lying before them, which had been sent for Lieut. Loveday, but in a parcel separate from the letters. I was plagued to tell them what they were, and found it difficult to make them under- stand. They told me to read them in English, and I read two or three lines of a new tragedy re- viewed in one of them, and appealed to the da- rogah that it was verse. He caught the rhythm, smiled, and said it was poetry. The chiefs amused themselves by worrying me, and throwing first one paper and then another at me, asking what they were, and I asked them if they had not eyes, and could not see they were all the same. They were pleased still to annoy, and became very scur- rilous, when I appealed to the darogah if he was not unreasonable in allowing them so much free- dom, and he smiled, and his eye chancing to glance upon my pocket, he asked what I had there. I told him Capt. Bean's letter, and he then inquired what was written in it. I answered, that Lieut. Loveday had given it to me that I might tell him, but he could not expect I could do so before such a set of fellows as those now with him. He seemed by his looks to approve this answer, and Mahomed Khan, taking pity, said, " Let him go back to his room." The darogah took up the words, and told me to return. At noon there was a numerous meeting at the daro- 246 RESOLVE OF THE BRAHUIS. gah's tent. It was noisily conducted, and terminated by the repetition of fatiha, and the determination to kill both of us, and advance upon Quetta. We soon learned the circumstance from the conver- sation of our guards, who, in anticipation, assigned to each other our respective garments, one select- ing Lieut. Loveday's postin, another fixing on my lunghi, and so forth. Lieut. Loveday understood enough of the Brahui dialect to comprehend the drift of what was said, and became dejected. He had never, I believe, really feared that worse could happen to him than mere detention as a hostage for Rehimdad, a Bakkar prisoner. Saiyad Moba- rak took leave of us, saying that no letters would be given to him, and that negotiation was closed. The darogah sent for Lieut. Loveday's seal ring, which was given up. Lieut. Loveday communicated to me his fears, and I remarked that we were in the power of the villains, and helpless, but, to console him, pointed out that the saiyad was still in camp, and so long as he remained violence would be deferred. Neither could it be done without the consent of the darogah and sirdars, who, we were told, were absent when the fatiha was repeated. The people about us seemed to think the resolution final, and Lieut. Loveday observed to me, that Molahdad's countenance was changed. All who dropped in also made no secret of the affair, and gave us up for lost. The tragedy was to be enacted ADVICE OF RAIS HARUN. 247 next morning, previous to an intended march to TM. Naihal Khan, the cook, was to be spared, be- cause he was a Mussulman, and Pir Ba.ksh, the son of Kalikdad, a brother of Rehimdad, told Sam- pat he should be saved, and put over his grain- stores. In the evening Naihal Khan went to the khan's kitchen for our daily meal, which was given as usual, but he returned in great terror, and re- peated the horrid language he had heard, and wept bitterly, exclaiming in his agony, Oh ! the asbab ! the asbab ! the property ! the property ! we have been victims to the property ! In truth, such was, I believe, the case, though it was now useless to reflect upon it. Lieut. Loveday was nearly unmanned by the grief of his servant. Of those about us, Rais Harun seemed most affected, and taking his opportunity, earnestly told Lieut. Loveday to ask to see the darogah. " Who will procure the meeting ?" said Lieut. Loveday. " I will," answered the Rais. " Why do you not speak to me? I can manage so much as that." Lieut. Love- day gladly requested him to exert his influence. The Rais instructed him what he should say, and how he should act at the meeting. Amongst other things, he advised Lieut. Loveday to urge that I might be sent to Quetta, to represent his situation to Capt. Bean ; and recommended that Lieut. Loveday should lay hold on the darogah's 248 CAPT. bean's letter. garment, and implore his protection. Lieut. Love- day promised to say and to do all, and the interview was arranged. With the darogah were Saiyad Mobarak Shah, Rais Harun, two Hindus, Ramu and Tekh Chand of Kalat, and, I believe, Molahdad. When we first entered there were also the young son of Rehimdad, the Bakkar prisoner, the son of Kalik- dad, nephew to Rehimdad, with two or three sai- yads of Mastung. They had, clearly, been soliciting the darogah 's mercy, being interested, on account of the fate of Rehimdad ; and the old man spoke kindly to them, while the saiyads as they retired said, " Peace, darogah, peace." Capt. Bean's letter to the khan was handed to Lieut. Loveday, who read it, and loudly expressed indignation, both at the matter and at the terms in which it was conveyed. 1st, The khan was to sur- render Kalat ; 2nd, he was to go to Kandahar, and make his obedience to the shah ; 3rd, he was to do whatever was hereafter required of him. On these conditions he should be acknowledged. Sai- yad Mobarak was ashamed of his mission, and condemned the letter as heartily as Lieut. Loveday. The darogah said he would preserve the letter, to show the lord sahib what a fool Bean was. In the course of conversation, Lieut. Loveday asked the darogah to allow me to go to Quetta, to repre- sent his situation, but the darogah said I should not go. He repeated the request five or six times, ASSENT TO MY DEPARTURE. 249 — the darogah refused. At length, when we were told to return to our chamber, Lieut. Loveday placed his hands on the darogah's feet, saying he was his prisoner, and at his mercy, but craved his protection. I did not think the darogah was dis- pleased at the act. He said, at first, " Khair ast," it is well ; and, finally, Lieut. Loveday continuing his hands in their position, he said " Khata jam bashi," or, be at ease. We took leave, and Rais Harun was much pleased that Lieut. Loveday had per- formed his part so w^ell. This night, however, the fetters were again used. About midnight Rais Harun came, and informed us, that he had been until that time striving to persuade the darogah to sanction my journey to Quetta, but to no purpose. Early next morning the Rais was again with the darogah, and on his return, to the surprise of every one, told me to get ready for Quetta, and Lieut. Loveday to prepare a letter for Capt. Bean. Saiyad Mobarak Shah then came and conversed some time. He said Capt. Bean was a very good man, but was too obstinate, and prayed me to entreat him to yield a little in his obstinacy. Lieut. Loveday was engaged in writing a letter ; and other delays took place, until noon. 1 was very doubtful whether I should be permitted to leave, and to get ready gave me no trouble, as I had no other clothes than those I wore. At length, however, I was told to come out of the room, and, to my amaze- 250 DEPARTURE FROM MASTUNG. ment, instead of being conducted to tlie darogah, to the khan, or to any one else, I was led straight through the gardens and put behind another man on horseback. Crowds of Brahuis assembled to see the il, or brother of Labadin, as they called me, but dis- played merely a little mirth, much to my satis- faction, and that of Molahdad, who, with four horse- men, was to escort me to Feringabad, and who had feared obstruction from the unruly mob. When we had quite cleared the gardens of the place, we awaited the arrival of Kama! Shah, who was to accompany me to Quetta, and bring back Capt. Bean's answer, should I remain. On taking leave of Lieut. Loveday I promised to request Capt. Bean to go as far as his instructions permitted him. Lieut. Loveday said, " Tell him to go beyond them." In shaking hands with him, I observed, " Some of these people may not believe I shall come back ; you know I will." When Kamal Shah joined us, a horse was pro- vided for me, and we started for Quetta. Mo- lahdad and his party accompanied us nearly to the Lak, or small pass, north of Feringabad. In a line with the village of Tiri three or four horsemen were standing to the left, with their horses' heads turned towards us, and, after a pause, advanced in our direction. Molahdad and I were considerably in front when they came up with Kamal Shah be- hind us, and it turned out that, though they lagged ROUTE TO QUETTA. 251 behind, they intended to profit by his company, and go to Quetta. I heard Molahdad tell his party that they were charis, or spies. Upon gaining the crest of the Lak, the boundary between the Mastung and Quetta districts, the saiyad asked me if we should wait for the horse- men behind, falsely stating that he had engaged them as a protection to me. I answered, he might please himself, but his servant preferring to go on, we did not halt. A bleak plain stretches for five or six miles from the Lak, to Sir i ab, where may be said to commence the cultivated plain of Quetta, which we passed without meeting any one, although we observed a horseman skulk- ing in a ravine to our right, apparently wishing to escape our observation. It was night before we approached Quetta, the two or three hamlets we passed through being deserted by their inhabitants, and the village of Karani, at the skirts of the hills, on our left, being denoted by the numerous fires ; for, belonging to saiyads, and therefore a neutral place, it had become a refuge to the trembling people of the plain, as well as to many Brahuis. As we advanced we were challenged by the out- picquets of the force, and detained until Lieut. Hammersley, the assistant to Capt. Bean, was in- formed of our arrival. A messenger returned with instructions to allow us to proceed. Kama! Shah told the picquets, if four horsemen arrived, as he ex- 252 MEETING WITH CAPT. BEAN. pec ted, to inform them he had gone to Karanl. I privately suggested their detention, and report to Lieut. Hammersley. When I saw Lieut. Hammersley I told him I much wished to give Lieut. Loveday's letter to Capt. Bean immediately ; and we walked to the town where the political agent was residing, in the old citadel, or mm. Capt. Bean arose from his slum- bers, and repaired to a room, where we joined him, and I presented the letter of which I was the bearer. He was displeased at the contents, inferring, from his remark, that the situation of Lieut. Loveday only excused his manner of writing. I said little, but thought the observation unfeeling and needless, for though I cannot remember what was written, the letter contained nothing objec- tionable. We conversed but for a short time, and were retiring, when Capt. Bean called Lieut. Hammersley back, who signified to me that Capt. Bean invited me to breakfast next morning. Lieut. Hammersley conducted me to his tent in the camp, which he shared with Lieut. Cooper of the artillery, where I passed the night. 253 CHAPTER IX. Conversation with Capt. Bean. — Placed in arrest. — Singularity of the proceeding. — Capt, Bean's queries. — Meeting with him. — His reason for his conduct. — Impi-essions as to the En- voy and Minister. ■ — Inhuman treatment of Capt. Bean. — Ap- prehensions at Quetta. — The Envoy and Minister's letter. — Defeat of the Brahuis, and death of Lieut. Loveday. — Reco- very of Kalat. — Revolution in feeling. — Letters from Cal- cutta. — Inquiry of Mr. Ross Bell. — Capt. Bean's confes- sion. — Close of Mr. Bell's inquiry. — His recommendation to Government. — Support of the Envoy and Minister. - — Evasion of the Government. — Colonel Stacey's generosity. — Depar- ture from Quetta. — Incidents in the Bolan Pass. — Arrival at Dadar. — Molahdad's testimony. — Route through Kachi. — State of the country. — Mir Fati Khan. — His gratitude and offers. — Arrival at Karachi. — Bombay. — Settlement of Ba- lochistan. — Colonel Stacey's acknowledgment. — Benefits of Colonel Stacey's successful exertions — Departure from Bom- bay to England. — Memorial to the Court of Directors. — Se- cond Memorial. — Results. — Concluding remarks. In the morning I followed Lieut. Hammersley to Capt. Bean s residence, and had a long conversation with him on the affairs of the Brahuis, as well as on the situation of Lieut. Loveday, I regretted, for the latter officer's sake, that I was too plainly ad- dressing a weak man, pulfed up with absurd con- ceptions of his official importance, and so unin- formed of the nature of things, that it was wasting 254 CONVERSATION WITH CAPT. BEAN. words to speak to him. He had not the politeness to ask me to be seated, and gave audience much in the same way as a heavy country magistrate in Eng- land would do to a poacher. Urging the necessity of making every effort to relieve Lieut. Loveday, I noticed the interest taken by the darogah, and others in the rebel camp, as to Rehimdad, one of the Bakkar j)risoners, and pro- posed that some assurance should be made about him, with the view of creating amongst his friends an interest in the preservation of Lieut. Loveday. This did not accord with Capt. Bean's notions, but he said he would write to the darogah now, which I understood he had not before done, and likewise to Molahdad (Lieut. Loveday's keeper), offering him a sum of money to effect the escape of his charge. I knew this would be useless, still it might be tried. When I alluded to the subject of my return, Capt. Bean said there was no reason for it, and he should write to the darogah that he had detained me for a few days, to know better about his affairs. I observed, that to give me a fair chance, if I was to return at all, it was right I should be punctual. He replied, my return could not save Lieut. Love- day, nor improve his condition; moreover, I had brought no letter from the darogah. He affected to believe that no harm would befal Lieut. Love- day, as the Brahuis never killed their prisoners. Capt. Bean finally informed me, that he had been so good as to provide an abode for me while I might ARREST AND REFLECTIONS. 255 remain at Quetta, and he directed a person to show the way to it. I was conducted to the upper apart- ment of a Hindu's house, and immediately an armed guard of troopers and chaprassis was placed over it. Beyond doubt I was a prisoner, though Capt. Bean had not let fall a word to intimate his intention, and I could but smile at the oddness of a man inviting me to breakfast, and then sending me into confinement. Of course, I remembered the paragraph in Capt. Bean's letter to Lieut. Loveday, which even made my journey to Quetta more agreeable to me, as giving me the opportunity to demand an explana- tion of it ; yet, supposing that Lieut. Loveday's testimony in reply thereto would have satisfied, in some measure, the political agent in Shall, I made no allusion to it in the conference I had just held with him, not wishing to ruffle his mind, or to dis- tract his attention from Lieut. Loveday's case. I could not, indeed, forbear to reflect that I had met with an odd reception in the camp of my coun- trymen, after conduct which Lieut. Loveday had been compelled to own was " devoted and noble," after long endurance of outrage and suffering in the bondage of the Brahms, and after most serious losses ; all of which evils had been incurred through the desire to be useful to the very government whose servant had ventured upon so indecent a step. I was conscious that Capt. Bean would repent his 256 REASON FOR ARREST. conduct, whether due to simplicity or to a baser motive, and had the consolation to know that in- quiry (its necessary consequence) would, if honestly carried out, reveal many circumstances redounding to my credit, which otherwise might have remained unknown. Anxious to learn the reasons for my confinement, I was glad to receive a letter from Capt. Bean, on the second day of my arrest. Although it contained merely queries as to the route by which 1 had tra- velled to Kalat, and why, having once left it, I had returned to it ; I answered this communication, knowing him to be as well acquainted as myself with the route ; although I had never left Kalat, as he seemed to hint, and therefore had never returned to it. Grieving that he should, labour under delusion of any kind, I again wrote to him, suggesting an interview, as the better course for removing his misunderstanding. This led to a meeting, when I was surprised to hear that his suspicions had originated in a letter from Major Outram, about a Russian agent and an army of Arabs in Kej; and though I marvelled at being mistaken for a Russian agent (the only inference I could draw from the tale), I concluded I must abide what there was no help for, and await the result of a report, which he said had been made to the envoy and minister at Kabal. I left Capt. Bean, not much enlightened upon the subject of my arrest, but rather with feelings of CAPT. bean's letter. 257 pity than of anger, and not doubting but that the envoy and minister would repudiate his suspicions, might, at the time, have given myself no further trouble. My imprisonment was, however, accom- panied with treatment so ignominious and unjustifi- able, that I could attribute it only to the operation of a malignity of purpose, which, from whatever cause arising, Capt. Bean was unlikely to avow. Considering, therefore, that, as a British subject, I had rights which were not to be wantonly invaded, and that I was privileged to know the reason for my confinement, I called upon the political agent to state it in plain terms. I record his reply : — To Mr. Masson, Quetta. " Sir, " In reply to your communication just received, I beg to acquaint you that you are detained here by authority, which authority has been applied to for further instruction, and which, when received, will be duly communicated to you. " I have the honour to be, &c. (Signed) " J. D. D. Bean, " Political Agent in Shawl." ''Quetta, the 29th Sept. 1840." Aware, from previous conversation, that the au- thority alluded to was the envoy and minister, this document relieved me from the pain of holding further communication with Capt. Bean. If the fact were truly stated, the order for my arrest must VOL. IV. s 258 IMPRESSIONS. have been received at Quetta previous to my arrival there, and this led me to reflect on the possibility that the envoy and minister, indulging his personal resentment, had resolved to interrupt my travels and researches, which I could conceive might be disagreeable to him, both as being carried on with- out his patronage, and as calculated to interfere with others, working in the same field under his favour. Such impressions, however discreditable to the honour of the envoy and minister, and of hu- man nature, I could not dismiss wholly from my mind, well knowing that that unfortunate man was one of a class who lightly estimated the respect due to those who had chanced to incur their displeasure, and I could fancy I had mortally offended him, in presuming to act upon my own will in the recent expedition to Kabal. It was still difficult to be- lieve that, even for so disgraceful an object, he would be so bold as to fabricate charges of high treason against me ; to go so far he must be a demon, and this was more than I supposed him to be ; yet, reverting to Capt. Bean's letter to Lieut. Loveday, I knew not how to think other- wise, for therein it was pretty plainly intimated, that my presence at Kalat had been connected with the outbreak, and if so, certainly I had been guilty of high treason. Under this new aspect of the case, I addressed the envoy and minister briefly, and despatched a longer letter to the officiating secretary to the INHUMANITY OF CAPT. BEAN. 259 Supreme government; moreover, to obviate the chance of any objection being raised to my future travels, I wrote to the governor-generaPs private secretary, Mr. Colvin, requesting his lordship's permission, if necessary, and explaining that I should have asked it before leaving Karachi, had I thought, or even had I suspected that, as a mat- ter of courtesy, it would have been required or wished. I had now, awaiting the result of these several applications, to linger in confinement, which Capt. Bean's inhumanity made as annoying as possible. His first intention seemed to be literally to starve me, and on one occasion I passed two entire days and three nights without food. As I scorned to refer to him on such a point, I might have fasted longer, had not one of the guard, unsolicited by me, gone and reported the circumstance. Colonel Sta- cey, besides, who was in the camp, and the only officer who, in face of the known rancour of Capt. Bean, had the courage to call upon me, made some representation to the political officers, which pro- cured a promise that I should be kept from dying of hunger, and the consequence was, that two cakes of dry bread were brought to me morning and evening from the bazar. On this fare I subsisted several days, until a second representation from Colonel Stacey procured me the addition of three-farthings' worth of sheep's entrails, also from the bazar, and brought in an earthen platter ; a mess, certainly, 260 VISIT FROM LIEUT HAMMERSLEY. whicli any dog in Quetta might have claimed for his own. I thought this kind of insult was carried too far, and sent the foul mess to the camp. Co- lonel Stacey did more than I wished, as I had merely written to him to witness it ; for he showed it to his brother officers, and then had it conveyed to Lieut. Hammersley, the assistant of Capt. Bean. This brought Lieut. Hammersley in haste to me, and he exclaimed, very innocently, " Good God ! why did you send that mess to Colonel Stacey ? Why did you not send it to me ? It will disgrace us." I thought that was a subject for his considera- tion, not mine, and told him so ; when, after some conversation, he proposed to make me an advance of one hundred rupees, to which I consented ; and I may also observe, that some time after I repaid him the amount. At the commencement of my incar- ceration, a felt cloak had been stripped from the back of a Hindu walking in the street, and this was intended to cover me by night. I could not use a garment filled with vermin, and suffered somewhat from cold, until Colonel Stacey kindly supplied me from his limited camp stock with such articles as relieved me from cold, and enabled me to change my clothes. For some days after my arrival the movements of the Brahuis at Mastiing were cause of anxiety at Quetta. Sometimes extra companies were marched into the town, and the camp was under arms, — a force of three thousand disciplined men, — ADVANCE UPON KALAT. 261 apprehending attack from half the number of rude, and ill armed insurgents ! At length a report prevailed of the rebels' advance to Berg, and Lieut. Hammersley started with the Kassi irregular liorse, to reconnoitre. On approaching Berg, he fell in with the advanced guard, and fled in such haste that two or three men of his party, worse mounted than their companions, were over- taken and slain. So well had the flight been sustained, that on reaching Quetta one or two horses fell dead upon the ground. The Khaka peasantry of Berg gallantly defended their property against the Brahui spoilers, which so much dis- concerted the latter that it favoured a split in their councils, and led to their retreat upon Mas- tung, whence they finally marched upon Dadar. The road to Kalat being now open, and the requisite marching preparations being completed, the force under Major-General Nott moved from cantonment to an adjacent village. Just at this time the reply of the envoy and minister to my letter arrived, for so I was informed, but it was withheld from me for some five or six days, until the army had passed Mastung ; and I could not but suppose the reason to be, that Capt. Bean had learned I had received permission from the major- general to accompany his corps to Kalat, in case a satisfactory reply from the Kabal functionary arrived. When the letter was ultimately handed to me, it proved a most extraordinary one, and I 262 THE ENVOY AND MINISTER'S LETTER. place it on record, deeming it as worthy of such distinction as the preceding one of Capt. Bean. " To C. Masson, Esq. Quetta. I have received your letter dated the 29th ultimo, and in reply, I have the honour to acquaint you that I did authorize Captain Bean to detain you at Quetta, until the pleasure of the Governor-General in council should be ascertained as to your being permitted to prosecute your travels in countries subject to the crown of Cabool, since, so far as I know, you are without permission to do so, either from the British Government, or from his Majesty Shah Shooja ool Moolk. "I have the honour to be, &c. (Signed) " W. H. Macnaghten, " Envoy and Minister." " Cabool, 1 0th October, 1840." I was astonished to find no mention of Capt. Bean's suspicions, and grounds stated for my impri- sonment, which, judging from that officer's silence, must have been as novel to him as to me, and therefore in acknowledging the receipt of the com- munication I took care to allude to them, and to express my surprise on other points. I then wrote a second letter to the private secretary of the governor-general, withdrawing my request for permission from his lordship to travel, feeling it beneath me, on every account, to solicit what his lordship had not the legal power DEATH OF LIEUT. LOVEDAY. 263 to prevent, particularly when the envoy and min- ister had made the question of such permission the plea to justify his arbitrary and shameless conduct. As the matter had been referred to Calcutta, I was satisfied wdtli having formerly addressed the officiating secretary, and did not trouble myself to offer other explanation in that quarter, but it was with much disgust I found myself doomed to exist for an indefinite period, in captivity, with the politi- cal agent of Quetta as my jailer. After the force marched upon Kalat, tidings were received of the dispersion of the Brahui camp near Dadar, and of the slaughter of Lieut. Loveday, an event which, I must confess, did not surprise me, for it was one which some unforeseen good fortune or accident only could have prevented. The com- panion of the ill-fated officer at Kalat, the malice of my enemies had unwittingly saved me from a similar end, — my certain portion had I been with him in the camp. Whether all was done that ought to have been done, or that might have been done, to preserve Lieut. Loveday, I shall not inquire. To exchange prisoners is no unusual practice, and a proposal to have released Rehimdad from Bakkar might have prevented Lieut. Loveday's death, as, unquestion- ably, it would have given many an interest in his preservation. My permission to depart from Mas- tung to Quetta, with Lieut. Loveday's letter, had Capt. Bean's desire to come to an understanding 264 ENTRY INTO KALAT. been sincere, whicli there is mucli reason to doubt, might also have been made instrumental both for such object and for Lieut. Loveday's release. Neither would I have shrank from any fair risk to aid in the promotion of these objects ; however, in one respect, they were indifferent to me. Capt. Bean, in one of his latter notes to Lieut. Loveday, professed to be amused at the interest pretended by the Brahuis for the Bakkar prisoners, as they had effected the ruin of Mehrab Khan, and as Capt. Bean's notions were peculiar, there was no gainsay- ing them. Mr. Ross Bell, however, about this time, restored these men to freedom. I know not his motives, neither the precise date, though I am nearly certain it was before he could have heard of Lieut. Loveday's death; and I should hope the release was made with the view to avert that catastrophe, which unquestionably it was well adapt- ed to do. Nev/s of the success at Dadar, and Lieut. Love- day's doom, reached the force of Major-General Nott as it entered into Kalat, deserted by its inhabitants. A deputation was with difficulty as- sembled to meet the general, and to inform him, that the evacuated town was at his mercy. Colonel Stacey marched into the citadel and hoisted the British standard, the band playing the appropriate tune of Order in the land." Mir Azem Khan, the young khan's uncle, who had been left governor, fled as soon as he heard that the force had reached CHANGE or OPINIONS. 265 Mastiing, and in such haste that he left the town bare-footed. He carried with him, however, the sipahis, who had formed Lieut. Loveday's escort, and sought refuge in Zehri. These men were soon recovered by the promptitude of Lieut. Hammers- ley, with the exception of the aged and infirm Subahdar, who strayed from his path on the journey to Kalat, and Avas never more heard of; and of a youth, Omar Daraz, a munshi, who understood English pretty well, and who returned to Zehri after having left it, terrified by the toil and peril of the mountain route. When I was at first imprisoned at Quetta I could not but be aware that there was a general bad feeling against me on part of the several ofiScers in camp, as to which I was careless, knowing that it arose from the unfounded statements made by the political agent and his assistant, and w^ould, therefore, change in time. Before the departure of the force towards Kalat a better disposition began to prevail, and, after the recovery of the place, when every oppor- tunity had been afforded to obtain a knowledge of the occurrences there, and of the part I had taken in them, I inquired of an officer, on his return, as to the opinion now entertained by his companions, and was answered, that there was but one opinion, that my treatment was most unmerited, and that government would be obliged to give me a situation. A regiment had been left in Kalat, and details stationed at Mastung, while the bulk of the force, 266 THE GOVEIINOR-GENERxiL'S INSTRUCTIONS. under the major-general, retired upon Kandahar, without passing through Quetta. Having crossed the Khwojak Pass, Colonel Stacey received orders from Mr. Ross Bell to assume political charge of Kalat, as he justly observed, that an officer of ex- perience was required to settle a country so com- pletely disorganized. About this period I received letters from Mr. Colvin and Mr. Maddock, the latter, secretary to government, informing me that my case had been placed in the hands of Mr. Ross Bell. A copy of the instructions to Mr. Bell accompanied the secre- tary's letter, and I quote the concluding paragraph, as a proof of the trifling and wanton mode in which an individual's feelings and interest may be treated, when it is thought fit to do so. I say nothing of its absurdity. Ewtract. — " Mr. Masson will be informed that the subject has thus been placed in your hands, and, under any circumstances, his lordship, in council, is disposed to believe that it will be advisable, that that gentleman should not at present continue to prosecute his travels in the Afghan and Baloch countries ; but if you should be satisfied that no important inconvenience is likely to follow a per- mission to Mr. Masson to pursue his own wishes in that respect, you are at liberty to act upon this view, after communication with Sir William Mac- naghten ; otherwise you might facilitate his early return to Bombay." CORRESPONDENCE. 267 Within a few days I received a communication from Mr. Ross Bell, followed, before my answer could have been received, by another, apprising me that he had directed Capt. Bean to alFord me an " opportunity of recording any explanation I might consider proper, regarding circumstances connected with my proceedings, as might have appeared to him to be peculiar." Could I have forgotten the insult offered to me, or have lightly considered how my feelings and liberty had been sported with, I might have been amused to find the officer directed to inquire into my conduct,— thus compelled to admit that no reason for my arrest was contained in the evidence before him, supplied by the envoy and minister and by Capt. Bean, — and to witness him reduced to crave that the latter officer would, at least, in- form me what his suspicions were. Capt. Bean was constrained to address Mr. Ross Bell, and to send a copy of his letter to me. I know not if he was ashamed of his production ; I was both ashamed to receive and to notice it. The miserable man concluded by the remarkable con- fession, that his " reply to Mr. Bell's communication of the 13th ultimo would have acquainted him. that nothing further had transpired by which the dis- loyalty of Mr. Masson as a British subject could be established ;" and this, after the collection of a host of depositions at Kalat, and after the examina- tion of the sipahis and servants of Lieut. Loveday. 268 RESULT OF INQUIRY. Mr. Ross Bell, who at this time had in attend- ance upon him the ex-chiefs of Kalat, Mir Boher of Zehri, and numbers of Brahui chiefs, and others who had been present at Kalat throughout the period of my stay there, of course possessed the most satisfactory evidence as regarded my conduct, which could not be but well known to all of them ; and this was so complete, that again, without waiting for Capt. Bean's letter, or for my explanation^ he ad- dressed me, under date the 9th January, acquainting me " that the inquiry he had been directed by govern- ment to institute had been brought to a conclusion ; that he considered me entirely freed from the suspi- cion, which was, in the first instance, attached to me with reference to the late unfortunate events at Kalat, and that he was satisfied that my conduct as regarded Lieut. Loveday was actuated by desire to be of service to that ill-fated officer." The letter closed by regretting " that any misapprehension should have caused me to be so long detained, and by stating that copies of this letter, and of the correspondence connected with it, should be submitted for the con- sideration of the Right Hon. the Governor-General of India in council." I had no reason but to be satisfied with Mr. Bell's conduct of the inquiry, which was necessarily limited, and, as he afterwards told me, he had no- thing to do with the underplot ; but I should have been better pleased had it been carried further, for I still found that " suspicions" had been attached to RECOMMENDATION OF MR. BELL. 269 my conduct, and I conceived I was entitled to know why, — a mystery not explained by Capt. Bean, — nei- ther do I know to this day. In his report to govern- ment, Mr. Bell, how^ever, stated, that " no grounds of suspicion ever existed," and he recommended that I " should be remunerated for the trouble and an- noyance to which I had been so unjustly subjected." When I subsequently saw him, he informed me of this recommendation, and further, that he had called upon the envoy and minister to support it. I also learned, from an authentic source, that the latter functionary responded to the call, and while endea- vouring to defend Capt. Bean, recommended that I should receive compensation. The supreme go- vernment w^as probably at a loss how to act upon this occasion,— the magnanimity of acknowledging error was not one of the virtues inherent in the nature of the clique then surrounding the governor- general ; and, playing upon his feeble energies, the members of that clique had made themselves a little too conspicuous in the affair, and it was terrible to be compelled to confess discomfiture. It was, there- fore, resolved to refer the matter to England, and there to the secret committee. In the first letter I received from Mr. Bell, of the 14th December, he had desired me to state my wishes with regard to my future movements, and to inform him of the line of country it was my inten- tion to pass through in the event of prosecuting my travels in Central Asia. I did not choose to do 270 GENEROSITY OF COL. STAGEY. quite so much, and in reply, merely observed that I should be pleased to revisit Kalat under the hope of recovering some of the manuscripts I had lost. In Mr. BelPs second letter, of the 22nd December, he wrote, that if I was desirous to return towards Shi- karpur, no objection existed, at the same time de- siring me to consider no wish was conveyed on his part, the only desire being, as far as lay in his power, to shorten detention. In Mr. BelFs third letter, of 9th January, he, without hesitation, acceded to my wish to revisit Kalat, and informed me that he had addressed both Capt. Bean and Col. Stacey, to provide escorts to ensure my safe arrival. I had, however, acted on the intimation conveyed in the second letter, as I found myself just in that situa- tion in which, wherever I went, I must neglect something, and I judged, upon the whole, I had better proceed towards Mr. Bell, especially as I did not then know the inquiry would be so soon closed. Moreover, my friend Col. Stacey was at Kalat, and I could depend upon his exertions in behalf of my lost manuscripts. It behoves me to record that CoL Stacey, as soon as he knew Mr. Bell had charge of the inquiry, at once wrote to him, pointing out the injustice of my confinement as a malefactor, and oifered him- self as security for my liberation, on parole. He, moroever, furnished testimony which was important, as he was placed in a position to be well acquainted with my innocence or guilt. ROUTE THROUGH THE BOLAN PASS. 271 As Capt. Bean had been desired by Mr. Bell to provide me with an escort through the Bolan Pass, in case I proceeded to Shikarpur, he informed me that a saiyad was just starting, in company with a havildar's party for Dadar, in charge of the camels of some regiment, and that the opportunity was a good one. I did not stay to inquire whether it was or not, but left Quetta, on foot, and joined the saiyad at Sir 1 ab. We thence proceeded to Sir-i-Bolan, and again marched to Bibi Nam, where, at midnight, we heard the pleasant tidings that a marauding band of two hundred Harris was located at some dis- tance from us. We immediately decamped, and on the road to Kirta, the moon having sunk beneath the horizon, observed through the darkness in our front a number of small lights, plainly proceeding from the kindled matches of an armed party. We first suspected we had fallen into the danger we had sought to avoid, but on our unknown visitors arriving parallel to us, they proved to be Brahilis, carrying a kafila of merchandise through the pass, and set into motion by the same fear of a meeting with the Marris as we were. We passed Kirta on our left before day, and proceeding through the remaining portion of the hills, finally halted, towards evening, on the plain of Dadar, some three or four miles from the British camp. ^ Next morning I walked down to the camp, and had the pleasure to meet old Karachi friends in Major Forbes and his brother officers, of the 2nd 272 ROUTE THROUGH KACHI. Bombay grenadiers, and remained their guest four or five days before starting for Shikarpur. While at Dadar, Molahdad, who had been the keeper of Lieut. Loveday and myself, called upon me. He had now little reason to conceal anything, and I inquired of him respecting certain points. His answers were generally as I anticipated ; but he informed me of one circumstance attending the cor- respondence of Capt. Bean with the young khan in his ostensible effort to effect an arrangement, which demands attention. Capt. Bean's letters were inva- riably couched in the style assumed by a master addressing a slave, and were consequently deemed to be insincere. I was struck with this information, and desired Molahdad to repeat the opening address of any of the letters he might remember. He did so, and it was obvious that from such letters no good could arise. Whether Capt. Bean, or his munshi by whom he was governed, was to blame on this account, I know not. From Dadar we journeyed across the plain of Kachi to Haji Shehar, Bagh, Kasim ka Jok, and Barshora on the edge of the Pat of Shikarpur, which we crossed, and at Jani Dera met Mr. Ross Bell. So entirely had the country been devastated, that I could no longer recognize it to be the same I had traversed some fourteen years before. Villages, then flourishing, had ceased to exist; those remain- ing were destitute of their attendant groves of trees, and even the very waste had been denuded of the GRATITUDE OF FATI KHAN. 273 jangal of small trees and shrubs, once spreading over its surface. There was no fear, indeed, of losing the road, as formerly, for that was now well marked by the skeletons of camels and other animals, whose bleached and bleaching bones too well described it, and the nature of the operations which had been carried on. I passed two days the guest of Mr. Bell, who made me an unreserved offer of anything in his camp ; and, on parting, I received from him many assurances of his good opinion, and even of his esteem. At Sakkar I met, at the Residency, Fati Khan, the brother of the ex-chief of Kalat. He was overjoyed at seeing me, though our intercourse had been very trifling ; and I had no great opinion of him. In contrast with the proceedings of the political officers at Quetta and Kabal, as well as of those of the government, I may be excused if I relate, that this young man came privately to me, and prayed me to accept a sum of five hundred rupees, being what he could then command, and the best horse he had, while he conjured me to visit his brother. Shah Nawaz, at Larkhana, who *would give me tents, and share with me everything he possessed. I of course declined his offers ; and though I should have liked to see Shah Nawaz, he was too far out of the way. I however had heard from others, how much he rejoiced at my escape from destruction, and how deeply he valued my disinterested exertion at Kalat. Such marks of VOL. IV. T 274 SUCCESS OF COL. STACEY'S EXERTIONS. gratitude did the khan and his brother honour, and were at least satisfactory to my feelings. From Sakkar I dropped down the river to Hai- darabad, and again at the Residency found myself with old friends, and after a stay of two or three days, passed by land to Karachi, whence I had started the year before, on an excursion, which had turned out more pregnant with singular incidents than any other I had made throughout my career. I thence sailed to Bombay, where I passed some months, expecting to hear further from the govern- ment. While there, intelligence arrived of the settle- ment of affairs in Balochistan, by the visit of the son of Mehrab Khan to Quetta, and his consequent acknowledgment, in the room of his late father. This arrangement was entirely owing to the exer- tions of Col. Stacey, who had to encounter not merely the obstacles opposed by the fears of the youth and his advisers, but those thrown in his way by a party amongst the political officers who were desirous of obstructing the determination of the government, and to keep the country in an un- settled state, for some reason or other. Curious was the form the opposition assumed ; and if Col. Stacey could be persuaded to publish a narrative of the transactions of that period, it would be instructive as well as amusing, from his own varied adventures, while, for the better discharge of his duty, and for the purpose of restoring confidence. REMOTE BENEFITS. 275 he boldly ventured, without a sipahi, into the camp of the fugitive khan. From January to July the son of Mehrab Khan could not be brought to trust himself in the power of the political officers at Quetta, although to receive the dominions of his father. On the 26th of the last month, he joined Col. Stacey, and pro- ceeded in company with him to Kalat. The colonel on this occasion was pleased to address me, and his letter concluded with a paragraph which the queer conceits of Capt. Bean, and others, will per- mit me, without impropriety, to insert — " Let me thank you for your kind advice when in your prison. I am grateful for it, and you must be gratified that, acting on it, I have accomplished what the world said was impossible." The submission of the khan being followed by the pacification of Balochistan, the remote benefit of the coloneFs exertions was very signal, for had that country continued in a disturbed state the force at Kandahar would, in all probability, have been involved in calamities similar to those which befel the unfortunate force at Kabal ; whereas it was, in the hour of need, strong enough to maintain its position, to uphold British reputation, and to cooperate effectually in the necessary measures consequent on an honourable and expedient eva- cuation of the country, which the present governor- general, soundly exercising his judgment, at once fearlessly determined upon. T 2 276 MEMORIAL TO THE COURT OF DIRECTORS. Finding the silence which the government of India had adopted as to my case, in no wise likely to be dispelled by any effort of mine, I decided to proceed to England, and to make an appeal there. I, however, became cognizant of a little more that had passed, and learned that the secret committee, to whom the matter had been referred, had alike suggested the hush system, commending the acquit- tal and release, but disrelishing the point of com- pensation, or, in other words, admitting the injus- tice, but withholding reparation. I despatched, in consequence, a memorial to the Court of Directors, praying for the papers connected with my arrest and imprisonment, which I supposed I had a right to demand, and immediately after sailed from Bombay to Suez, and passing through Egypt, eventually reached London in February of the past year. My Memorial to the Honourable Court had the fortune to be unnoticed, on the ground that it should have been forwarded through the channel of the government of India. I therefore framed another, claiming the compensation recommended by the Court's own officers, Mr. Bell, and the envoy and minister. This was received, and so far noticed, that it has been forwarded to the Indian govern- ment for consideration and report ; as, strangely enough, the Court of Directors have not the docu- ments necessary to form an opinion on the matter ! REMARKS. 277 They are with the Board of Control, who refuse to give them up, if I rightly understand the subject. The result of the Court's reference, time will de- velop. The Indian government has, happily, passed into other hands, and is more efficaciously admi- nistered than formerly ; and, as I also hope, more justly, it may be that I may not lament the refe- rence. Throughout the transactions, which I have briefly instanced in this chapter, it never seemed to occur to any of the parties arrayed against me, that there was such a thing as law established in England, or that there were tribunals to which a British subject might look for protection and redress. Never, for a moment, did they appear to entertain the notion that they were responsible for their actions, and, from the governor-general to the political agent in Shall, there seemed but one conviction, — that their pleasure stood in place of law. They have had their day of abused power and levity, and of authority they were incapable to wield ; many have been overwhelmed in its exercise, and a few have escaped to the insignificance from which accident had, for the moment, elevated them. On me devolves the task to obtain satisfaction for the insults and injuries some of these shallow and misguided men thought fit to practise upon me. It was first necessary that their charges and 278 CONCLUSION. insinuations should be proved false and imaginary ; so much has been done without an effort on my part. Whatever steps I may take, they can have no reason to complain, and they will have the bitter reflection that I am not the aggressor.* * In the course of this chapter, Major Outram's name occur- ring in connexion with the reason given by Capt. Bean for his conduct^ it behoves me to insert, with reference thereto, an extract from a letter of a mutual friend, dated " Camp Sukkur, 28 Nov. 1840 : Major Outram desires me at the same time to express to you his great annoyance at your detention at Quetta, in consequence of some misunderstanding on the part of Capt. Bean, of his (Major Outram's) expressions respecting you ; and he begs me to assure you of his being perfectly uncon- scious of ever having cast the slighest suspicion on your character. The moment Major Outram received your letter he wrote to Capt. Bean to the same effect, as also to request an explanation of the grounds on which he (Major Outram) was quoted as an authority for your detention ; for so far from the slightest wish to interfere with your views in any way. Major Outram would be most happy to have it in his power to serve you ; and trusts you will never scruple to command him, when he can be of any assistance. The above explanation will, I feel certain, tend to satisfy you that Major Outram is in no way to be held responsi- ble for the annoyance you have undergone, and that it must be traced to circumstances over which he, at any rate, can have had no control, directly or indirectly." MEMOIR ON EASTERN BALOCHISTAN, OR THE TERRITORIES OF THE BRAHUI KHAN OF KALAT. CONTENTS. PART I, GEOGRAPHY. II. TRIBES. III. GOVERNMENT AND HISTORY. IV. ANTIQUITIES AND DIALECTS. V. MILITARY FORCE, REVENUE, TRADE, AGRICULTURE, ETC. VI. MANNERS, CUSTOMS, ETC. VII. NATURAL HISTORY, ETC. MEMOIR ON EASTEEN BALOCHISTAN. PART I. GEOGRAPHY. Balochistan comprises the extensive regions between the confines of modern Persia and the valley of the Indus. To the north, Sistan and Afghanistan, to the south, the ocean marks its boundaries. It is my intention, in this Memoir, to treat only on the eastern provinces of this country, or those included under the dominion of the khan of Kalat. Of the western provinces, or those bordering on Persia, our knowledge is, unfortu- nately slight : and I regret my inability to increase it, since they constitute, on many accounts, the more interesting portion of Balochistan. As regards the eastern provinces, a personal acquaintance with many of them will justify the formation of tolerably correct notions of the remainder, and renders the 282 GEOGRAPHY. task comparatively easy to appreciate the value of reports and statements received of them. Such information, in this case, has a degree of utility, and is applicable, being within the scope of scrutiny and verification. For the better elucidation of the Kalat territory, its distributive arrangement is desirable. This object is facilitated by the favourable position of the central provinces of Saharawan and Jhalawan» extending in a continuous line from north to south. To the north, resting upon the country of the Afghans ; to the south, connecting with the mari- time province of Las. We may, therefore, be per- mitted to separate the khan of Kalat's territory into four principal sections. The first, embracing the provinces to the west of Saharawan and Jhalawan ; the second, including the maritime provinces ; the third, the central provinces of Saharawan and Jhalawan themselves ; and the fourth, the provinces to the east of the last. This arrangement, besides being suggested by considerations of locality, is sanctioned by the diversity of dialects current in the provinces of the several sections, as will be seen when it becomes our duty to draw attention to that subject. The first, or western section, comprises the sub- divisions of Nushki, Kharan, Mushki, Panjghur, Kej, Kolwah and Jhow. The second, or maritime section, includes the provinces of Las, Hormara and Pessanl. NUSHKI. 283 The third, or central section, is formed of the great provinces of Saharawan and Jhalawan ; to which are added the districts dependent on the capital, Kalat, and which are intermediately situated between the two. The fourth, or eastern section, includes the pro- vinces of Kach Gandava, Harand, and Dajil; the last two bordering on the river Indus. FIRST, OR WESTERN SECTION. NUSHKI. A considerable province to the west of Sahara- wan, about five days' journey from Kalat, and four from Mastimg or Shall. It is bounded to the north by the Afghan district of Shorawak ; to the south by waste lands stretching for two marches, and di- viding it from Kharan ; to the east, by hill ranges separating it from Gurghina, a dependency of Saha- rawan ; and to the west by the sand desert, extend- ing to Sistan. There are no towns or villages, properly so call- ed, in Niishki ; the inhabitants residing in tents. Through its limits flows the river Kaisar. Its waters are said to be unavailable for purposes of irrigation. During the latter part of the year its 284 GEOGRAPHY. bed is nearly or quite dry. When replenished by the rains of spring, it is unable to force a channel through the sands, and is lost amongst them. Notwithstanding the nature of the soil, and its vicinity to the desert, there is an extent of land devoted to the cultivation of wheat by the inhabit- ants of Nushki, sufficient not only to supply their own wants, but to yield a surplus for export to Kalat and the neighbouring provinces. This land is at the very skirts of the hills, and of the descrip- tion called khtishk awah, which owes its fertility to the bounty of the clouds. It need not therefore be pointed out, that the harvests of Nushki may, by accident, fail. Amongst the products of Nushki, assafoetida merits notice, as the gum resin is collected and sent to Kalat for sale. Large quantities of the green plant are also brought to the capital, in season, and while purchased generally by all classes, is particu- larly sought for by Hindus, as a condiment. The hills which furnish assafoetida yield also rawash, or native rhubarb, and its roughly acidulated leaf-stalks are made to serve as food. Nushki is inhabited by the tribe of Zigger Min- ghals, who anciently dwelt on the Dasht Guran near Kalat. Impelled by numerical increase, they migrated into the more ample domain of Nushki, and there established themselves, to the prejudice of the Rakshanis. Of the latter, two tomans, or clans, still reside at Nushki. The present chief of the NUSHKI. 285 Zigger Minghals is Fazil Khan, son and successor in authority to Bahadar Khan, whose memory is revered even beyond the narrow circle of his influ- ence when living^ — a tribute due to his humanity and generosity, and to the hospitable reception he was wont to accord to the merchant who visited his sequestered seats. The inhabitants of Nushki do not migrate in the > winter season. It is asserted that it would be in- convenient to do so, from the great numbers of their live stock, as camels and sheep. At any rate they are not compelled, like the tribes of the bleaker regions of Sahara wan, to shift their quarters from severity of climate. Situated at the foot of the hill range supporting the plateau, or table lands of Saharawan, and on the skirt of the great desert of Sistan, which may well be conjectured to have been in some former state of the globe covered with the waters of the ocean, the depressed elevation of Nushki is adverse to the development of the rigors of winter. Snow very rarely falls, and when it does, only as a perishable emblem, to melt and to disappear. There is a breed of horses in this province which, if not eminently distinguished, is still valued, and it possesses also a variety of the tazi, or greyhound, of much repute in Balochistan, and prized in more remote countries. 286 GEOGRAPHY. KHARAN. A province west of Sohrab, the northern extre- mity of Jhalawan. Separated by large waste and hilly tracts from the surrounding districts, it has to the north, Niishki ; to the south, Mushki ; to the east a portion of Jhalawan, as just noted ; and to the west, but at a long interval, Panjghur. The grains cultivated in Kharan are chiefly wheat and barley, grown as in Nushki, on khushk awah lands. It may be inferred that the produce is in- adequate to the demand, as wheat is imported into Kharan from Nushki and other places. The inha- bitant of Nushki vends his goods at the capital for money ; the inhabitant of Kharan barters his com- modities for grain. Amongst the products of this province, shakar gaz must be noted. It is a sweet gum, exuding from a variety of the tamarisk tree, and liquescent in the ordinary temperature of the atmosphere. In Kharan it is used as a condiment ; at Kalat, as a luxury, being dissolved in water, and drunk as sher- bet. As large quantities of this gum are brought to Kalat, the proportion of trees bearing it must be considerable, and the fact would seem to prove that the country about Kharan is much broken, and intersected by the beds of water-courses and tor- rents, while the surface of the soil may be presumed to be impregnated with natron and other efflorescent salts, conditions suitable to the growth of the tama- ^ / / risk. - ^ Assafoeticla grows in the hills of Kliaran ; the ''^'w^y*'*^ f* gum resin is not an object of attention. The date^^^'^^ | tree flourishes in the level country; its produce,'^ - - ^'^^'^^^^^^^^^ with melons, are the only fruits. ^^fn^^ Kharan has two small towns, one named after Ai^^''-^'^^*^^, the province, the other called Washak. It is inha- bited by the Nushirvani tribe, whose principal chief, in 1831, was Mohem Khan, of the Rakshani branch. Then disaffected to the government of Kalat, he was a refugee at Kandahar. Desirous to transfer to his own coffers the scanty revenue remitted by the province to the supreme chief, he was resisted by the Alif Zais, another branch of the Nushirvani tribe resident in Kharan, and so effectually, that he was constrained to fly. * A tenth of the produce of the soil is paid to the officers of the khan of Kalat, as revenue ; a burthen so light, that, until a heavier one be imposed, or demanded as a return for protection, the inhabitants would scarcely wish to incur the risk of a change of masters. * He has since died, and been succeeded by Assad Khan? who, in recent Baloch history, has become memorable for the asylum he afforded to the son of Mehrab Khan, and for his share in the events which have led to the restoration of his protege to the masnad of his father. _ j'j/'J^ 288 GEOGRAPHY. MUSHKI. An extensive province west of Jhalawan, and seven days to the south-west of Kalat. To the south, it has Jhow, and to the west, Kolwah. This large tract is not distinguished for any par- ticular article of produce ; whence it may be assumed that the cultivated lands are of the khushk aw4h class, as in other parts of Balochistan, and that the quantity of grain grown does not exceed the con- sumption. It is probable it may not equal it, but the numerous flocks of the Baloch tribes tend to ob- viate any inconvenience arising from a deficiency of grain. Indeed, they render them, in great measure, independent of it. Mushki is inhabited by various tribes, as the Meh- masanl, the Nushirvani, and the Mirwarl It has several towns, villages, and castles, as Shahar Kalat, Sheriki, Gajar, Mihi, and Mushki, held by officers of the khan of Kalat ; Greshar, occupied by Saj-i-dm, Saka ; Perwar, said to be large, and Miam Kalat, in the hands of Mirwari chieftains ; Gwarjak, a for- tress of repute for its strength, a strong-hold of the lawless Mohem Khan, Raksham ; with Jibbari, another large fortress in possession of Rustam Khan, chief of the Mehmasani tribes, who, of late years, has paid but an equivocal allegiance to Kalat. 289 KOLWAH. A spacious province, to tbe north of the mari- time province of Hormara, and four or five days from the coast. To the east, it communicates with Mush Id, and on the west a desert interval inter- poses between it and Kej. It is inhabited by various tribes, as the Mirwari, Rodahi, Homerari, and Niishirvam. It has several villages and castles, as Rodah Khan, chief place of the Rodahi tribe, who, besides, hold Siggak, Hiir, and Madag ; the last a castle, said to be large, but neglected ; Balor, the residence of Mir Bizan, prin- cipal of the Homerari tribe ; Goshanak, a fortress occupied by Mir Dostin, sirdar of the Mirwari tribe ; Shahar Mirdad, Dad-i-Karim, and Mulla Hassan, Ahwara, held by other Mirwari chiefs ; Shahar Shahdad, belonging to Shahdad, a nephew of Moh^m Khan, Rakshani ; with Shahar Ibrahim, in the trust of the Khan of Kalat's officers. The inhabitants of this province, as well as those of Mushki, keep up little or no commercial inter- course with Kalat. With the ports on the coast an exchange of commodities is maintained ; rice, dates, cotton cloths, spices, and dye-stuffs, being received in return for wool, roghan, hides, and bdellium. The traffic of the preceding province, Mushki, is directed principally via Jhow to Simmiani ; a small portion of it, with nearly the whole of that of Kolwah, finds VOL. IV, U 290 GEOGRAPHY. its way to Hormara. From the last place consider- able quantities of dried and salted fish are expe- dited inland. It is clear that the inhabitants of the interior of Balochistan derive no inconsiderable part of their subsistence from the coast. A country so sterile, and little productive, as to be incompetent to support its own meagre population, can offer trifling prospect of advantage to recompense enter- prise and adventure, and no temptation to excite political cupidity. JHOW. A smaller province than the preceding, is sepa- rated from the maritime province of Las by a well- defined hill range, its boundary to the east. To the north it borders upon Miishki ; to the south upon waste and sandy tracts, stretching to the ocean. Westward it inclines towards Hormara and Kolwah. Its inhabitants are of the tribes Mirwari and Halada ; the latter, although admitted to be Brahui, do not enjoy great consideration, and would appear to be of essentially pastoral habits. The only town, or village, is said to be Nandaru. In this province is an ancient site, where coins, trin- kets, &c., are frequently discovered. I had not an opportunity of visiting it. Ancient artificial mounds are here, as in other pai'ts of Balochistan, PANJGHUR. 291 called dams. In Jhow, many have distinctive names, as Saiyad-dam, Lindro-dam, Katro-dam, &c. PANJGHUR. A fertile province to the north-east of Kej, and fourteen easy marches from Kalat. To the west are the districts of Magghas and Sib, independent of the Kalat authority. It is inhabited by the Gitchki tribe of Brahms, the more potent chief of whom is named Gwaran. His obedience to the Kalat go- vernment is perfect, and he is in consequence re- spected, as well as confided in, by it. There are ten small towns or villages, represented as being clus- tered together in Panjghur, viz. Isahi, Tasp, Khoda Badan, Karim Khan, Vashbud, Surik Horan, So- ridu, Duzanab, Khallak and Titchkhan. Panjghur is celebrated for its groves of date trees. Their fruit is exported to Kalat as a luxury. It also produces grapes, said to be of good quality, and, what is more useful, excellent corn in abundance. Amongst its vegetable products, turnips are plen- tifully raised. The nature and variety of the culti- vated objects in Panjghur attest the fertility of the soil. The agricultural habits of the inhabitants have softened their manners, and they are as much distinguished from their turbulent neighbours, for their peaceable demeanour, as for their superior acquirements in the arts, and conveniences of life. u 2 292 GEOGRAPHY. A kardar, or agent of the kh^n of Kalat, is resi- dent in Panjghur, to receive his master's revenue. Levied in the proportion of a tithe of the fruits of the earth, its amount is transmitted to the khan's treasury in gold. • KEJ. The most western province of the Kalat territory. It is distant from the capital twenty-one camel- marches, and about seven or eight marches from Gwadar, on the coast. There is reason to believe that it was formerly a place of much importance ; on which account, the fullest information regarding it would be desir- able. It is our misfortune to know less about it than any other of the Kalat khan's provinces. It still figures eminently in the legendary lore of Ba- lochistan, and is the fairy land of this part of the world. Nasir Khan marched a large army into Kej, and its firm and steady retention was always one of the measures mainly engrossing his attention. His successor, Mahmud Khan, found that its remote- ness was favourable to the rebellious projects of the turbulent chieftains residing in it, and towards the close of his reign it no longer acknowledged alle- giance to him. His son, Mehrab Khan, signalized the commencement of his rule by vigorously assert- KEJ. 293 ing his authority in Kej, but the subsequent trou- bles of his reign have again rendered its submission little better than nominal, the principal town, of the same name as the country, being only held in his name. The importance of Kej, and the evil arising from the diversion of its revenues, which, when paid, are forthcoming in gold, could not but be felt by the present government of Kalat. Ac- cordingly, in 1828 or 1829, Jam Ali, the chief of Las, under orders from Kalat, with his own troops and those of his allies, marched from Bela to Kej. The expedition is affirmed to have been successful ; but its return v/ould appear to have been followed by a recurrence of all the disorders it was intended to repress. In 1831 the serious notice of the government was again directed to the affairs of Kej, and the whole of the Brahui army, under command of the khan's brother, Mir Azem Khan, and the minister, Daoud Mahomed Khan, broke ground from Sohrab in Jhalawan, and took the road to Kej. Little good could, however, be expected, as the royal army was chiefly composed of leaders and their followers, in concert and connivance with the disaffected, against whom they professed to march ; and the expedition was attended with no substantial advantage. Kej is inhabited by many tribes, but the Gitchki would seem to be the dominant, if not the more numerous. Their chief, Shekh Kasim, dwells at the town of Kej. It would be interesting to ascertain whether any part of the population 294 GEOGRAPHY. of this province correspond with the Dehwars of Kalat and the Tajiks of Upper Asia. It was a point on which I could not satisfy myself by inquiry. Above half the population, however, are of a religious sect, called Ziggers, who dispense with the observance of prayers, rites, and other cere- monies, which more orthodox Mahomedans con- sider indispensable. There are many towns or villages, and castles in Kej. The capital bears the same name. It is dis- tinguished by its arg, or citadel, which being also called miri, or palace, is probably an analogous structure to that of Kalat, serving, like it, both for fortress and residence of the chief. This strong- hold is held by Bijar, on behalf of the Kalat khan. There are, besides, Nuki Kalat, Tarbat, Gushitang, Maksudi Kalat, Pidrak, Ghwerkap, &c., &c., places of more or less consequence. From Kej there is a commercial intercourse with the ports of Gwadar and Charbar, on the coast, and a kafila occasionally passes between it and Kalat. SECOND, OR MARITIME SECTION. Comprises the countries bordering on the sea, from the western limits of Sind to the vicinity of Gwadar, whence the continued line of coast be- comes subject to the Arab chief of Maskat. The eastern extremity of this extensive tract is occupied MARITIME SECTION. 295 by the province of Las, obedient to its own chief and government, yet acknowledging the supremacy of the khan of Kalat. The remainder is a sterile sandy space, intervening between the ocean and the mountain chains supporting the more elevated provinces of the preceding section. Unblessed by fertilizing springs and rivulets, its arid surface dis- plays a dreary succession of yawning ravines, parched wastes, and undulating sand-hills. The scanty ve- getation serves to exhibit the poverty of the soil, and to attest its inapplicability to culture. The fervid heat of the sun, on these inhospitable shores, is indeed moderated by the winds, which rage during the greater part of the year, and with so much violence that it becomes questionable whether the inconveniences they occasion are compensated by the exemptions from other evils which they bring with them. Yet, on this desolate coast, we find two small ports, Hormara and Pessani, flourishing by their little traffic, and maintaining a commercial communication between the natives of the country and those of regions distant and beyond the seas. In former days — but the advantages must have been greater then than now — European intelligence did not neglect this unpromising tract. The substan- tially constructed remains of forts, and residences on various parts of the coast, testify to the settle- ments of the Portuguese. Of these, a considerable one existed between Hormara and Pessani, at the creek of Kalamat ; a locality, whose interest was 296 GEOGRAPHY. enhanced by the circumstance of its being one of the recognizable stations of the Macedonian fleet under Nearchus. Yet, while freely admitting that the trade with the interior of the country in those days ought not to be estimated by its actual low scale, I cannot believe that the numerous Por- tuguese stations along the coast were due to it, or supported by its profits. I rather suppose they were intended to preserve the communications be- tween their Indian ports and their great emporium, Ormuz ; which, at that early era of^ navigation, may have been closed by sea during the periodical winds, as they are now to natives. The opulence of Or- muz is remembered but as a dream gone by, or as a subject to moralise upon. Its fall necessarily involved that of its dependent posts and settle- ments. LAS. A large province, with well-defined boundaries. To the east, the termination of the great hill range, dividing Saharawan and Jhalawan from Kach Gandava, and Sind, called, in maps, the Hala Mountains, but known to the natives by many and various names, separates it from Lower Sind and the Delta of the Indus. Amongst these hills flows the Hab river, on extraordinary occasions only discharging its waters into the sea. Pursuing a rocky course, it winds through a thankless and LAS. 297 neutral soil, over which range wild Lumris, whose property is in their flocks of goats. The road from Bela to Haidarabad crosses the hills, inhabited by the Chuta tribe, and leads by a spot called Shah Balal, where is a ziarat, or shrine, of repute, distinguished by groves of tamarind trees and the presence of pea-fowl. These beautiful birds and the groves are considered sacred by Mahomedan and Hindu — so easy to the unrePiecting mind is the transition from wonder to homage. To the west, a continuous hill range stretches from the north of Bela to the ocean, upon which it closes beyond the point where the Purali river effects its junction. By this range, in the parallel of Bela, Las is separated from Jhow, a pass, or lak, as here called, over the hills, communicating be- tween the two provinces. This lak is remarkable as having been, in great measure, artificially formed. The labour is ascribed, as all such labours are, to Ferhad. While these two ranges approach to the north of Bela, as to an apex, to the south the line of sea-coast forms the boundary of the pro- vince, constituting a vast triangle, the area of which is occupied by an expanse of level, more or less wooded, and frequently marshy, diversified by the tortuous and tamarisk-fringed course of the Purali river, by dry open tracts bordering on the hills, and by low sandy hillocks on the margin of the sea. Las is inhabited by the Lassi division of the 298 GEOGRAPHY. great tribe of Lumri or Numari. Whether they derive their appellation from the country they dwell in, or whether the country is called after them, is uncertain. The Lassis have numerous subdivisions, as the Jamhut, furnishing the jam, or chief ; Gun- gah, Angariah, (the name of a German tribe, accord- ing to Tacitus,) and Chuta, who claim a close affinity with each other. There are also the Gadur, Masorah, Manghia, Shekh, Shahokah, Stir, Vahreh, Sabrah, Mandarah, Runja, Burah, Dodah, kc. These races acknow^ledge a consanguinity with the Battis of Jesalmir, &c. Their origin they trace to Samar, the founder of Samarkand. He had, they say, four sons — Nerpat, father of the Lumris, or Numaris of Las ; the Bulfats, or Numaris of Sind ; and the Jukias, also of Sind : Bopat, father of the Battis of Jesalmir ; Aspat, father of the Chaghatais ; and Gajpat, father of the Chura races. It may open a wide field for reflection, perhaps for controversy, but there is every probability that these Lumri, and other Jetic tribes, have an origin iden- tical with that of the Jet, or Gothic races, so memo- rable in the middle ages of European history ; and that the same political causes which impelled the one portion in a direction by following which they ultimately reached the shores of the Baltic, precipi- tated the other portion upon the continent of India. The Lumris speak a dialect scarcely varying from that current in Sind. The Lumris are an active hardy people, and lead LAS. 299 essentially a pastoral life. Their wealth consists of their flocks and herds, which the grass of their jangals allows them conveniently to subsist. Their flocks, however, are principally of goats, and their herds of buflaloes, although they have cows, but in less number. Sheep are probably unsuitable to the nature of the country, the pastures of which, besides being rank, spring from a damp and saline soil. Camels also contribute largely to the comfort and aflluence of the Lumri people, and are reared in amazing numbers. Agriculture is neglected, perhaps despised ; and, confined to the vicinity of the few towns and villages, is in general carried on with Hindu capital. Wheat and barley are grown but in small quan- tities, those grains being imported from Khozdar. Jiiari and mash are objects of culture, with mustard and the cotton plant. Near the capital, a little rice of good quality is grown in the forsaken bed of the Purali. In the same favoured soil a few vegetables are produced, and tobacco is cultivated. The produce of Las in no wise meets the con- sumption of the inhabitants ; red and white rice, jiiari, with various other grains and pulse, are largely imported from the ports of Sind, from Mandavi, Bombay, and even Maskat The abun- dance of horned cattle provides large quantities of roghan, and a considerable amount of hides for exportation, and of natural or untended produce ; the hills yield abundance of honey, wax, and 800 GEOGRAPHY. bdellium. The camels of the Lumris are articles of traffic, and their trained animals are esteemed. The manufactures of the Lumris are coarse cotton fabrics, or parcha, carpets, felts, sacks, ropes, &c., woven indiscriminately from the shorn honours of the goat and camel. From camel-hair the abrah, or cloak, of coarse texture, universally worn by the males, is made. ; Its virtues, independent of cheapness, are durability, and resistance to rain. The food of the Lumris is very simple, and chiefly bread of the inferior grains, with buttermilk. Mash also enters largely into their diet, and red rice, boiled up as wat, or frumenty, is a favourite dish. They are accused of eating flesh in a raw state, which means, I presume, that they are not partial to overdone meat. Simple as is the fare of the Lumri, and rude as are his manners, he is a slave to the pernicious practice of opium-eating, thereby^ while endangering his health, faculties, and morals, offering additional evidence of his affinity with the Batti, and other degraded races. The government of the Liimri community of Las is vested in an hereditary chief, with the title of Jam. He exercises within his own territories an independent and uncontrolled jurisdiction, acknow- ledging, nevertheless, the supremacy of the Bra- hui chief of Kalat, to whom, if required, military service is rendered. Although it is understood that the chief of Kalat may not, on occasions of lapses of authority, disturb the natural order of sue LAS. 801 cession, his concurrence in the selection of the future ruler is deemed necessary, and his deputy performs the inaugural ceremony of seating the new jam upon the masnad. The dependence of Las upon Kalat, while so easy as to be little more than nominal, is likely, however, to become more definite, both because the government is visibly deteriorating, and that the connexion is the only precautionary measure v^hich the inferior state can adopt to secure its independence from being de- stroyed by its powerful and grasping neighbours of Sind, who behold with extreme jealousy the har- bour of Sunmiani, and the diversion of a portion of the commerce which they wish should be confined to Karachi. The reigning jam of Las is Jam Meher Khan» and, at this time, may be sixteen or seventeen years of age. He is the son of Jam Meher All, who died much regretted. A love of justice, and a spirit of moderation, endeared him to his subjects. In the field he proved able, and, at the request of the government of Kalat, undertook, with the levies of his own tribes and immediate allies, an expedition against the refractory leaders of Kej, in which he acquitted himself with credit. The father of Jam Meher Ali was Jam Meher Khan, who for many years presided at the hehn of affairs in Las. His reputation, as a man of ability and comprehensive views, stands fair, but it is remembered of him, that he placed no check upon his passions, and in their 302 GEOGRAPHY. gratification scrupled not to compromise the honours of the wives and daughters of his subjects, whether Hindu or Mahomedan. Las was anciently ruled by the Runjah tribe; amongst whom one Sappar became famous. His descendants were dispossessed by the Gdngahs, whose two latter chiefs were Jam Dinar and Jam Ibrahim. These, in turn, were compelled to yield to Jam All, of the Jamhut tribe, which must have been after the year 1046 of the hejira, as a seal of Jam Ibrahim is still shown at Bela with that date, and the legend Banda Badshah Alara, Jam Ibrahim ben Jam Dinar. The first Jam All was succeeded by Jam Rubana, who slew his brother, the son-in-law of the Ammallari Bulfat chief, who seized upon Las in resentment. Parah Khan and Izzat Khan, Bulfat chiefs, succeeded each other ; but the latter was so cruel and oppressive, that Jam All, a descendant of the expelled Rubana of the Jamhut tribe, applied to Mohabat Khan of Kalat, and by his aid regained Las ; whence arose the connexion between the two countries. From this Jam All the present chief is regularly de- scended. The Lumris are willing that the stranger should believe, that the military strength of Las amounts to twelve thousand men. Jam Meher All, in his expedition to Kej, it is said, carried with him four thousand men, comprising his own and auxiliary forces. It may be supposed that lie made extraor- dinary efforts, which were seconded by his popu- LAS. 303 larity at home and abroad. In 1831 the Vakil Alia Rika, with a force of four hundred men, was in cooperation with the army of Kalat in Kej, and a body of three hundred men had been placed at the disposal of the Arab chief of Maskat, to serve, as mercenaries, in his armament against Mambasa, — a mode of employment frequently adopted with the levies in Las. The revenue of Las, under Jam Melier All was computed to exceed forty thousand rupees ; but at present it does not equal twenty-five thousand, while it is expected to suffer farther depression. This revenue arises from the customs payable on merchandise entering the port of Sunmiam, the duties charged on produce brought to the towns, or bazar villages, and the taxes on trades, crafts, &c. The Liimri peasantry may be considered exempt from imposts, as the sums they contribute on the sale of their produce in towns, in fact, form so many charges upon trade, and are borne by the purchaser or consumer. The more profitable branch of the revenue, is that arising from customs on foreign goods, and they are levied at a fixed rate, depending on weight. This arrangement was made by Jam Meher Khan, to encourage merchants to repair to Sunmiam, in preference to Karachi ; and it was farther agreed to wave the right of search, so vexatiously resorted to by the Sindian officers. The consequences were soon manifested by the number of merchants frequenting Las, and 804 GEOGRAPHY. the beneficial effect on its revenue. Latterly, how- ever, the governments of Kalat and Las, growing- enfeebled, the hill tribes between Bela and Khoz- dar extort so grossly from kafilas, under pretence of levying duty, that Afghan merchants, with heavy goods, are compelled to go to Karachi. Chintzes, muslins, and high-priced goods, bearing a large profit, still find their way from Bombay to Kandahar by the road of Bela and Kalat. Horses are also usually shipped at Sunmiam for Bombay, as on them the tribes exact no duty. Madder, a staple article of export from Kalat and Afghanistan, is always carried via Sind ; even the portion destined for sale in Las, is sent by land from Karachi. The products of the province have been already noted ; with the fisheries, they contri- bute to a brisk intercourse between Sunmiam and the harbours of Sind, and generally of the line of coast from the mouths of the Indus to Bombay, as well as with the ports of Mekran and Maskat. The only towns — calling those places such which have chabutras, or offices to receive customs and duties — are Bela, Utal, and Sunmiam. Its only villages, esteeming those such which boast of mud dwellings, are Liari, Shekh-ka-raj, Osman di Gote, Wariara, Phor, Traiari, &c. Besides these there are various assemblages of Lumri huts, in most of which are found two, three, or four Hindus. Bela, the capital, is a small town of about three hundred houses. In native histories it is called Kara Bela; LAS. 305 and, however long it may have represented the capital of this part of the country, it seems to have been preceded, in the middle ages, by another town, the site of which, or rather of its sepulchres, is pointed out about five miles westward ; where at this day coins and trinkets are occasionally found. Funereal jars are also brought to light, filled with ashes, charcoal, and other incinerated substances. In the nearest jioint of the contiguous hills, separating Las from Jhow, are found nume- rous caves, and rock temples, ascribed by tradition to Ferhad and fairies, but which more sober judg- ment recognizes as the earthly resting abodes of the former chiefs, or governors of the province. They prove, moreover, the extension to the coast of that faith whose excavated records exist over so large a part of the world. Sunmiani is a town of about a thousand houses. It has a good-sized bazar, and a good number of Hindu traders and artisans. There are also many families of Mehmans, as they would call themselves, or Lutias, as styled by the Liimris. Amongst them are two or three opulent merchants; and all of them are in easy circumstances. Professing them- selves Mahomedans, they are not considered ortho- dox; and, together with the Hindus, they engross the foreign and internal trade of the country. Be- sides the Meds, who form a portion of the maritime and fishing classes, there is at Sunmiam, also at B61a, a part of the fixed population called, by the VOL. IV. X 306 GEOGRAPHY. Lumris, Jaclghal. Considerable numbers of negro slaves are always to be found at Sunmiani, both in employ as well as for sale. Scarcely a family is without one or more of those negroes ; and Hin- dus are permitted to purchase them as freely as others. They are brought from Maskat, and from Sunmiam are dispersed amongst the Lumris of the country, and even so far as Kalat. The Mehman merchants entirely conduct this traffic. The harbour of Sunmiani is spacious, but, unfor- tunately, a bar of sand impedes the entrance, and the accumulating mass bids fair to close it. The sea gains upon the land, and the present town will, in no great space of time, be replaced by another, more distant from the shore. At Sunmiam coarse calicoes are printed, and there are many mills for the extraction of oil from mustard-seed. They are precisely on the same construction as sugar-mills, but worked by camels in lieu of oxen. The eruptive disorder on the teats of cows, pro- ducing the vaccine disease, is well known in Las ; equally so is the fact, that those who have received this disorder from the cow are not liable to the contagion of variola. The disease is denominated poto-ghow, or the cow small -pox, poto being the Lumri as well as Baloch designation for small-pox. But what is still more singular is, that the camel as well as the cow has an eruption on her nipples, producing similar effects to the vaccine ; and, as in this country camels' milk is largely made use of for HORMARA. 307 the sustenance of man, it is ascertained that those who in milking a diseased animal contract what is called the poto-sliuter, or camel small-pox, become also inaccessible to variolous contagion, equally with those who receive the analogous disease from the cow. I was assured that no fatal results were ever known to follow from either of these potos, from the vaccine or the cameline ; and that the symptoms were exactly as in the English disease, confined to a sj)rinkling of pimples on the hands and arms. HORMARA. A small town and port of Mekran, containing about four hundred houses, which for some years has placed itself under the protection of the jam of Las, to avoid being reduced by the Arab chief of Maskat. It receives governors on the part of the jam, and a nett sum of one thousand rupees is annually remitted to Bela, as revenue and the price of protection. This little place has a smart trade with the interior, and its shipping frequent the same foreign harbours as the craft of Sunmiani. The country, for seven or eight days' journey in every direction from Hormara, is of the most sterile and uninviting aspect, yet, in particular spots, are inhabitants located, leading a weary existence in the solitudes around them, but contented, because ignorant of better fortune. On the skirts of the X 2 308 GEOGRAPHY. Jabal Malan, a range which presses on the coast between the limits of Las and Hormara, a tribe of inferior consideration, called Gujar, have fixed their seats. Nearer, at a locality named Garuki, the Sangur, another tribe of small repute, reside under their chief, Mir Bijar. On the shores of the Kala- mat creek, west of Hormara, dwell a tribe deriving their appellation, it may be, from the place ; although they believe they came originally from Sind, where, they assert, the tribe still exists in formidable numbers. PESSANI. A small port, of two hundred houses, still farther west, dependent on which is the country on the coast between the limits of Hormara and those of Gwadar. Its chief is Mehrab Khan, of the Kala- mati tribe just noted. He pays no tribute to Las or Kaldt, but contrives to avoid the acknowledg- ment of supremacy to Maskat, by pretending to be a member of the Balocli federation. It must be conceded, his little town and territory are barely worth the coveting. The maritime and fishing population of the little ports on the coast of Mek- ran, from Sunmiam to Charbar, are denominated Med, and comprise four divisions, the Gazbur, Hormari, Jellar Zai, and Chelmar Zai. SAHARAWAN. 809 THIRD, OR CENTRAL SECTION. Includes the provinces of Saharawan and Jhala- wan, with the intermediate districts of the capital. The latter, except in situation, are perfectly inde- pendent of the former. In reviewing their po- sition, convenience prescribes their union. The same consideration induces me to comprise amongst the districts of Saharawan that of Shall, which may not strictly be said to belong to them, al- though, since it has been placed under the Kalat government, it has been virtually annexed to the province. SAHARAWAN. The more northern of the central provinces, blends its confines with the Afghan districts de- pendent on Kandahar. Computing from the north, to the borders of Jhalawan, it has an extent of above one hundred miles ; and its breadth, from east to west, although a little varying, will, in general, nearly average the same distance. To the north, it connects itself with the Afghan districts of Peshing and of Toba ; to the south, it runs into the province of Jhalawan, encircling the little nucleus of the capital with its environs. To the east, parallel ranges of hills, a formidable barrier, separate it from Dadar and Kach Gandava. Tra- 310 GEOGRAPHY. versing these ranges, and in a direction exactly contrary to them, is a range marking the course of the Bolan river, and the line of the celebrated pass, leading from the Dasht Bidowlat to Dadar, the great route of communication between the western Afghan provinces and the countries open- ing on the Indus. To the west, a series of high hills, although distant, preserving their parallelism to the preceding, divide the province from the Afghan districts of Shorawak, and from the Baloch province of Nushld. West of Shall and Mastimg is the Afghan district of Sherrud, which, it must be noted, while amongst the inferior hills, is east of the principal chain. This chain extends far north, forming the western boundary of Poshing, and is called the Khwoja Amran mountain. The eastern range, while, perhaps, without any general name, has a multitude of local appellations. Where it overlooks Kalat, it is called Arbui, and the superior range, frowning on the plains of Kacli Gandava, is called Takari. Other peaks have the names Nagow, Bohar, &;c. Excepting the Bolan, Saharawan may be said to have no rivers. A few slender rivulets and tor- rents, transient and partial, are found only scantily distributed over its wide surface. To compensate this deficiency, a cool temperature, the result of elevation, is favourable to vegetation; and allows the soil to retain, for a sufficient period, the mois- ture supplied by the vernal rains, as generally to SHALL. 311 ensure good harvests of grain. Owing to the same kindly causes, the hills and plains are covered, in the spring and summer, with a profusion of flowers and herbage, yielding copious and admirable nou- rishment to the numerous flocks of sheep, which constitute the primary wealth of the Brahui tribes. 1. Saharawan, then, includes the district of Shall, with its villages and dependencies of Ispangali, Kuchilak, Samanguli, Berg, Binighoh, &c. 2. Mastung, with its dependencies of Feringabad, Tiri, Khanak, Dolai, and Kenitti. 3. Mangachar, comprising the divisions of Zard, Kur, Mande Haji, Kirch-ab, and Barechi-nav. To these may be added Kliad. 4. Kalat, with its neighbouring villages and de- pendencies of Skalkoh, Nichara, Chappar, Dasht Guran, &c. 5. Kirta, and the petty districts in the hills be- tween Saharawan and Kach Gandava. 6. Giirghina, Kurdigap, Nimarg, &c., districts in the hills east of the Khwoja Amran range. SHALL. The most northern of the districts of Saharawan, was ceded to Nasir Khan by Ahmed Shah, the first Durani sovereign, in reward for his military services in the Persian wars. It embraces many small divisions and villages, as Siriab, Ahmed Khan Zai, Karani, Ispangali, Noshahar, Berg, Kuchilak, 312 GEOGRAPHY. Samanguli, &c. To the north, Shall extends to the Khaka districts of Toba ; to the south, it joins the district of Mastung, and the plain called Dasht Bfdowlat ; to the east, it has the Khaka district of Hanna ; to the west, Peshing and Sherrud, belong- ing to Afghan tribes. The capital of the district, called Shall by the Baloches, and Quetta, an equivalent for kot, or fort, by the Afghans, is a small town of about four hundred houses. It has a good bazar, and is the most considerable place between Kalat and Kan- dahar, and also between Kalat and Ghazni. It is , ^ surrounded by a crenated wall of some height, but inadequate, from its slight substance, to offer oppo- sition to artillery. On a lofty mound within the walls is a ruinous citadel, which yet affords a residence to the governor of the town. The Khaka district of Hanna to the west is considered under the government of Shall, as are other Khaka districts to the north towards Toba. The submission of these Afghans must be very equivocal, a furious blood-feud existing between the Afghans and Baloches. One of the two gates of Shall, opening upon the east, is named after Hanna, the other fronting the south is named the gate of Mastung. The soil here is rich and black, yielding much wheat and rice, besides madder, some tobacco, and the cultivated grasses. The orchards are abundant, apparently of recent growth, and furnish grapes, MASTUNG. 313 apples, pears, plums, peaches, apricots, mulberries, pomegranates, figs, &c. As usual, in these coun- tries, large fields are devoted to the cultivation of melons, in their season. The climate is praised, and I judged it salubrious and equable. Snow falls, and remains on the ground for above two months, when it is customary for the small Baloch garrison to retire to Dadar, leaving the inhabitants to their own protection. The Afghans resident in Shall and its villages are of the Kassi tribe ; and claim affinity with the great Safi clans. The whole fixed population will scarcely amount to four thousand. In the spring and summer, numerous Brahiii tomans range over its plains. MASTUNG. Includes, besides the town of Mastung, the de- pendent villages and districts of Faringabad, Tiri, Khanak, Dolai, Kenitti, &c. It is bounded^ to the north, by the lofty mountain Chehel Tan, sepa- rating it from the valley of Shall ; to the south by the districts of Mangachar and Khad. On the east, a range of hill, a prolongation of inferior altitude from Chehel Tan, intervenes between it and the Dasht Bidowlat ; and on the west another range divides it from the Afghan valley of Sherrud. Mastuno: is celebrated for the salubrity of its climate, and for the abundance and excellence of its 314 GEOGRAPHY. fruits. The cultivated soil is very fertile, and the produce is ample, and of good quality. Madder, grown in large quantities, is an annual export, as is tobacco, which is much prized. Besides the various grains, rice, and the artificial grasses, are cultivated. The fruits of Mastung embrace all the varieties noted as being produced by the orchards of Shall^ but they are in far greater pro- fusion, and in general have a superior flavour ; the temperature being milder, and more favourable to the maturity of many kinds. The mulberries and melons of Mastung are held to be unrivalled, and almonds are so abundant as to be an article of export. The climate of Mastung, Tiri, and Faringabad is entitled to great commendation; Khanak, in the same plain, but with a depressed site, is not equally favoured. The town of Mastung may contain about four hundred houses, and is surrounded with a cre- nated mud wall. On a mound within the limits of the town are the remains of a citadel, destroyed, it is said, by Ahmed Shah. The present town is af- firmed to represent the ancient city of Arangabad, whose site is pointed out a little to the east or north-east, and on which, after rains, coins, and other evidences, may be occasionally discovered. The walled-in village of Tm may occupy as much space as Mastung, but with half the number of habi- tations, the greater part of the enclosed area being filled with orchards. At Tiri resides an influential MANGACHAR. 815 family of saiyads, one of whom, Saiyad Sherif, was mainly the cause of the insinuation of Sikh troops into Harand and Dajil, and has become infamously notorious in the recent events which have convulsed Balochistan. Faringabad is an advantageously- seated village, amid orchards, under the hills over which the direct road leads from Mastung to Shall. It may contain one hundred and fifty houses. Khanak has a village of similar appellation, seated on a large tappa or mound; consequently the site is ancient. It contains about one hundred houses, and dependent on it are three or four small hamlets. K^nitti has a small village, now nearly depopulated. Dolai, to the north of Khanak, has no village. No Afghans dwell in Mastung; some of the fixed inhabitants are Dehwars, but with them are incorporated many Brahms of various tribes. Of these the principal are the Raisani, Sherwam, Mah- mud Shahi, Bangui Zai, and Lari, with the Sirperra. The favourable site and climate of Mastung has recommended it as a residence to most of the chiefs of the Brahui tribes of Sahara wan. The fixed population of Mastung, and its dependencies, will not, probably, exceed six thousand, MANGACHAR. A division of Saharawan, to the north, touching on the limits of Kenitti and Khad ; to the south 316 GEOGRAPHY. extending to the borders of Chappar, Garuk, and Karez Garani, dependent on the capital. To the east, hill-ranges separate it from the petty localities of Kuhak, Kishan, &c.; and, to the west, other hills divide it from Gurghma. It it subdivided into the quarters of Zard to the north, Mandeh Haji occupying the centre chiefly ; Kur, to the west ; Kirch-ab, east of Kur and trending towards Chappar, with Barechi-nav stretching eastward to the base of a mountain, called Koh Maran, or the hill of snakes. Mangachar has a few dispersed hamlets. There may exist on the plain from ten to twelve artificial tappas or mounds, which, covered with fragments of potters' ware, testify to an ancient population. These evidences are not inconsistent with the fer- tility and natural advantages of the plain; which are considerable, as to the quality of soil and the abundance of water. There are at present canals of irrigation, and subterranean aqueducts. The parts better supplied with water are Mandeh Haji, and Zard, which accordingly produce in greater quan- tities wheat and the cultivated grasses. The other parts of Mangachar have also their canals of irri- gation, but fewer in number, and the culture is restricted to wheat. The whole plain is intersected by bands, or ramparts of earth, intended to preserve the rain-water for purposes of irrigation. There are many breeding mares kept on the plain of Manga- char, and it is usual for the horse-dealers of Kalat MANGACHAR. 317 to send their cattle there to feed upon the choicer grasses. The soil is of the same rich and ponderous quality as that of Kalat, but much of the surface is impaired by impregnation with saline particles. The plain has a very dreary and bleak aspect, owing to the absence of trees. Many single and ruinous mud huts are sprinkled here and there ; and the tomans, or collections of black tents, on the skirts of the hills, or interspersed over the plain, have in themselves a repulsive and unsocial appearance. A few trees only are to be found at Zard, where there is also a good orchard belonging to Dhai Bibii, an ancient lady of Kalat ; and this is certainly the portion of the plain preferable as to position. Khad is the name given to a lengthened valley between Mangachar and Mastting, through which the high road leads from Kalat to the north. On the east it has the first of the three parallel ranges stretching to Kach Gandava, which is remarkable for displaying to the west inclined surfaces of rock, as smooth as if a trowel had been passed over the masses when plastic. On the west, the hills called Chotoh divide it from Kenitti and Zard. Khad has no village. It is computed nine Sultama cosses from Kalat, agreeably to some traditionary admea- surement. By the same standard, Mangachar is reckoned five, and Mastung twelve Sultama cosses from the capital. Khad is claimed by the Sher- wani tribe of Brahuis. 318 GEOGRAPHY. DASHT BIDOWLAT. Before quitting the northern divisions of Saha- rawan, it is due to notice the Dasht Bidowlat, or the Unpropitious Plain. To the north it has Sir-i- ab of Shall, Zir Koh, and the Khaka hills. To the south, hills divide it from Merv and Isprinji. To the east it has the hills of the Bolan, and to the west, Chehel Tan and the lower ranges of Mastung. Whether traversed from Shall or Mastung, it is a good march in breadth, nor is its length less consi- derable. Its evil name is appropriate only after the harvests have been collected, and the supplies of water have been exhausted, when it is deserted by its temporary residents. Then it is that predatory bands of Khakas roam over the desolate space and infest its roads, to the peril of travellers and kafilas. In the spring its aspect is very different, and the Brahms are enthusiastic in their descriptions of its verdure and flowers. Its surface, garnished with the lala, or tulip, presents, they aver, an exjoanse of scarlet and gold, and the perfume that impregnates the atmosphere exhilirates the senses to intoxica- tion. In that season it swarms with the tomans of the Kurd Brahiii tribe, who are proprietors of the plain, and reap its produce, but retire as soon as it is collected, to Merv. 319 KALAT AND ITS ENVIRONS. For convenience, we have included Kalat and its environs amongst the districts of Saharawan, al- though they form a distinct and independent tract, under the personal jurisdiction of the khan, or chief of the Baloch community. The town of Kalat, containing within its walls about four hundred houses, and a mm, or palace, of an antique and im- posing appearance, with suburbs comprising other four hundred houses, is situated in a narrow valley, bounded to the east by the hill ranges so often mentioned as extending to Kach Gandava. To the west, beyond the hill Shah Mirdan, on the northern extremity of which the town is built, broken country and ravines extend for a consider- able distance. From the town to the opposite hills, to the east, the distance is within a mile, and this confined space, traversed by the generally dry and stony bed of a hill torrent, is appropriated to the cultivation and gardens of the place. To the south of Kalat the valley closes, or is filled by low hills ; to the north it somewhat expands, and affords space for the small villages of Garuk, Malarki, Malgozar, &c. Farther north is the small hamlet of Garani, and nearly west of it, the village of Ziarat. About three miles north-east of Kalat, crossing the first hills, is the village of Skalkoh, walled in, and made up of one hundred houses, inhabited by 320 GEOGRAPHY. the Sherwam tribe. About fifteen miles south-east of Kalat, also amongst the hills, is the larger village, or small bazar town of Nichara (Noshahar). Seated in a fertile valley, it has much cultivation. About nine miles to the south of Kalat is the small village of Rodinjo, on the road to Jhalawan. It may have twenty houses. On the skirts of the hills east of Rodinjo, and extending to Sohrab, are two or three hamlets ; and within them is the village of Mahomed Tahawar, walled in, with two gates and one hundred houses. About three miles east of Rodinjo is the village of Tok, with thirty houses, and walled in. Chappar is an extensive plain, west of Kalat. To the north it unites with Kiir and Kirchab, dis- tricts of Mangachar ; to the south it extends to the Dasht Guran. On the west it has hill ranges of little altitude, until they sink upon the Siah Koh, or black mountain. Here are no towns or villages, but there are the ample indications of a former population in the fragments of potters' ware distri- buted over an immense space. The plain is sup- plied with water by a rivulet issuing from the low hills east of Karez Garani, and which, flowing by Gariik and Ziarat, enters Chappar. Considerable quantities of melons are raised here for the Kalat market. The fields are crown property, and the fruits mature some time after those grown in the vicinity of the capital have been consumed. The KALAT, AND ITS ENVIRONS. 321 Daslit Guran, south of Chappar, has beyond it Sohr^b, to the east Rodinjo, and to the west a waste and broken country, extending to Kharan. Here is a small village of fifteen to twenty houses, and the cultivation, entirely on the lands called khushk awah, is confined to wheat. This plain is inhabited by the Sunaris, a branch of the Zehri tribe of Jhalawan, to whose sirdar they are obe- dient on questions of general interest, but, for suf- ferance of settlement, make an annual acknowledg- ment to the sirdar of Ntishki, whose tribe pre- ceded them in the occupancy of the dasht, and who still claim it. Daslit Guran signifies the plain of wild asses, but those animals are no longer found there. The population of Kalat is necessarily mixed ; with many Dehwars there are many Brahuis, a great number of Hindus, and a large proportion of slaves. The entire suburbs are inhabited by Afghans. The agricultural classes are nearly exclusively Dehwars. In this Memoir, in enumerating the towns, or vil- lages, in the respective parts of the country under notice, I have mentioned nearly the whole of them, for they are really so few in number that to do so is an easy matter. I incur the chance of being accused of noting places unworthy of record, but besides that there are no other than these places, I wished to afford data for exhibiting the numbers of the fixed population. I have before estimated that VOL. iv; Y 322 GEOGRAPHY. of Shall and Mastung, and by the same mode of calculation, that of Kalat and its environs will not exceed fourteen thousand. DISTRICTS IN THE HILLS BETWEEN SAHARA WAN AND KACH GANDAVA. We have frequently had occasion to allude to the hill ranges between the elevated province of Saha- rawan and the depressed level plains of Kach Gan- dava. Formed of three parallel chains, and extend- ing north far beyond the limits of Saharawan, they enclose numerous sheltered and fertile valleys. From the universality of rice as a product of them, an abundance of copious and perennial springs and rivulets must be inferred. To the excellence of the herbage and pasturage, and the adaptation of the hills for the grazing of sheep, the superior meat and fleece of the Brahui flocks amply testify. Although very scantily inhabited, there are still amongst them some fixed villages, and there are many localities tenanted by pastoral tribes. The eastern portion adjacent to Kach Gandava is inhabited by petty Rind tribes, or detachments therefrom, and the western portion is held by Brahui tribes. The Rinds, it may be observed, in matters of public interest, are supposed to follow the deci- sion of the sirdar of Saharawan. The direction of these parallel chains of mountains is from north by HILL DISTRICTS. 823 east to south by west ; in the parallel of Shall, a range cutting through them nearly east to west marks the course of the Bolan river and pass, and describes the boundary between the hills of the Khaka Afghans and the Baloches. In the pass is a ziarat of some repute, called Bibi Nam, and about the centre of it, immediately north of the river, is the small walled-in Baloch village of Kirta, inha- bited by the Kuchik branch of the Rind tribe. Contiguous thereto is a tepid spring, which confers the name of Garm-ab on the locality whence it issues. Kirta has been frequently sacked by the Khakas. Of the many localities amongst these hills, such as have villages are Johan, belonging to the Puzh Rinds, and deemed fertile in wheat and rice. Rodbar, said to be extensive, and comprising three villages ; Rodbar, held by Mandawari Rinds ; Jam, held by Kuchik Rinds; and Barari, inhabited by Puzh Rinds. Rodbar has a vigorous cultivation of rice and grain, and its numerous orchards yield pomegranates of fair quality. Kajuri, occupied by the Puzh Rinds, has a village of the same name, and, like the other valleys, yields rice abundantly. Ghazg is another valley, with a village of similar name. It has orchards and vineyards, and the grapes are highly prized at Kalat. It belongs to the Ghazghis, a petty Brahui tribe. Besides these valleys which have villages, there are many others, some of them extensive and fertile, which afford a residence to various tribes, whose genius and mode of life dis- Y 2 324 GEOGRAPHY. qualify them for permanent settlement and fixed abodes. Such are Merv, held by the Kurds ; Isprinji, by the Bangui Zais ; Kuhak, by the Mahmtid Shahis ; Nermuk, represented as large, inhabited by the Lari Brahuis; Lup, belonging to the Kalui branch of Rinds ; Kishan, held by the Sherwanis, with Pizai, Lalaji, Sohrab, &;c., places of little note, and sometimes visited by small tribes. The fixed popu- lation of the several villages dispersed over the tract under consideration will not, probably, exceed two thousand five hundred. DISTRICTS IN THE HILLY TRACTS WEST OF SAHARA WAN. To complete the review of Saharawan, it remains to notice the districts in the western hills. They are Gurghma, Kurdigap, Nimarg, Ashi Khan, and Puden. They lie to the west of Mangachar, a hill range intervening, having Sherrud of the Afghans to the north, and to the south, waste, hilly regions. Kurdigap is the most northern district, and the only one which has a village, and that a small one ; Gurghma is south of Kurdigap, and Nimarg is again south of it ; while Ashi Khan and Puden are to the west of both. As in Mangachar, so in these districts are many dams, or artificial mounds. The valleys are not so well supplied Mdth water, and the river, or rivulet, of Sherrud flows use- lessly through the hills. Cultivation is effected DISTRICTS WEST OF SAHARAWAN. 325 by aid of mounds of earth, or bands, to confine the water from rains, and it is asserted that, in Gurghina, there are above three hundred of them, a number, if exaggerated, yet showing that they are numerous. It is notorious that the cultiva- tion of this and of other districts of Saharawan, is not carried on to the extent their capabilities would allow ; an evil arising, perhaps, mainly from their being held by pastoral races, who depend for their subsistence rather upon their flocks than upon their fields. So jealous are the several tribes of what they consider their peculiar property, that they will in no wise permit the settlement of others. This remark particularly applies to the Sirperras, who scantily inhabit the districts under notice, the Kurds, possessing the spacious plain of the Dasht Bidowlat, the Shervanis, who hold Khad, and the Raisanis, who suffer the rich lands of Dolai and Khanak to lie waste. In comparison with other Brahui tribes, the Sirperras are not considered wealthy. They formerly paid attention to the col- lection of assafoetida, but of late years the plants have failed in quantity. The appellation Gurghina, is understood to relate to the wild ass, called Gur ; but the animal, believed formerly to have abounded in these parts, is not now found. He, however, still ranges in the level wastes beyond Nushkl. The districts of Ashi Khan and Puden, west of Gurghina, are inhabited by the Rodani branch of the Sirperra tribe. The fixed population of the 326 GEOGRAPHY. lands held by the Sirperras will not exceed tliree hundred. From the estimates we have made, it would appear that Saharawan does not contain thirteen thousand fixed inhabitants, while the capital and its environs has about fourteen thousand. The amount of the pastoral tribes of Saharawan is more difficult to guess, but it can hardly be imagined to exceed, if it equal, that of the fixed part of the community. Supposing it equal, we have about twenty-six thousand for the population of Saha- rawan ; or, if in estimating the number of fixed inhabitants, I have, in calculating five to a house, taken too low a rate, let six be allowed, and we shall not be able to raise the entire population above thirty thousand. The pastoral races in the neighbourhood of Kalat cannot be conceded on any account to equal one half of the fixed popu- lation, and in taking them at six thousand, the estimate, no doubt, is too high; but doing so, for the sake of arriving at an amount, we have twenty thousand for the population of the capital and vicinity. If we reflect on the extent of coun- try over which this amount of human life is dis- persed, we must be conscious how trifling the latter appears in contrast with the former. It is within the truth, and also for the sake of approximate calculation, to consider the countries in question as covering a square surface of one hundred miles, and containing, therefore, an area of ten thousand JHALAWAN. 327 square miles. The population of fifty thousand distributed over this space, gives but five souls to every square mile ; nor need we be surprised at so low a result, when we reflect that entire marches may be made in the country without a solitary human being presenting himself to the observation of the traveller. It is instructive at all times to analyze the population of countries ; but particularly so when the inhabitants are prone to exaggeration. Experience has convinced me that the population of Oriental countries has been much overrated. JHALAWAN. Includes the countries stretching in a southerly direction between Kalat and the maritime province of Las. To the west, barren tracts intervening, it has the provinces of Mushki, Kharan, and Kolwah. To the east, the prolongation of the great mountain chains of Saharawan divides it from the territories of Sind and the valley of the Indus. In this length- ened tract of country considerable variety in the climate and productions is apparent : to Baghwan it partakes of the temperate character of Sahara- wan ; south of that place it is much warmer, and its natural indications assimilate with those of more tropical countries. To Baghwan, also, the descent from the elevated plateau of Saharawan is, while decided, yet gradual. Beyond it, or at Wad, a broad 328 GEOGRAPHY. belt of hills is entered ; emerging from which, after descending the pass, or lak of Baran, by the defile of Koharn Wat, the level plains of Las are gained on the margin of the ocean. Jhalawan comprises the districts of Sohrab, Zehri, Baghwan, Khozdar, Zidi, Kappar, Wad, Nail, and the hills of the Minghals, Bizunjus, and Samalaris. In the narratives of journeys from Sunmiam to Kalat I have, in traversing many of the districts of this province, noted the little that is to be said about them, and it would be needless repetition to reinsert that little here. The district of Zehri lying out of our route, came not within the range of observation ; but it merits notice both because it is comparatively fertile and populous, and that it is the residence of the sirdar, or lord of Jhalawan. It lies about forty miles south of Kalat, and immediately north of the Mulloh river. Of a warmer climate than Kalat, and copiously supplied with rivulets, its cultivation of the several varieties of grain and pulse is vigor- ous. It has several villages, as Jagasur, Nogram, Mishk, Bulbul, Ghat, &c. Neighbours to Zehri on the east and north-east, are the Jetaks, a rather numerous tribe, and dependent on it. If we apply the same calculations to Jhalawan as we have done to the northern province, relative to its population, we shall again be surprised at the low results we gain. The fixed population of the various, but still few little towns, villages, and ham- lets, cannot be allowed to exceed ten thousand. KACH GANDAVA. 329 The pastoral tribes in this province are superior in numbers, the great tribes of Mmghals and Bizunjus giving them an obvious preponderance. If, for the sake of an approximate result, we go so far as to suppose them to double the amount of the fixed population, we have about thirty thousand inhabit- ants for the extensive tracts of Jhalawan, which spread over a larger space than those of Saharawan, as they certainly have twice the length from north to south, and generally about the same breadth. FOURTH, OR EASTERN SECTION. Comprises the large province of Kach Gandava, with Harand and Dajil, bordering on and west of the river Indus. This tract of country, while under the same parallels of latitude as Saharawan, for Bagh is nearly due west of Kalat, from its depressed level, has altogether a different climate. So, also, are its vegetable productions distinguished by varying fea- tures. KACH GANDAVA. The principal characteristics of this province are, its large extent of level surface, its excessively sultry climate^ which has become proverbial, its scarcity of water for agricultural purposes, which restricts its cultivation, both as to quantity and 330 GEOGRAPHY. variety, and comparatively with other parts of the khan of Kalat's territories, its large amount of population, with abundance of towns and villages. It is inhabited by three very distinctly marked races; the Jets, the Rinds (including the Mag- ghazzis), and the Brahuis. The Jets are un- doubtedly the primitive inhabitants, the Rinds are more recent settlers, and the Brahms have acquired a permanent interest in the province only since the time of Nadir Shah. The capital of Kach Gandava is Gandava, which we are told is more correctly named Ganjava, from some allusion to ganj, or treasure. It is a walled town, and frequently the winter residence of the khan. It is small, and without trade, deriving its little importance from its being deemed the ancient as well as modern capital. Bagh is a much larger town, and will always be of some consequence, being situated on the high road of traffic from Shi- karpur to the north. Formerly decidedly the com- mercial capital of the 23rovince, it has declined of late years ; many of the Hindu bankers who once resided in it, having transported themselves and their business to Kotru, a town held by the Eltarz Zai branch of the reigning family, where they are exempt from the annoying interference of the khan of Kalat's ill-controlled officers. Bagh contains above six hundred houses, is surrounded by crenated mud walls, has a fair bazar, and a governor on be- half of the khan. It is the mart for the sale of KACH GANDAVA. 331 sulphur, extracted from the mines of Sum. Seated on the bank of the Nari river, its inhabitants are perplexed by the scarcity of water, when the bed of tbe stream is dry. Water derived from wells is too saline to be used as a beverage. The neighbour- hood is well cultivated. Besides juari, the cotton plant and sugar cane are grown. Kotru, or the Castles, are four castles or forts, built by four bro- thers of the Eltarz Zai family, just noted. Of them, the one held by Kerim Khan, has become flourishing, and a town of consequence. It is north of Jell and west of Gandava. Between Bagh and Gandava, is the town of Nasirabad, built by Nasir Khan, which has a governor on the part of the khan. Under the lofty ridges of Saharawan, defining the province to the west, are a variety of towns, held by Rind tribes; as Sum, Stiran, Ghajan, Kanara, Kari, &;c., with Kotru, just mentioned; and farther south, Jell and Shadia, belonging to the Magghazzis. Most of these places are watered by springs and rivulets from the hills. Sum has a rivulet flowing from Koh Naghow. Another, called Shorin, flows to Kotru. The Badrah runs by Gan- dava, while the Mulloh, a more considerable stream, enters the plain between Kotru and Jell. On the opposite side of the plain, and east of Dadar, are again hills. These intervene between the province and Harand and Dajil, immediately on the great river, the Indus. At their foot, on the Kach Gan- dava side, are the towns of Mahomed Reza, Faizar 832 GEOGRAPHY. Khan, Lehri, Bughti, Pulaji, Chattar, Gunari, Shahar Islampur, &;c. These are held by lawless tribes of Rinds, as the Jakranis, Dumbakis, Bughtis, Marris, &;c. Nearly through the centre of the province winds the Nari river. Rising in the hills near Toba, north of Shall, it flows through the Khaka district of Borah, and then into the Afghan district of Siwi, from which it enters the plain of Kach Gandava to the east of Dadar. It now winds by Noshara, Bakra, and Mitari, towns of the Raisani Brahuis, and thence passing Iri and Haji Shahar, flows by Bagh. From Bagh, its course leads to Tambu, a town of the Rinds, where it falls upon the Pat, or Waste, of Shikarpur. When it has an excess of water, it is said to be enabled to traverse the Pat ; in that case, at Ghari Khairah^ a hold of the Jamali Rinds, falling into a canal from the Indus. This river has a large number of vil- lages on its banks. From its entrance upon the plain to Bagh it has about sixty, and from Bagh to Tambu, I have the names of fifty-five villages. These villages are chiefly inhabited by the Jet population, who possess the centre, as the intrusive tribes occupy the skirts of the province. Between Bagh and Mitari are the towns or villages of Maisar, Bughti, Rustam, Shahar Dowlat, Shahar Jelal Khan, (Sec, &c. The grains most extensively cultivated in this province are juari and bajra, which appear to be adapted to a dry soil. In the better and manured KACH GANDAVA. 383 lands near towns, the cotton-plant and sugar-cane are objects of attention. The juari has two varie- ties, indiscriminately growing on the same space, one distinguished by its sweet stem^ and eaten as sugar-cane. The natural productions of Kacli Gandava are very limited ; a few saline plants vegetate on its bare plains, and a belt of jangal intervening between Haji Shahar and Bagh is composed of stunted mimosas and b^r trees. The vicinities of towns and villages are distinguished by groves of the same trees, but of more stately growth. At Gan- dava, which has long been noted as the abode of the great of the land, are gardens, where orange, lime, and, I believe, mango trees thrive. The spirit of the Eltarz Zai family of Kotru has, in like man- ner, embellished its environs with gardens. Dadar in the north of the provinces has also its gardens, and pomegranates of their growth are prized. Groves of date trees enliven the appearance of this town, and dense belts of these trees appear to extend along the skirts of the hills to the eastward. The climate of Kach Gandava is so oppressive from April to August, that communications are nearly suspended, and travelling is attended with great risk, from the hot winds, which sweep over the parched, arid plains, with fatal violence. No less terrific are the emanations emitted from the heated surface of the soil. Between this province and the domain of Shi- 834 GEOGRAPHY. karpur stretches a barren, naked tract, known as the Pat of Shikarpur. It is between thirty and forty miles across. Not a tree or shrub vegetates on this expanse. No water is found to supply the necessities of the traveller. With a level below that of the upper parts of the province, it receives the drainage of their waters in certain seasons. As suddenly as the fluid precipitates itself upon the surface, so is it suddenly imbibed by the thirsty soil. It has been the scene of infamous depreda- tions, being considered neutral ground, as it is the boundary between the possessions of Kalat and Sind in this direction. Westward it extends to the superior hills, and separates the lands of the Magghazzis, subjects of Kalat, from those of the Chandi tribe, dependent on Sind. In the hill ranges east of the plain of Kachi, and intervening between it and the provinces of Harand and Dajil, are the abodes of the Doda Marris, who have been there located above three centuries. Their principal town, Kahan, has become memora- ble in our days through its occupation and aban- donment by British troops^ as well as by the disas- ters and losses it involved. The Marris have long been distinguished as daring depredators, and have proved themselves to be a brave race. The Dodas are but a division of the great Marri tribe, which is widely dispersed. 335 HARAND AND DAJIL. These provinces border on the river Indus, having on the north, the district of Dera Ghazi Khan, and to the south that held by the Mazaris. They are inhabited by the Giircham tribe of Rinds, and the government conferred the title of Nawab on the person who held it. Harand is reputed an ancient site, but Dajil is said to be, at present, the most flourishing of the towns. The villages are numerous, notwithstanding the soil is not consider- ed fertile, probably by reason of proximity to the river. Harand and Dajil, anciently comprised in the government of D6ra Ghazi Khan, were ceded, together with Shall, to Nasir Khan, by Ahmed Shah, in recompense for his services in the Persian wars. They have since been taken possession of by Ranjit Singh of Lahore, and his successor holds them. With reference to the population of these coun- tries, it is impossible to concede to Kach Gandava one hundred thousand, or to the Marri hills, with Harand and Dajil, above fifty thousand inhabitants. Granting an equal number to Saharawan, including Nushki, Kalat, and Jhalawan, and again an equal number to the Western Provinces, we obtain a total of four hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants for the territories of the khan of Kalat ; a trifling num- ber compared with their extent, yet still rather over than under estimated. 336 PART II. TRIBES OF EASTERN BALOCHISTAN. In the preceding pages a considerable insight into the nomenclature, and variety of the tribes of Eastern Balochistan, will have been acquired. It may still be advisable to devote a particular portion of this memoir to their classification and distribution, as well as to note the peculiar or ac- cidental circumstances which distinguish them, when considered individually, or in relation with each other. Some readers may not deem it useless to notice the details the inhabitants have preserved of their origin, or to offer such conjectures as may tend to enlighten, if ever so little, that obscure subject. Numerous as are the tribes dispersed over these extensive regions, those considered Baloch may be reduced to three great classes, the Brahuis, the Rinds, and the Lumris. Of those not Baloch, there are the Dehwars of the capital and the fixed vil- lages, the Jets of Kach Gandava, the marine tribes of the coast, the Afghans of Shall, and, to complete the review, the Hindu residents in villages and towns. It is manifest that the Baloch class emi- nently claims attention in these pages. TRIBES OF EASTERN BALOCHISTAN. 337 We behold a race of people, calling theniKselves Baloch, extending from the eastern limits of Kach Gandava and the valley of Sind to the frontier of Persia. It is clear that in this community are com- prised many tribes of very different descent, inferring from the physiological distinctions which prevail amongst them, setting aside the variety in the dia- lects spoken by them. Some of them have dark countenances, which savour much of an Indian pedigree, while others are so much fairer, that we can scarcely believe them to be of eastern origin. If we examine the system of that portion of the Baloch community called Brahui, we find the tribes acknowledging the superiority of one, the Mirwari, from which they select their head, or chief. This tribe is located in the provinces of Mushki, Jhow, and Kolwah, which may be considered its head- quarters, and which are intermediate between the central provinces of Saharawan and Jhalawan and the western one of Kej. There is every reason to believe that the Brahuis entered the central pro- vinces from the west, their position, Jiodie, demon- strates it ; and they consider Khozdar as their an- cient capital, or that which they occupied previous to the acquisition of Kalat. In Kach Gandava we find them only as proprietors of lands acquired within a known period, and on a certain occasion. If we analyze the appellation they have assumed, we learn little from it, and of that little we may not be certain. It has been conjectured to be the VOL. IV. z 338 TRIBES OF equivalent of Varaha, and a race of that name figured in contentions with the Rajputs ; but it appears to have inhabited the Panjab and the coun- tries east of it. Had the term been Barohi, — and the pronunciation approximates thereto, — it might have been supposed to be simply " ba roh-i," or, " of the waste ;" as we would say, " makhlukh baroh-i," or, " people of the waste." That some of the tribes now known as Brahui are not strictly such we may imagine; circumstances of neighbourhood, inter- course, and identity of interests, have blended them. To separate them is not so easy ; but, possibly, those tribes may be more correctly considered Bra- hui who speak the dialect so called. It has no resemblance to the dialects of the Afghans or Jets, and Professor Heeren, who connects the Bra- huis with the Afghans, has, I submit, erred. The Brahuis may be divided into three sections, with reference to the parts of the country they inhabit. SECTION I. INHABITANTS OF THE WESTERN PROVINCES. Mirwari . Gitchki . Ktashirvaiil Homardri . Mehmasam Rodahi Kalmatti . dwell in Mushki, Jhow, and Kolwah. dwell in Panjghdr and Kej. dwell in Kharan. dwell in Kolwah. dwell in Mushki. dwell in Kolwah. dwell at Kalamat and Pessani, on the coast of Mekran. EASTERN BALOCHISTAN. 839 Sangur , . . dwell at Malan and Batt, on coast of Mekran. Gujar . . . . dwell at ditto. Hallada . . . dwell at Jhow. Zigger Minghals dwell at Niishki. Rakshams . . dwell at ditto. Saka .... dwell at Greshar in Mushki. SECTION II. INHABITANTS OF SAHARAWAN. Raisani . . . dwell at Mastung, Shall, &c. Sirperra . . . dwell at Gurghma. Shirwani . . . dwell at Mastung. Mahmiidshahi , dwell at Mastung. Bangui Zai . . dwell at Mastung. Kurd .... dwell on Dasht B'ldowlat and Merv. Lari .... dwell at Mastung. Langhow . . . dwell at Mangachar. Rodani , . . dwell at Ashi Khan and Puden. Ghazghi . . . dwell at Ghazg. Shekh Husseni . dwell in hills west of Khanak. Samalari . . . dwell in ditto. Sunari . . . dwell on Dasht Guran. SECTION III. INHABITANTS OF JHALAWAN. Zehn .... dwell in Zehri. Minghal . . . dwell in hills north of Las. Bizunju . . . dwell in the same hills, west of Minghals. Kaidram . . . dwell in hills near Khozdar. Saholi .... dwell in ditto. Jetaks .... dwell in hills east of Zehri. Lutianis . . . dwell in Zehri. 340 SECTION I. TRIBES OF THE WESTERN PROVINCES. It is unnecessary to recapitulate here the re- marks ah-eady made on these tribes in the geogra- phical portion of the Memoir. Of the Mirwari it has been already observed, that it is the more illus- trious of the tribes ; and of the Mehmasam it may be noticed, that branches of it reside in the province of Sistan, and again in the hills of Louristan, W. by N. of Shiraz. These all acknowledge a com- mon origin. It may be remembered that the name is classical, being that of a powerful tribe encoun- tered by Alexander in Upper Bactriana. The Nushirwanis of Kharan claim a Persian de- scent, and, in common with the illustrious Rajput tribes of Udipur, in western India, trace to the celebrated Nushirwan. In Mushki, the tribe of Saka deserves notice; it may be preserving the name of that powerful and ancient people so well known as the Sacse in histories relating to the East. SECTION II. TRIBES OF SAHARA WAN. The principal of the Saharawan tribes, both as to rank and wealth, although not in numerical strength, is the Raisani, the chief of whom is the hereditary sirdar, or lord, of the province. The present chief is Assad Khan, whose brother, Miriilah, fell a TRIBES OF SAHARA WAN. 341 victim to the faars of Melirab Khan, and his minis- ter, Daoud Mahomed. In 1830 he fled to Kan- dahar, and accompanied an invading army to Shall and Mastung. He retired with it, but was in- duced to return to Saharawan at the instance of his mother. Assad Khan resides, during the warm months, at Gul Mahomed, in the plain of Khanak, near Mastung. In winter he retreats to Mitari, in Kach Gandava ; which, with dependent villages, he holds in grant. In late years he has become a cripple, and therefore less able to take a part in public affairs. The Raisams pretend to be able to raise five hundred fighting men, and are the most respectable in conduct of the Saharawan tribes. They derive their name from furnishing the rais, or principal, of the various confederated clans. The Sirperra reside during summer in Gurghma, and during winter in Kach Gandava, where they hold the village of Biri, on the banks of the Nari, be- tween Iri and Haji Shahar. Their sirdar is Saiyad Khan, and they pretend to raise one thousand fight- ing men. This tribe, in its appellation signifying " cutters off of heads," bears one recognized in Indian as well as classical records. Pliny, for in- stance, mentions the Saraparae in conjunction with the Bactrians, &c,, in the neighbourhood of the Oxus. The Shirwani reside, with other tribes, in the dis- tricts of Shall and Mastung. They exclusively occupy Khad and Kishan, with the small town of 342 TRIBES OF Skalkoh, about three miles eastward of Kalat. In Kach Gandava they hold the towns and villages of Haji Shahar, Maisar, Rustam, Ambi, and Bagliai. This tribe pretend to muster two thousand fighting men ; and the chief, Mahomed Khan, dwells near Mastung. In the recent revolt in Balochistan he took a prominent part, indeed, commenced it by the slaughter of Lieut. Loveday's munshi, Ghulam Huss^n, and a small detachment of sipahis. Under the arrangements made by the envoy and minister, he became naib of Mastung to his majesty Shah Sujah al Mulkh, with a salary of two hundred ru- pees per mensem. He had long withstood the soli- citations of those who meditated the outbreak, owing to his naturally timid or cautious disposition, and perhaps might have held out against them had not the violence of the unfortunate munshi prompt- ed him to action. The Shirwani tribe believe that their forefathers came from Shirwan, in the neigh- bourhood of the Caspian, and thus account for the name they assume. The Mahmudshahi dwell chiefly at Mastung, pos- sessing also Kuhak. In Kach Gandava they hold Zirdad, a village west of Bagh. The chief. Dinar, dwells near Mastung. The tribe pretend to mus- ter fifteen hundred fighting men. Dinar was one of the most active in the late revolt. The Bangui Zai reside at Shall and Mastung. They exclusively occupy Isprinji. In Kach Gan- dava, a portion of this tribe permanently reside at SAHARAWAN. 343 Talli, near Lehrl, and thither, in winter, the migra= torj portion also repair. The chief is Jan Maho- med, and the tribe pretends to muster two thou- sand fighting men. Jan Mahomed, in concert with Dinar, was unremitting in his efforts to produce rebellion, long before IMahomed Khan could be persuaded to join them, and employed himself in swearing his partisans on the Koran. The Kurds possess the Dasht Bidowlat and Merv. In Kach Gandava they hold Tirkari, about two miles north of Bagh. The sirdar is Saiyad Khan ; his tribe pretend to draw out five hundred fighting- men. It is subdivided into the Made Zai (the principal branch), the Sliudan Zai, the Zirdad Zai, the Saltag Zai^ the Shadi Zai, and the Massutari, It need not be remarked, that this tribe bears the name of one of the most celebrated and ancient nations on the earth. The Laris, with other tribes, reside at Mastung and Shall, while they hold exclusively Nermuk. In Kach Gandava they have a tract of country below Bagh. They pretend to raise fifteen hun- dred fighting men, and their chief is Mahomed Khan, reputed a brave man. He became a warm supporter of the insurgents. This tribe, in designa- tion at least, are connected with others in the delta of Sind, and in the countries to the east. The Langhow tribe dwell principally in the plain of Mangachar, and hold in Kach Gandava the vil- lage of Bagarar, south of Bagh. Their chief is Pir 344 TRIBES OF Mahomed, and they pretend to muster fifteen hun- dred fighting men. The Langhows are said, origin- ally, to have been slaves of the Rinds, enfranchized by the famed Mir Chakar on the occasion of his daughter's nuptials. This tribe is so plainly of common origin with some of the Indian races, that they yet retain Hindu appellations, and the title singli is frequent amongst them. The Rodanis reside at Ashi Khan, and Puden, west of Kurdigap. In Kach Gandava they hold Iri. They pretend to raise four hundred fighting men. Their chief is Taj Mahomed. This tribe is, in fact, a branch of the Sirperra, but has long been accustomed to act independently. A portion of it also resides at Sohrab in Jhalawan. The Ghazghi tribe residing at Ghazg, in Kach Gandava, hold Gajan. They pretend to muster four hundred fighting men, and their chief is Kerim- dad Khan. The Sh^kh Tlussem reside at the skirts of the hills west of Khanak, have for their chief Daoud Maho- med, and pretend to raise three hundred fighting men. The Samalari were formerly located in Khanak and Dolai ; but, committing depredations, fled to the hills of Peshing. Being regarded with jealousy, they repaired thence to the hills, between Khanak and Sherrtid ; where they now reside as fugitives. It is supposed that they will be invited to resume their original seats. Their chief is Morid, and they pretend to raise five hundred fighting men. JHALAWAN. 345 The Sunari inhabit the Dasht Guran near Kalat. They are a branch of the Zehri tribe of Jhalawan, and pay deference to its sirdar. They pretend to raise two hundred fighting men. They occupied their j)resent position on the emigration of the Zigger Minghals into Nushki. SECTION III. — -TRIBES OF JHALAWAN. The Zehri inhabit the valley of Zehri, the one deriving its name from the other. Its chief is hereditary sirdar of Jhalawan, and resides at Ghatt. At present the rank is borne by a minor, the son of the late Rashid Khan. The tribe is numerous, and generally respected for orderly habits. The Jetaks, neighbours to Zehri, are also a numerous tribe, but, w^ithout fixed villages, are dis- persed over the hills. Their name implies that they are related to the Jet population of Kachi, which their position confirms. The Minghal tribe inhabit the southern hills of Jhalawan from the limits of Khozdar to Bela in Las. Their manners are rude, and their habits predatory. They have two great divisions, the Shahi Zai and Pahlawan Zai. The present chiefs are Isa Khan and Rehim Khan. Although this tribe does not migrate into Kach Gandava, the chiefs hold lands at or near Piilaji and Chattar, and south of Lehri. The Minghals pretend to raise 346 TRIBES OF eighteen thousand fighting men, and their chiefs reside at Wad. The Bizunjus inhabit the same hills as the Ming- hals, but westward of them. They are, if possible, a more violent people, and much addicted to rapine. Their chief resides at Nail. This tribe separates into the great branches of Amalari and Tambarari. In Kach Gandava the chiefs possess lands south of Bagh. I should consider they were quite as numerous as the Minghals, without, however, knowing their pre- tentions in that respect. The Kaidrams inhabit the hills contiguous to Baghwan and Khozdar. Amongst them are the lead mines of Kappar, near which dwells the chief, All Morad. The Saholi dwell at Zidi, in the hills south-east of Khozdar, under their chief, Atta Khan. RIND TRIBES IN KACH GANDAVA. The great Rind tribes, although not Brahuis, are included under the general denomination of Baloch. Their traditions affirm them to be immigrants, at some remote period, from Damascus and Aleppo. It is, however, diflOicult at this time, to detect any trace of a western original in their appearance ; but we must reflect, that if there be any truth in their records, they have been familiar to the climate of India, and in a course of amalgamation with its tribes, for nearly twenty-five centuries. KACH GANDAVA. 347 The language of the Rinds, in common with that of the other inhabitants of Kach Gandava, is the Jetki. They are subdivided into so many as forty- four branches. Although they have partially in- truded themselves into the hills of Saharawan, they never appear to have passed them ; and, on every account, we can believe that, whatever their origin, they found their way into Kach Gandava from the east. When mentioning the term Brahui, w^e have tendered our suspicions, that it may rather define the habits and mode of life of the people bearing it, than their peculiar race or origin. The same suspicion attaches, in our estimation, to the word Rind, which, we apprehend, signifies nothing- more than a brave man. Thus " mird-rind " means " a brave man." With the general term Baloch we have more diflficulty. Ebn Haukal, speaking of the inhabitants of Mekran, says, " Many resemble the x\rabs, eating fowl and fish ; others are like the Curds." He further says, " The Boloujes are in the desert of Mount Kefes, and Kefes, in the Parsi language, is Kouje, and they call these two people Koujes and Baloujes." The appellation is, therefore, of some antiquity. There are numerous Baloches in the countries east of the Indus, and they are all, I believe. Rinds, as in Bahawalpur and the Panjab. They have a similarity of appearance, and a peculiarity of dress, which does not allow them to be mistaken. The Rinds of Kach Gandava, of whom the prin- 348 TRIBES OF cipal branch is the Utan Zai, pretend to be able to raise fifteen thousand men, and in political matters are supposed to act with deference to the Brahui sirdar of Saharawan. A deadly blood feud rages between them and their neighbours, the Maghazzis. My acquaintance with the Rind tribes is not j)er- fect ; and I regret not being more fully informed as to their history. Of the tribes inhabiting Kach Gandava, some are the Utan Zai . dwelling at Siiran. Dumbki . 5, Lehri. Jakrani . . „ Lehri. Jallui . . „ Sanni. Lashari . . „ Gajan. Doda Marri „ Kahan. Bughti . . in hills E. of Lehri, at Sing ; Saloh and Teriki. Homarari . dwelling at Tambii. Jamali . . „ Rojan. Of these tribes, the Dumbkis, Jakranis, Bughtis, and Doda Harris, always distinguished by their rebellious and predatory propensities, have acquired a more than ordinary repute by the excesses they indulged in during the operations of the British armies west of the Indus, as well as by the equi- vocal results of the efforts made to restrain and to punish them. Ignoble and obscure, they might have so remained had their treatment in the first instance been due and considerate, but, owing to neglect, from contemptible maurauders they became powerful adversaries ; and, in the contest with them KACH GANDAVA. 349 it is difficult to conceive which party had the ad- vantage. Residing in the north-eastern hills of Saharawan are the minor tribes of the Kallui . . dwelling at Lup. Kucliik . . „ Kirta, Puzh . . „ Johan. Mandarari . „ Rodbar. Pugh . . „ Kajun. On the western banks of the Indus, extending from the neighbourhood of Dajil, are two great branches of the Rind tribe ; the Gurchanis, inhabit- ing Harand, and the Mazaris stretching south of them. The Mazaris, a predatory tribe, having a tract of country yielding, it is said, a revenue of one lakh of rupees per annum, are nearly inde- pendent, acknowledging, should necessity prevail, the supremacy of Sind. At this time, they are pressed by the Sikhs, who have insinuated their troops into Dajil and Harand. The Harris, a considerable tribe, inhabit the east- ern hills of Kach Gandava. They are notorious for their lawless habits, make frequent inroads upon the plains, and are wholly in rebellion to the khan of Kalat. A portion of this tribe is found in the hills w^est of the province, below Jell. They are peaceable and obedient subjects. A larger portion is also found on the south-eastern frontier of Sind, w^here they have a tow^n, called Adam Marri. These, of course, are subjects of Sind. The Harris 350 TRIBES OF have the singular custom of never selling roghan, alleging, that they reserve it for their guests. The Jamali tribe, will, for the same reason, on no account sell milk. The Buladai, with their chief, Baram Khan, reside at Wari, north of Larkhana, in Sind, and are subject to the Amirs. Also under the hills, the western boun- daries of Sind, are portions of the Utan Zai, Jamali, and other Rind tribes, who emigrated from Kach Gandava in the time of Nasir Khan, and were granted a settlement in Sind. The greater part of the country west of the Indus, from the parallel of Shikarpur to that of Sehwan, is held by Baloch tribes ; but it is foreign to our purpose to consider them the subjects of another state. In the Afghan district of Siwi, to the north-east of Dadar, are the Baloch tribes Khadjak and Shi- lanchi. The former are said to hold the villages of Khadjak, Gulu, and Liini The Shelanchis have a village called Shelanchi, with a chief, Ahmed Khan. They are neighbours in Siwi to the Afghan tribes of Safi, Kurak, Margazari, and Dappal. In the hills east of Kahan, are the Hussems, Chachas, Ketras, Beloch tribes. They are inde- pendent, being remote. To their east, is Sanghan, belonging to the Piari Afghans, with a castle or fort of the same name, and a village called Mandeh. The Magghazzis, the mortal enemies of the Rinds, are probably of the same race. They count only KACH GANDAVA. 351 four families, of which the principal is the Bu- tanl, whose chief, Ahmed Khan, resides at Jell, in the south-western quarter of Kach Gandava, south of Kotru and the Rind districts of Suran, Sanni, &c. They pretend to be able to raise two thousand fight- ing men, and in the political system of the Brahuis, are placed in obedience to the sirdar of Jhalawan. THE JETS OF KACH GANDAVA. The Jets constitute the great bulk of the fixed agricultural population of Kach Gandava, as of the Panjab and Sindetic provinces ; to say nothing of the countries between the Satlej and Ganges. A race so widely dispersed, of course, claims attention^. Wherever located it is distinguished by speaking nearly the same dialect, and the name designating it carries us back to the Getic or Gothic invaders of India and of Europe. To the north and west of Kach Gandava they are not found as agricul- turists, but rather as itinerant professors of hum- ble arts, somewhat like gypsies. Under such con- ditions they may be discovered at Kabal, Kan- dahar, and even at Herat, at which latter place they are called, perhaps wdth reference to their occupations, Gharib Zada, or descended of the poor or lowly. But wherever they go they preserve their vernacular tongue, the Jetki. In the Panjab, I believe, they do not occur westward of the Jelam, 352 TRIBES. which is instructive, as showing, if they represent the ancient Getic races, how they have been pushed forward by subsequent invaders. There can be no doubt but that the Getse once possessed the whole of the countries immediately east and west of the Indus. With the Jet population, east of the Je- 1am, waggons, to the traveller from the west, first make their appearance. The language of the .Jet races deserves notice, especially with reference to the important ques- tion, what is Hindi ? Materials for the comparison of its various dialects exist in their several voca- bularies, and the labour of reviewing them could not be unprofitable. The settlement of the Jets in Kach Gandava has been at so remote a period, that they now appear as the aborigines. Their sub- divisions are numerous. The names of some of them are the Kalora, which formerly gave princes to Sincl, Kokar, Hampi, Tunia, Abbrah, Pusarar, Machi, Howra, Manju, Waddara, Palal, Buah, &:c. LUMRIS OF LAS. We have already pointed out the common origin of these races with the Rajput, or Indo-Scythic tribes of India, and we have noted their subdivi- sions. They claim, and justly, a close affinity with the Bulfat, or Namadi, and the Jukia tribes of Sind, their neighbours to the east. Of these, it AFGHANS OF SHALL. 353 may be observed, that the Bulfats are divided into two principal clans, the Bappahani and the Am- mallani ; and that the Jukias are subdivided into fourteen families : the Tebir (the chief ), Musa, Bardijah, Salarah, Haria-putra, Mohmat, Panda, Hinghura, Ghad, Harti, Tagia, Hamira-kah, Shi- kari, and Ponwar. MARINE TRIBES OF THE SEA PORTS. These, called Meds, we have before noticed, and need not repeat our remarks here. DEHWARS OF THE CAPITAL AND FIXED VILLAGES. Of these people we have before had occasion to point out that an interest attaches to them, from their position, settled mode of life, and from the fact of their vernacular language being what is known as Persian. AFGHANS OF SHALL. These need scarcely be considered when touch- ing on the tribes of Balochistan, albeit they are not without claims to attention, if, in their ap- pellation, Kassi, they have preserved that of the VOL. IV. 2 A 354 TRIBES OF EASTERN BALOCHISTAN. important race, which, at some remote period, pre- dominated over a large portion of Asia, and whose memory is consecrated in the mythological and authentic literature of so many nations, as well as by current traditions. 355 PART III. GOVERNMENT AND HISTORY. On the subject of Brahui history we inquire in vain for any written record. Tradition, and the na- tional songs, commemorating the exploits of chiefs and illustrious men, are the only native sources of information at command. The testimony they yield is necessarily obscure and exaggerated. We know, however, that the armies of the caliphs, at an early period, or within the first century of the hejira, appeared, both in Sind and Khorasan ; and it may be inferred that Balochistan was visited by them. The natives, however, recovered authority ; for we find, in Sind, two families ruling, one of them of the Rajput race certainly, as was the other proba- bly, although converted to Islam, since, with the former, its chief bore the title of jam. About this time the Sehrais, a Mahomedan family from Sind, governed at Kalat, and their burial-ground is still shown immediately south of the town walls. They were displaced by the Sewah, a Hindu tribe, whose expulsion was effected by the Brahuis, still in power. There are no means of ascertaining the dates of these changes. 356 GOVERNMENT The Brahui conquest is believed to have been achieved under the orders of Kambar, a chief of the Mirwari tribe ; and the consequence was the adop- tion of a new form of government, suited to the enlarged possessions acquired. It was fixed, that the supreme power should be vested in Kambar, and that it should be hereditary ; while other two chiefs, of the tribes Raisani and Zehri, were ap- pointed sirdars; the first, of Sahara wan, and the last of Jhalawan; and these dignities were alike heredi- tary. It was, moreover, arranged that these two sirdars, on all occasions of darbar, or council, were to sit, the sirdar of Sahara wan to the right, the sirdar of Jhalawan to the left of the khan. Matters of public interest, or which concerned the welfare of the Brahui community, were first to be sub- mitted to the consideration of the sirdar of Sahara- wan, who had also a priority in the delivery of his opinion. In the second instance, the sirdar of Jha- lawan was to be consulted. Nothing of importance was to be undertaken without the concurrence of these two sirdars, who, possessing an influence amongst their tribes independent of the khan, could at pleasure withhold their support. It be- came necessary, therefore, for the khan to act in concert with his hereditary counsellors, or, other- wise, he became suddenly powerless. This system of rule, whether suggested by the notion of pro- moting an union between the khan and his tribes, or of effectually counteracting any attempt on his AND HISTORY. 357 part to assume despotic authority, placed the head of the government in too dependent a state, and subject to the caprices of chiefs, it may be pre- sumed, often restless and contrary. The khan had, besides, a special adviser, or vazir, whose office was alike made hereditary; and this minister was se- lected from the Dehwar, or Tajik population, show- ing a desire to conciliate that class of subjects from whom revenue was to be principally derived. Bar- barous as are the Brahui tribes at this day, it is fair to suppose that they were formerly more so, and fancy portrays but a rude picture of the in- fancy of their government. The resources of the khan must have been very scanty, as he derived then, as now, no revenue from the tribes ; and the pro- vinces of Kach Gandava and Dajil to the east, and of Panjghur, Kej, &;c., to the west, were under other authority, or independent. The scanty revenues of Kalat, and of the villages of Saharawan and Jha- lawan, must have furnished him with the means of keeping his court, paying his troops, &c. They must, moreover, have been very trifling, as there is reason to believe that one of the first measures of the Brahui rulers was the banishment of their Hindu subjects, and this unenlightened policy was acted upon until the era of Nasir Khan. Very probably, the khans of Kalat were, for a long period, dependent on the spoils of their neigh- bours ; and the chief subject of council debate may have been the selection of points on which to direct 358 GOVERNMENT their forays ; indeed, the first of them, whose name is consecrated to fame, owed his renown to having been a more than ordinary bold and successful depredator. Notwithstanding the imperfect form of government, and the excessive power of the hereditary sirdars^ no change has been made in the Brahui dynasty up to this time, and the present chief can boast of being the descendant of eighteen sovereign khans, or princes. This fact may favour the opinion that the Brahui constitution is adapted to the people for whose government it was framed. It may be, perhaps, as reasonably accounted for by the limited sphere of action formerly open to the exercise of political contentions, and the submission of the country to the great Indian empire. We find Sewistan (described as comprising Saharawan and Jhalawan) enumerated amongst the provinces of the empire in the time of the emperor Akbar, and noted as furnishing quotas of troops, but paying no tribute. Immediately before the invasion of Nadir the authority of the empire was little respected in its remoter provinces, and the several petty chiefs of Slwi, Sind, and Kalat, alfect- ed independence, and waged mutual war. About this time, or at the commencement of the eighteenth century, the khan of Kalat and of the Brahuis was Abdulah Khan, an enterprising chieftain, who made marauding excursions to Kej, Panjghur, Kandahar, and so particularly harassed and desola- ted Kach Gandava, that, to use the expression of AND HISTORY. 359 the Brahuis, who relate his history, its " naffas," or vital principle," became extinct. In one of these inroads, an army arrived from Sind, of eight thou- sand men, with which Abdulah Khan, with fifteen hundred men, ventured to commit himself in conflict. He was slain, with three hundred of his followers. His corpse, it is said, was never found. The action took place at Jandrir, between Dadar and Mitari, where, some years afterwards, Nasir Khan formed a garden, called Mir Bagh. He also erected a ceno- taph to the memory of his father under the hills east of Kalat. The memory of Abdulah Khan is cherished by his countrymen, who are fond of relating his lawless exploits, and who revere him as the author of their political importance. His son, Mohabat Khan, succeeded, and while he ruled the invasion of Hindustan by Nddir happened ; and the whole of the provinces west of the Indus were annexed to the Persian empire by the treaty which followed the submission of Mahomed Shah. Nadir undertook the settlement of his newly ac- quired territory, and, it is said, by his orders^ Mir Nur Mahomed, Kalora, the prince of Sind, was delivered into the hands of Mohabat Khan, that he might avenge the death of his father. The Brahui chief declined the commission of murder, and Nadir compelled the Kalora prince to cede Kacli Gandava as an equivalent or atonement for the blood of his slaughtered father. Hence it is 360 GOVERNMENT always spoken of as having been acquired by the blood of Abdiilah Khan. Nadir, however, found the Brahui chief in hos- tility with his inveterate opponents, the Ghiljis, then holding Kandahar, and therefore was disposed to regard him favourably ; and the services he re- ceived from Mohabat Khan had most likely as much to do with the cession of Kach Gandava as a desire to compensate for the blood of Abdulah Khan. Mohabat Khan, in imitation of his father, set on foot several forays ; amongst them, one upon the vicinity of Kandahar. This proved unfortunate.. The government of that place, consequent on the murder of Nadir, fell to the vigorous Ahmed Shah, who revenged the insult by ravaging Saharawan, by the destruction of some castles, particularly the citadel of Mastung, and by carrying with him to Kandahar, as hostages for the future good beha- viour of the Kalat chief, his two brothers, Eltarz Khan and Nasir Khan, afterwards so famed. Mo- habat Khan was not popular with his chiefs, and the then sirdar of Saharawan held a correspondence with his younger brother, Nasir Khan, at Kandahar ; also with Ahmed Shah, who, already prepossessed in favour of Nasir Khan, summoned Mohabat Khan to his capital, where he detained him in captivity until his death, deputing Nasir Khan to rule in his stead. This chief, while a hostage Avith Ahmed Shah, had the misfortune to slay, accidentally, his AND HISTORY. 361 brother, Eltarz Khan, from whom the Eltarz Zai families of Baghwan and Kotru are descended. Nasir Khan, by his capacity to goYern, justified the choice of his subjects and the favour of the Duram sovereign, and soon developed enlarged and enlightened views of policy. His grand object was to effect the union of the Baloch community ; and, with the view of engaging the hearty coopera- tion of his tribes, and to secure the recent acqui- sition of Kach Gandava, he divided its lands and revenues into four equal portions, making over two shares to the tribes of Saharawan and Jhalawan, assigning another to the Jet population of the country, and retaining the fourth to benefit his own revenue. A fifth portion, occupied by the Rinds and Magghazzis, was not interfered with, grants to them having been made by Nadir. These two tribes, however, were included within the political system of the Brahuis ; the Rinds by being at- tached to Saharawan, and the Magghazzis by being united to Jhalawan. No arrangement could have been more popular ; and it is worthy of observation that, while intended to provide against the recovery of the province by the Kalora princes of Sind, it was not only effectual, but has proved in our days the means of exciting the tribes to a strenuous oppo- sition to the nieasures adopted by the British po- litical authorities ; for there can be no doubt that the unjust annexation of Kach Gandava to the crown of Kabal was one of the main causes of the 362 GOA^ERNMENT revolt in Balochistan. Before the grants of Nasir Khan the several Brahui tribes of Saharawan were accustomed to migrate into Kachi with their flocks for the winter season, paying a certain amount for the sufferance of settlement and right of pasture. As the wealth of these people lies in their flocks, which cannot subsist during the winter months on the bleak snowy wilds of Saharawan, the advantage of permanent possessions on the warm and level plains of Kachi were inestimable to them ; and how it came to be expected that they were to be re- nounced without murmur or struggle I know not, unless through ignorance of the habits of the tribes, and of the tenure on which they held a footing in the province. Nasir Khan, by original treaty a dependent on the Durani king, through his signal services in the field obtained so great a share of favour, that Ahmed Shah ceded to him, in recompence, the dis- tricts of Shall and Mastung, with the provinces of Harand and Dajil. The Brahuis claim Shall on account of having wrested it from the Terins in the time of Abdulah Khan ; but, by reason of the inha- bitants being Afghans, it had been resumed by Ahmed Shah, when he resented the inroad of Mo- habat Khan, although now restored by him to Nasir Khan. The Kalat chief carried his victorious arms into Kej and Panjghur, annexing them, with the intermediate provinces, to his dominion. Ulti- mately, he provoked Ahmed Shah, who besieged AND HISTORY. 863 him in his capital, which would have fallen, had not mediation been interposed. During the latter part of his reign he had to suppress the revolts raised by Bahram Khan, grandson of Mohabat Khan, who, young and active, asserted by force of arms his pretensions to power. Nasir was sedulous in consolidating his territory and in improving his resources. He encouraged the settlement of Hindus in his towns, and recalled a colony of Babis, who had been expelled by his pre- decessor. He strengthened his connexion with the maritime province of Las, and obtained possession of the port of Karachi from the Kalora prince of Sind. He died, after a glorious and lengthened rule of forty years. His liberality had always been great, and he left to his son and successor an ex- tended empire, but a scanty treasury, of three lakhs of rupees. Mahmud Khan had early to dispute the posses- sion of authority with Bahram Khan and his father, Haji Khan, who had been released, or had escaped from Kandahar. They were so far successful that Haji Khan recovered Kalat, and Mahmud was compelled to call in the aid of the Duranis, who afforded it. Haji Khan, respected while occupy- ing the mm, or citadel of Kaiat, which is held in peculiar veneration by the Brahuis, was plun- dered by them as soon as he left it, and soon after, being placed in the power of the Duranis, was carried back by them to Kandahar, where he died. 364 GOVERNMENT His son, after many bold but fruitless attempts to establish himself, became, at length, a prisoner to Mahmud, and died at Kalat, leaving two sons in confinement. In the contest between Mahmud and Haji Khan the sirdar of Jhalawan, then Khodabakhsh, had taken many oaths on the Koran to support the cause of the latter. When the crisis came he ranged himself on the side of Mah- mud, and when his engagements to Haji Khan were urged upon him, he observed, that it was true he had given the Koran to Haji, but that he had given his beard to Mahmud. He clearly thought he might do without the Koran, but not without his beard, and this is the case with many of the Brahui tribes, who regard an oath upon their beards as the most sacred of obligations. The Marris, and some other tribes, in like manner, consider an oath on their swords as the most strin- gent of ties. During these troubles the province of Kej re- nounced the yoke imposed upon it by Nasir Khan, and Mahmud Khan was too much engaged to sup- port his claims. Without the enterprise or ability of his father, the Kalat chief might have seen his territories further curtailed, but for the energies of his half brothers, Mastapha Khan and Rehim Khan. The disorders of the Minghal and Bizunju tribes of Jhalawan aroused him from his usual inactivity, and he revenged himself upon their chiefs by their common slaughter, near Khozdar. AND HISTORY. 865 The Kalora dynasty had now terminated in Sind. The last of its princes, weak and cruel, had been expelled by his officers of the Talpuri tribe, and the government was in the hands of four brothers, one of whom, Fati All, was a man of some decision of character. One of his first acts was the re- sumption of Karachi. Mahmud Khan contented himself with demanding its restitution by his am- bassadors. His brother, Mastapha Khan, contem- plated its recovery by force of arms, when he was prematurely cut oif, as will be noticed. Important political changes occurred in Afghanistan. Mah- mud Khan remained faithful to the treaty con- cluded between his father and Ahmed Shah, ac- knowledging the Sadu Zai prince, the sovereign of the day, whether Shah Mahmud or Shah Sujah. Up to a late period a Brahui contingent, of one thousand men, was stationed in Kashmir. The two brothers of Mahmud Khan, Mastapha Khan and Reliim Kkan, were remarkable men, and their singular lives and tragical deaths might form a topic of romance, as well as of history. Mastapha Khan held the government of Kach Gandava and Dajil, or the provinces east of Kalat, and by his valour and unremitting attention to the repression of disorders, produced in them a state of security they had never enjoyed before or since. He made several expeditions against the predatory Brahui tribes of the hills, as the Marris and others ; also against the Khaka Afghans, north of Shall, 866 GOVERNMENT inflicting upon them great slaughter, and com- pletely restraining them in the exercise of their lawless habits. He demanded of the chiefs of Sind the restitution of Karachi, with the sum of the revenues they had drawn from it during the period of its unauthorized occupation, and was prej)ared, in case of refusal, to have made an expedition into Sind, The Talpur leaders proffered first simple restitution, then with three years revenue, and, finally, with the whole of the revenues they had collected from it. The envoy charged with the latter propositions had not reached Mastapha Khan when he heard of the chief's murder. There be- came no necessity to fulfil his mission, and he returned to his employers. It is said that Mas- tapha Khan had concluded a treaty with Sadat Khan, the ruler of Bahawalpur, the object of which was the partition of Sind ; and it is further said that the treaty had received the sanction of Fati Kh4n, then at the head of affairs in Afghanistan. Sadat Khan was to have taken the country east of the Indus, and Mastapha Khan that to the west. Mastapha Khan and Rehim Khan, who, it should be noted, were half brothers, were in Kach Gan- dava when news arrived from Kalat of the death of Rehim Khan's mother. As customary with Maho- medans on the decease of their relatives, the be- reaved son sat, as it is expressed, on the gillam, or carpet. Supposing, as a matter of course, that Mas- tapha Khan would be a visitor, Rehim Khan, to AND HISTORY. 367 disting'uish him, had, on the first day of sitting on the gillam, prepared an entertainment for him. Mastapha Khan did not appear, neither did he on the second or third day, which induced Rehim Khan to send a message. Mastapha Khan excused himself, and promised to attend on the morrow. Rehim Khan, persuaded that his brother would now become his guest, ordered a due repast to be pro- vided. On the morrow, seated at a balcony of his house, he beheld Mastapha Khan quit his residence, which was contiguous, and mount a camel. Instead of taking the road to Rehim Khan's abode of grief, Mastapha Khan took one in the contrary direc- tion. It became evident that he was gone on a hunting excursion, accompanied by four or five attendants. Rehim Khan, incensed at the neglect, or premeditated insult of his brother, determined upon desperate and unlawful revenge. With fifty or sixty armed followers, he followed Mastapha Khan during the day, but at such a distance as not to be recognised by him, awaiting an opportunity to assail him. This did not present itself until evening, when Mastapha Khan, on his return home- ward, alighted from his camel and seated himself upon the ground. R6him Khan, with his retinue, appeared, and he fired a shot at his brother, which took effect. Mastapha Khan exclaimed, " Ah ! Rehim, do not destroy me from a distance ; if thou art a man, close with me." Rehim Khan rushed in upon his brother, and, after a violent struggle. 868 GOVERNMENT both being upon the ground, Mastapha Khan was despatched. Rehim Khan also was wounded. The corpse of Mastapha Khan was interred near Bagh, and a makbara was erected over his remains, a little north of the town. Although the resentment of Rehim Khan was the immediate cause of the assas- sination of Mastapha Khan, it is pretended by some that the rulers of Sind, fearing his designs, had promised a considerable sum of money to an aunt of Rehim Khan, residing at Kotru, in case she should despatch Mastapha Khan, and that the nephew, at her instigation, committed the atrocious deed. Rehim Khan, indeed, immediately fled to- wards Sind, and he received from its chiefs a sum of money, whether the reward of perfidy, or the proceeds of a private sale of jewels and swords, must remain doubtful. Mastapha Khan had the character of an undaunted soldier. Of a commanding stature, his fine person and noble aspect were well fitted to ensure the respect of his rude countrymen, as his liberality and valour were calculated to win their esteem and admiration. He was a man of violence, but of justice, and the innocent had nothing to fear from him. Powerful to chastise an enemy, he was prompt to reward a friend ; and his generosity of sentiment and action had often converted to a friend a worthy enemy. He retained in pay a body of eight hundred well-equipped Afghan horse, which, while it made him competent to carry any of his measures, also left him but little dependent AND HISTORY. 369 on the tribes. Robbers he chastised with the ut- most severity ; and although his punishments were barbarous, as impalement, &c., he proved that it was possible to restrain the licentious habits of his subjects. It had ever been the custom in Kach Gandava, as it is now, and in most Mahomedan countries, for a Hindu in passing from one village to another to put himself under the protection of a Mahomedan, for which he j)resented a fee. Mas- tapha KhaD, during his administration, abolished this system ; punishing by fine the Hindu who paid a Mahomedan for protection, and by death the Mahomedan who accepted a protecting fee. In his progresses amongst the hill tribes, he was wont to throw on the road rolls of cotton cloth. If on his return, or at any subsequent time, he found them in situ, he rejoiced, and observed, " I almost fancy that Mastapha Khan's authority is respected as it ought to be." So fearful were the natives of the hills of exciting the attention of their ter- rible chieftain, that, on seeing a roll of linen on the road, they would run away from it, and pray that Mastapha Khan might never know that they had even seen it. The Brahui chief was not, how- ever, without his eccentricities, and was devoted to intemperance. On these accounts, as well as for his indomitable courage, he was a great favourite with the profligate Vazir Fati Khan. Haji Khan, Khaka, afterwards of such prominent notoriety in Afghan affairs, was, at the commencement of his VOL. IV. 2 B 370 GOVERNMENT career, an obscure soldier in the service of Mas- tapha Khan. Rehim Khan, after his brother's murder, retired to the frontiers of Sind, where he collected a force, with which he marched into the provinces of Ha- rand and Dajil, and took possession thereof. Mah- mud Khan, the chief of Kalat, reflecting probably that he was a brother, did not molest him, or af- fect to notice his proceedings. Growing at length weary of his situation, Rehim Khan secretly left Dajil with some fifty horsemen, and entered Kach Gandava, which he traversed, and gained the skirts of the hills, separating the province from Kalat at a point west of Gandava. His attendants were desirous that he should enter the hills, urging, that the sister of Mastapha Khan was at Gandava, and might be aware of his situation, as it was barely possible that he had not been recognized on the road. Rehim Khan refused to attend to their prudent councils, and observed, alluding to some former event of his life, " What would be said of Rehim Khan, who at Dadar with five men, dis- dained to fly from as many hundreds, if now, with fifty, he should retire into the hills through fear of a woman?" The apprehensions of his atten- dants were but too well founded. Mastapha Khan s sister was aware of Rehim Khan's arrival in the province, and of his halting-place. She collected the troops of Gandava and the armed peasantry, and with the tumultuary mass marched upon Re- AND HISTORY. 371 liim Khan, who was overpowered and slain. His body was carried to Bagh, and interred by side of his brother, Mastapha Khan. Rehim Khan's mo- tives for quitting Dajil are not precisely known. Some suppose that he had an idea of throwing himself into the western provinces ; others imagine, with greater probability, that he had determined to cast himself at the feet of Mahmud Khan, and to implore pardon for his past offences. Mahmud Khan, the chief of Kalat, in the prime of life, fell a victim to intemperance, dying, it is said, of stricture. He had become devoted to the pleasures of wine, and had brought a company of dancing girls from Sind. In their society he spent the greater part of his time. It is rumoured in Balochistan that the jealousy of Mahmud Khan's wives, rather than his bodily infirmities, proved fatal to his existence. One of them, the mother of Mehrab Khan, incensed at the neglect with which she was treated, and at the preference shewn by her husband to the dancing girls of Sind, is supposed to have administered a draught of poison to her estranged lord. This lady is since dead, and, be the fact as it may, no suspicion implicates her son Mehrab Khan in the transaction. Mah- mud Khan had governed about twenty-five or twenty- six years. While living, his reputation suffered by comparison with that of his energetic father. Dead, he w^as regretted, when his sway was contrast- ed with the more feeble one of his son and successor. 2 B 2 372 GOVERNMENT Mehrab Khan succeeded peaceably to the govern- ment, and his first acts betokened spirit, and gave the promise of an effective and active reign. He regained ascendancy in Kej and the western pro- vinces, and controlled the disorders in other parts of his territory. But he had speedily to encounter opposition from the descendants of Mohabat Khan ; and Ahmed Yar Khan, the son of Bahram Khan, was in arms against him. This chief repaired to Jell, and excited the Magghazzis to espouse his faction ; after expending ten thousand rupees to little purpose, Mehrab Khan repaid him the m-oney, and allowed him to return to Kalat. A second time he went to Talli, in Kachi, and having no bet- ter success than before, Mehrab Khan repaid him two thousand rupees which he stated to have been spent. Still restless, he fled to Dajil, which he devastated, and was again forgiven by Mehrab Khan. A fourth time he retired amongst the Khadjaks of Siwi, and raised the Saharawam tribes, whose revolt caused Mehrab Khan an effort to re- press ; and Ahmed Yar Khan, being made captive, was detained at Kalat, where he was afterwards slain, at the instance of Daoud Mahomed, a Ghilji, of low extraction, whom it was the misfortune of Mehrab Khan to raise from obscurity to power, to the detriment of the old servants of his father and grandfather, and in opposition to the feelings of the tribes. Daoud Mahomed wished to have sacrificed with their sire his two sons Shah Nawaz and Fati, AND HISTORY. 873 who have since become known in Brahui history, but Mehrab Khan would not consent, although he held them in honourable confinement. The khan's partiality for Daoud Mahomed proved the pregnant source of evil and embarrassment to him. The Ghilji, to maintain his position, deemed it necessary to remove all those in opposition to him, or whose influence and character he feared ; and these were so many, including all who were high-born and illustrious in the country, that the task might have daunted a man of less effrontery. Twenty-three or twenty-four of the most distin- guished Brahui chiefs and individuals were sacri- ficed, and in succession, as the opportunity pre- sented itself, to calm the apprehensions of Daoud Mahomed. Many of these unfortunate men were no doubt in rebellion, but it cannot be forgot- ten that their crimes were merely defensive, and would never have been heard of but for the unwise step of the khan, and for the pride and insolent bearing of his minister. The immediate conse- quence of these acts was, the complete dislocation of authority; the surviving relatives of the slain, bound by national obligations as well as by their feelings to revenge, disavowed allegiance, and formed a general combination to expel Daoud Mahomed by force of arms. They marched to the capital, where Mehrab Khan was encamped without the walls, and no sooner had they arrived than they were joined by those about the chief, excepting 374 GOVERNMENT some four hundred of his immediate dependents, principally khanazats, or household slaves. So complete was the defection on this occasion, that Wall Mahomed Khan, the old Minghal chief, after- wards slain at Kalat, was the only person of note who adhered to his master. Even Jam Ali, from remote Las, w^ho was present, became a rebel. Mehrab Khan, obstinate in his purpose to retain Daoud Mahomed, was placed in extreme danger ; his tent was. surrounded, and the muskets of the implacable insurgents, who declared Akhund Ma- homed Sidik their khan, were directed to it. The Babi merchants, and other natives of Kalat, inter- posed, and effected an arrangement, by which, leav- ing the main point of dispute at issue, the khan should be allowed to retire within the town, held by the darogah, Gul Mahomed ; in return, the newly-appointed khan's wives and children within the walls were to be permitted to leave the town. Difficulty attended the execution of the agreement ; the disaffected fearing to be overreached ; but by some clever contrivance it was acted upon, the khan being popped in at one gate as the family of the akhund were popped out of another. As soon as the khan was liberated, darogah Gul Mahomed opened fire from the citadel and town walls on the malcontents ; and as the valley east of Kalat is within range of gun shots, they were forced to retire to some distance, and dissension creeping into their councils, they marched to Zehri, where a dispute AND HISTORY. 375 concerning some seized grain occasioned their dis persion, and the several chiefs, with their followers, returned to their respective homes. Notwitstanding this failure of the chiefs to com- pel the dismissal of Daoud Mahomed, the khan, aware that the prejudice against him was as strong as ever, thought prudent to remove his favourite for a while, and, accordingly, secretly despatched him to Kandahar, where, for a year or two he resided. When again summoned to Kalat, a plot was formed by the chiefs of Saharawan to assassinate him on the road ; but it was frustrated by the care of Meh- rab Khan. The Ghilji again assumed power, alike detested and feared by his numerous enemies. Mehrab Khan's military operations have been few and inglorious. In an expedition against the Marris he was foiled, and forced to break up his army, without gaining anything but contempt. The intrigues of the Sahara wani chiefs with the sirdars of Kandahar have, on more than one occa- sion, brought a Durani army to Mastung, and occa- sioned the assembly of the Brahui's levies to oppose it, when a treaty has been patched up, without the intention of being observed on either side. On one of these inroads Akhund Mahomed Sidik, before mentioned as having been appointed khan by the malcontents, and who has since become known to the British political authorities, visited, as envoy the Durani" camp. Introduced to the sirdars, he, of course, proposed to sell his master. Kdhan Dil 376 GOVERNMENT Khan inquired if he were not a mulla, and being an- swered affirmatively, asked, why he wore a military Balocli cap, and why he suffered his hair to grow so profusely. Commenting upon the inconsistency, he called for the barber and ordered the akhund's head to be shaven, and then replaced his cap, with a white muslin turban. The akhund was so mortified, that he did not appear in public life until his head was again covered with the honours of which the unna- tural Durani barber had deprived it. Kohan Dil Khan w^ell knew how to treat such men. Our di- plomatic gentlemen were less shrewd. In the reign of Mehrab Khan a memorable in- stance of the punishment of presumption and pride occurred in a contest between the tribes Rind and Magghazzis in Kachi, between whom, from of old, a deadly feud exists. The Rinds, who have greatly the advantage of numbers, collected, it is said, seven thousand men, and contemplated the extermination of their foes. The Maggazzis were unable to oppose more than two thousand to them. All offers of accommodation were reject- ed, and the prayers and tears of saiyads and of women were interposed in vain. The hostile par- ties drew near to each other, and the Magghazzis, determined to sell their lives as dearly as they could, in calmness awaited their approach. A murderous volley, at forty yards, threw the Rinds into confusion, which was made irremediable by an immediate charge, and the embarrassment of canals AND HISTORY. 877 of irrigation amongst which they were entangled. Two thousand of the Rinds were supposed to be slain, while little loss befel the victors. The khan of Kalat, on hearing of the victory, sent a dress of honour to Ahmed Khan, the Magghazzi chief, which so disgusted the Rinds that they retired in a body to the frontiers of Sind, where the Amirs assigned them territory for their subsistence. In course of time they were recalled. The defeat of the Rinds happened in 1830. About the same time, Mehrab Khan was de- prived of the provinces of Harand and Dajil by the Sikhs, owing to the course of intrigues set on foot by Saiyad Mahomed Sherif, since famous for sub- tlety and crime, in connexion with the melancholy fate of his master, and no less infamously distin- guished for his misdemeanours in the service of those who had been duped by his plausible appear- ance and manners. In 1831 Mehrab Khan made some ineffectual efforts to repress the license affected by the Min- ghal and Bizunjii tribes of Jhalawan, and for that purpose went to Khozdar. Returning to Sohrab, he collected an army to reduce to obedience the western tribes, which finally marched under the orders of his brother, Mir Azem Khan, and the Ghilji Daoud Mahomed. Rustam Khan, Mehma- senni, one of the disaffected, early made his sub- mission ; but Mohem Khan, Nushirwam, who had placed himself in dependence on Kandahar, resisted, 378 GOVERNMENT and was besieged in his stronghold of Gwerjak. The usual process of a Baloch investment and siege was carried out ; towers and mounds were erected to overlook the walls of the fortress ; but, an under- standing existing betwen the rebel chief and many in the Kalat camp, nothing of consequence was effected, until the besieged needed fuel. On this, offers were made to surrender the place ; but it was insisted upon that the garrison should give an en- tertainment to the victors ; which being approved, stores of fuel were allowed to be introduced into the fort, and immediately shouts of defiance were heard from it. The siege was again pressed, and the gar- rison once more reduced to extremity, when Moh6m Khan produced a peremptory order from Kandahar that the siege should be raised, on account of his being a vassal of the Duranls. The army there- upon marched into Kej ; and, ultimately, returned to Kalat without having achieved anything of moment. r For a year or two Mehrab Khan was occupied in providing against his unruly chiefs and tribes, being uninterrupted by any invasion from abroad, when he experienced a fresh cause of solicitude in the escape from the citadel of Kalat of Shah Na- waz Khan and Mir Fati Khan, the sons of Ahmed Yar Khan, slain at the commencement of his rule. The faction of these young men was embraced by the Saharawani tribes ; and Dadar being captured by them, they advanced into Kachi. Mir Azem Khan, AND HISTORY. 379 with the Magghazzi levies, encountered and de- feated them, compelling Shah Nawaz Khan to seek an asylum in Kandahar, and Mir Fati Khan in Sind. Soon after these events the ex-king. Shah Sujah al Mulkh, appeared at Shikarpur, determined to attempt the recovery of his dominions. Mehrab Khan directed all honour to be shown him in his passage through his territory. After the ex-king, defeated at Kandahar, had invoked, to no purpose, the aid of the chiefs of Lash and Sistan, he crossed the desert, and arrived, a fugitive, at Kalat, warmly pursued by the Kandahar sirdar, Rehani Dil Khan^ Mehrab Khan did not hesitate to grant him pro- tection, and to his conduct on this occasion the British government has publicly offered its testi- mony of applause. " This reverse left him no alternative but flight ; and pursuing the route of Belochistan, he arrived at Kalat ; the capital of that country, with about two hundred followers, and so closely pressed by R6ham Dil Khan, of Kandahar, with upwards of two thousand men, that the royal fugitive was forced to take refuge within the palace of the khan of Kalat. The Beloochee chief in- stantly accorded to the unhappy monarch the pro- tection and hospitality for which that nation is proverbial." Vide No. 61, The Governor-General of India, in council, to the Secret Committee of the Court of Directors of the East India Company, 5th March 1835, page 42, of the "Papers re- lative to the Expedition into Afghanistan." 380 GOVERNMENT While there is some error in this extract, as to trifling details of numbers, &;c. ; there is none as to the main fact of the protection afforded, and some may think that the khan's generosity might have been better requited. Raham Dil Khan, the shah's pursuer, was a manly foe ; and when his brother, Kohan Dil Khan, wished to have avenged upon Mehrab Khan the escape of the shah, he protested against it, affirming, that the Kalat chief had proved himself a good man ; neither was he ashamed to avow that he esteemed him for his sense of honour. In 1833 the influence of Daoud Mahomed, before on the decline, became so low that to maintain his position he conceived it necessary to invite an invasion from Kandahar. His communications were intercepted, and Mehrab Khan considered his treason deserved punishment. One of the early victims to the fear of Daoud Mahomed had been the hereditary Tajik adviser of the khan, the Vakil Fati Mahomed. The vakiFs son, Naib Mulla Hassan, was suffered to live, and generally accom- panied the khan in his excursions, and attended the darbar, without being consulted on affairs. Latterly he had received more attention, which increased in proportion as Daoud Mahomed de- clined in estimation ; and from mere insinuations, he gradually intimated more plainly his opinion of the perfidy of the Ghilji, without offence, until, emboldened by the khan's state of mind, he offered AND HISTORY. 381 himself as an instrument to despatch him. The khan spoke approvingly, without further committing himself, and Daoud Mahomed, perhaps apprehen- sive of the naib's enmity or acquainted with his project, represented to his master that it was incum- bent to put the naib to death. The khan did not object, but declined to give the requisite order. The struggle between the Ghilji and naib became publicly known, as well as the indecision of the khan, and the community of Kalat were wondering what would be the result. The correspondence with Kandahar probably decided the Ghilji's fate. The dissimulation of Mehrab Khan was, however, re- markably displayed on this occasion. He consented to sacrifice the naib to the resentment of Daoud Mahomed, and fixed the morrow for the enactment of the deed. In like manner, he promised the naib that his enemy, Daoud Mahomed, should fall by his hand. On the following morning he repeated his assurance to the Ghilji ; who returned home so well satisfied that, on again leaving his house for the citadel he observed, that before he returned he should have run down, in chase, a great prey. The khan, the Ghilji, and the naib, sat with others in general discourse until the evening time of prayers, when the company dispersed, the naib and Ghilji, being privileged persons, remaining to pray by the side of the khan. Daoud Mahomed retired to a chamber to perform the usual ablutions before prayers, and while engaged in them received 382 GOVERNMENT a sword-cut on the neck from Naib Mulla Hassan, who had followed him ; he turned round, inquiring " Chi shud V what 's the matter ? when a second cut deprived him of speech and life. Naib Mulla Hassan naturally succeeded to the post of his slain father, which had been so long enjoyed by Daoud Mahomed. The change of ministers unfortunately produced no improvement in the state of affairs, or in that of the country at large ; one course of intrigue being merely substituted for another. The chiefs of Saharawan continued in disaffection ; and found, strangely enough, an additional cause in the murder of Daoud Mahomed. The sirdar of Jlialawan absent- ed himself from attendance at court, and the chiefs of Baghw^an and Wad placed themselves in open revolt. While matters were in this state the British expedition crossed the Indus, its route to Kandahar lying through the khan's territory. It is needless to repeat what has been written on this subject in the preceding part of this volume ; but we may deplore the misfortune of Mehrab Khan, when the composition of his darbar at the time is considered, and when we call to mind the people he was compelled to employ in his negotiations with the British authorities. They were Naib Mulla Hassan, Akhtind Mahomed Sidik, and the Saiyad Mahomed Sherif ; to them may be added the bro- ther of Daoud Mahomed. Naib Mulla Hassan had to avenge his father's death. Akhund Mahomed AND HISTORY. 883 Sidik, it will be remembered, had once been nomi- nated khan. Saiyad Mahomed Sherif, by his trea- son, had lost to the khan, Harand and Dajil, besides intriguing with the Kandahar sirdars ; the brother of Daoud Mahomed naturally cherished feelings of revenge. To baffle the insidious efforts of such men, and to impart confidence to the soured and sullen Mehrab Khan, qualities were required which the officers of the British mission never gave any proof that they possessed. In lieu of penetrating the crafty wiles of the designing, they were themselves duped by them, and an uninterrupted series of errors led to the death of the misled and bewil- dered Kalat chief, the sack of his capital, and the partition of his country. The detection of error, although acknowledged by the captivity of Naib Mulla Hassan, was not accompanied by the recognition of the son of Meh- rab Khan, who, a fugitive upon his father's death, was chased from one place to another, while on the plea of legitimacy. Shah Nawaz Khan was placed in authority over Kalat, and the remnant of the country attached to it. The revolt of the Brahui tribes, the operations at Kalat and elsewhere, require not to be more than alluded to in this place. The governor-gene- ral found it necessary to reverse everything that his political officers had done, as far as lay in his power. The son of Mehrab was seated on the 384 GOVERNMENT AND HISTORY. masnad of his late father ; and the present head of the Indian government has completed the act of justice, by restoring to him that portion of his dominion which had been so absurdly annex- ed to the crown of Kabal. What has become of Shah Nawaz Khan, the chief constituted by the political authorities, I know not ; but for Mr. BelPs better sense of justice, he would have been victimized, to conceal the incapacity of those who placed him in a false position. The actual chief of Kalat, now styled Mir Nasir Khan, in regard to the memory of his great-grandfather, is fifteen or sixteen years of age, has a prepossessing appear- ance, and has been well educated through the care of his father. At the period of life when the mind is most open to impressions of good and evil, his future course must be contemplated with in- terest, not unmixed with fear, with reference to the dangers which surround him. He has, however, more than ordinary incitement to do that which is right, as his exemplary conduct will best vindi- cate his father s reputation. GOVERNMENT AND HISTORY. ^ as m a> ^ S3 ^03 ^ VOL. IV. 386 PART IV. ANTIQUITIES AND DIALECTS. ANTIQUITIES. In Balochistan we search in vain for the mag- nificent vestiges of the olden times, which are to be found in Afghanistan and Persia. This need not be a subject of wonder if we reflect that it has not, like those countries, ever been the seat of powerful and extensive empire, and that it was in the earliest ages in the same relation to them, with reference to advancement in civilization and political connexions, as it stands at the present day. That it has been formerly much more populous can hardly be doubted, when we descry the sites of many cities, which have not now representa- tives ; and when we observe the present villages had, at some remote period, predecessors of mag- nitude and importance. Many of the bleak, ex- tensive plains, now speckled thinly with the black tents of tomans, would seem to have once con- tained fixed villages and towns, if we may judge from their numerous dams, or artificial mounds. ANTIQUITIES. 387 which it is difficult to conceive as not represent- ing the sites of ancient villages, or of the places of sepulchre attached to them. From the earliest historical notices of this coun- try, we may infer it to have been a dependency of the great Persian empire, and probably in the category of those which, from remoteness, were merely known by name at Persepolis. It fell, with Persia, into the hands of Alexander the Great, and was subject to the vicissitudes of sway, resulting from the struggles between his successors. It was naturally, from its distance, early included amongst the defections which happened under the Syro- Macedonian kings, but at a subsequent period, faint incidental rays of information might authorize us to conclude that it was again under the sway of another Greek, in the person of Demetrius, son of Euthydemus of Bactria, who appears to have founded a city in Arachosia, which, wherever it was, could not have been far from Kalat. Those sovereigns who succeeded to the authority of the Greek Bactrian princes, probably extended their sway, and introduced their religion into these coun- tries. A dark epoch then obscures the history of this country, until the era of Mahommedanism, when the armies of the caliphs overran Balochistan. That the caliphs did not retain permanent sway is evidenced by the fact, that a Hindu principality, traditionally known as that of the Sewah dynasty, flourished at Kalat until a comparatively late pe- 2 c 2 388 ANTIQUITIES. riod, and tenaciously maintained its independence amongst the Mahommedan states around it. If the invasion of Jenghiz Khan, also asserted by- tradition, be historically true, it may be conceived that that barbarous chief and his generals effec- tually completed the work of desolation which the caliphs had commenced some ages before. Ever at the mercy of any powerful invader, Kalat was afflicted by a visit from the generals of Taimur, and, agreeably to his historian, was razed to the ground. Of its Greek rulers we have no vestiges. It is not impossible that their coins may be occasion- ally elicited. Such reliques are found near Mas- tiing, at Mitari, a town of Kach Gandava, near Bela in Las, and on the site of an ancient city in Jhow, which tradition affirms to be that of a city founded by Alexander, also at a locality in Kharan, and at other places. Three or four years before my visit to Kalat, a silver medal, said to be as large as a German crown, with a bust on the one side, was found at Sorra Bek, a little north of Kalat. This town flourished in the time of the caliphs, according to the Nubian geographer mentioned by Wilford, and its site retains the original name. Near Kalat we have the sites of three conside- rable cities ; that of Sorra Bek, just mentioned, to the north ; that of Kuki, said to have been destroy- ed by Jenghiz Khan, near Rodinjo to the south ; ANTIQUITIES. 389 and one, with name unknown, on the plain of Chappar, to the west. Besides the ancient sites at Mastung, JNIitari, Bela, and Jhow, there are others at Khozdar, Khar an, Nushki, &c., and very many in the western provinces, which, of necessity, fell not under my observation. At Nichara, in the hills east of Kalat, are a few caves and cave temples. These excavations, the samuches of Afghanistan, now that we are fully acquainted with them, were certainly religious and sepulchral localities, or the abodes of the ascetics connected with them. At Nichara, a few years since, a proof of their nature was afforded by the accidental discovery of one heretofore closed, in which were found several corpses, according to my informant, arrayed in their habiliments, and ex- tended on chaharpahis, or couches. They pulve- rized on being touched. Some five or six miles from Nichara, on a plain occupied by the Jetaks, are said to be remains of an alleged city of the infidels, and, what is of more consequence, an inscription graven on a rock. My inquiries left me in little doubt of the truth of this record, and certainly I should have visited the spot but for the unfortunate outbreak in the country. It was impossible to ascertain from my informant in what characters it was inscribed. At the ancient site, near Bela, may be dug up jars full of ashes. It is said, they contain nothing 390 ANTIQUITIES. else, but the probability is, that coins and trinkets might reward a careful search. Amongst the extant remains of antiquity in Balochistan the more conspicuous are, perhaps, the walls and parapets of stones, called by the present inhabitants, Gohar Basta, or the works of infidels. They occur in many places to great extent, par- ticularly at Lakorian, between Sohrab and Bagh- wan, in the contiguous plain of Anjira, on the road from Sohrab to Kej, in the valley of the Mulloh river, and at Rodbar, in the hills between Kalat and Kirta. Those at Lakorian are the most remarkable. The purpose of these structures may be questioned, but they are probably places of defence. In the district of Gurghma is a remarkable subterranean chamber, which was discovered some years since by workmen employed in the construc- tion of a karez. To their astonishment, they pene- trated into an immense excavation, supposed to be artificial. It continued for a time an object of curiosity, but, so far as I could learn, was entirely devoid of sculpture or embellishment. It was conjectured to have been a retreat of refugees in time of war, at some remote period. Probably, it was a cemetery or temple, of past ages. The maritime province of Las, besides the cave temples near Bela, contains a celebrated sthan, or place of Hindu pilgrimage. It is situated in the hills bounding the province to the west, and through which flows the Hingohl rivulet. The ANTIQUITIES. 891 sacred locality is called Hinglatz. It is understood to be consecrated to Parbati, the goddess of nature, the universal mother, &c., or Diana, the moon, &c. By Mahommedans, by whom it is alike revered, the shrine is considered as one of Bibl Nam, the lady Nani, or the motherly lady. It is possible they have preserved the ancient name nanaia, that of the goddess of the old Persians, and Bactrians, and now so well known to us by coins. There is a small mat or temple at Hinglatz, but the chief attractions appear to be natural objects, as a kand, or reservoir of water ; a well, of unfathomable depth, above the mat ; and the semblance the mural dispo- sition of the rock presents, in a certain spot, to that of a fortress. There are also said to be the figures of the sun and moon hewn on the rock, in an in- accessible site. It is necessary for pilgrims to re- main two days amongst the holy shades and soli- tudes of Hinglatz, when they return, impressed with feelings of awe and devotion, inspired by the solem- nity and mysterious grandeur of the sequestered haunts they have visited. Many votaries and pilgrims proceed no farther than Hinglatz, but it is deemed to be especially praise- worthy and beneficial to extend the pious tour to Satadip, an island off the coast of Mekran, and between Hormara and Pessani, I was surprised at discovering that this celebrated island was no other than the Ashtola of our maps, the Astliilal of Arabs and Baloches, the Carnina and Enchanted Isle of 392 ANTIQUITIES. Nearchus, and tlie Asthae of Ptolemy. It afforded me pleasure, also, that I had anchored for the night under its bare rocks, in a trip in 1830 from Karachi to Maskat, but it was difficult to imagine what cir- cumstances had invested it with a sacred character. It was a sthan, I was told, called Ram Jelloh, with- out any particular natural object of interest or curiosity, and where it was needful to carry water for the time the devout stayed upon it, which, as at Hinglatz, has been fixed by custom at two days. The voyage of Nearchus conferred an interest upon the dreary shores of Las and Mekran, which has been greatly enhanced to us by the lucid ex- planation of its details afforded by the late Dean Vincent. It is curious to discover that many of the ajopellations of localities, as named by the Greeks, are borne by them to this day. On the coast between the mouths of the Indus and Gwadar, amongst the stations as given by Arrian, are, Malana, Araba, Kalama, Derenobosa, Kophas, all recognizable in the present Malan, Araba, Kalamat, Darambab, and Kaphan, of the rude na- tives. The port of Alexander, unfixed by the learned Dean, I should suppose to be Karachi, which he conjectured to be Krokala, though this place was an island, not a port ; and, in confirma- tion of my view, the next station to the port of Alexander was the island Bibacta, which well accords with the island Chirna of the Sindians. DIALECTS. 393 The Carnina of Arrian has been above shown to be the Asthsea of Ptolemy, and its name to Ba- loches and Arabs is yet Asthi-lal. With so many recognizable stations in a limited space, it becomes easy to determine the intermediate ones, some of which even may pretty certainly be decided by their present appellations ; for instance, JMosarna may be conceived to be Mosam, or Shamal Bandar ; Domo may be Dumag, &c. Of the routes of Alexander and his officers through the upper country, it will have been re- marked, that tradition seems to have preserved a memento, in the belief that a city in Jhow owed its origin to him, and, if so, it must have been the Alexandria he founded amongst the Oritas. Cra- terus, who led the veterans by a still higher route, passed through Choarene, whose position as fixed by Strabo, has puzzled his commentators, yet it may have been the modern Kharan, if not the Kawer Zamin of oriental writers. DIALECTS. It has been observed, that the division of the Kalat territory into sections conformably to circum- stances of locality, was alike sanctioned by the diversity of dialects current in the several pro- vinces. The tribes of the first, or western section, use what is pre-eminently called the Baloch, which 394 DIALECTS. extends to the limits of Kerman, and is considered the genuine dialect of the Baloch community. Its affinity with modern Persian cannot be doubted, though it has, probably, preserved a greater propor- tion of the forms of its parent tongue. Some of the Jhalawan tribes, as the Minghals and Bizunjus, and even some of the tribes included within the Rind community, employ this dialect, which is also spoken constantly by the khans and sirdars, who consider it would be vulgar to express their meaning in Brahuiki. The Brahuiki, or Kur Galli (the Patois), is pecu- liar to the tribes of Saharawan and Jhalawan. It necessarily contains a good deal of Baloch, or Per- sian, and a very little Pashto, but much of it must be referred to some unknown root. The only work I could hear of in this dialect was not original, but translated from a Persian treatise on the greatness of God and wonders of the creation. Persian cha- racters were used in it. The Jets of Kachi have a dialect, called, after them, Jetki, of close affinity with the dialects of the Sind and of the Panjab, which have been supposed to approach, more than any other extant tongues, to Sanscrit ; and this affinity is only in accordance with their origin and descent. The Lumri tribes of Las speak the dialect com- mon to the kindred tribes of Jiikias and Bulfats in the west of Sind, and allied to that prevalent in the tracts on either bank of the Indus in the inferior DIALECTS. 395 part of its course. The dialect of Sind may be nearly the same as that called Zend, which has excited so much controversy^ however the last may have been corrupted or mixed with neighbouring dialects, as Guzarati, &c. ; the appellation Zend may be no more than the equivalent for Sind, for the country now so called was once styled Sand, if Pliny's testimony be accepted, that " Indus, Sandus ab incolis appellatus." Aware of the fact that a family of Zends still flourishes in Persia, we are equally certain, that from an ancient date colonies from Sind have been located at Kerman. The Zends made themselves conspicuous in their con- tests for sovereignty with the reigning Turki dynasty of Kajars, and their opponents, in their public documents invariably conferred upon them the contemptuous appellation of Bakhals, the term applied also to Hindus ; and this, no doubt, with reference to their known descent and emigration from Sind, the country of Hindus. The Dehwars of Kalat^ identical with the Tajiks of Afghanistan and Turkistan, have, in common with them, the Persian, or what is so called, for their vernacular dialect, while the Afghans of Shall, of course, use Pashto. The nature of the two dialects particularly in vogue with the Baloch and Brahui tribes will be best understood by the annexed vocabularies ; and they may be useful whether for reference or com- parison. 396 DIALECTS. VOCABULARY OF THE BALOCH DIALECT. Nail Nahun. Date Hormag. Breast Ghwen-sina. Sword Zaham. Belly Lap. Shield Hisfar. Leg Pad. Matchlock Tofak. Thigh Pad! baz ghiist. Spear Nizzar. Knee Padi khund. Knife Karch. Calf of leg Hush-padag. Bullet Tir. Foot Panjak. Ramrod Tir-koh. Ankle Kar. Powder Shuru. Heel Punzig. Sight at muzzle Morag. Toes Murdanag. Sight at breech Didarfan. Sole of foot Padi-dil. Pan Gushawand. "Vein Ragh. Match Fallitag. Navel Napag. Screw Hazarnar. Armpit Bagal. Butt Kundak. Bone Had. Sea shell Ghur. Flesh Ghust. Stone Sing. Lip Lunt. Mud Liggitch. Palm of hand Dast-dil. Rope Chilik. Dog Kaochak. Wood Dar. Cat Pishi. Paper Kaggiz. Rat Mushk. Cotton Karpas. Horse Hasp. Comb Shak. Camel Hushter, Leather Drohal. Elephant pn. Black Siah. Ass Har. White Sifet. Cock Nerak. Green Saoz. Hen Madak. Red Sur. Kine Guk. Scarlet Reto. Cow Guk madak. Yellow Zard. Bull Gharighar. Blue Nil. Buffalo Gha-mesh. Tree Derach. Fish Mahi. Fruit Bar. Sheep Mesh. Root Rotag. Goat Buz. Stem Dar. Water Melon Kotig. Branch Sh%h, DIALECTS. 897 Leaf T%. x o spedii. vj w cto litem. Flower Pul. X 0 Durn Sntan Date tree Match. Tn fall X O Idll tciii. Wind Ghwat. J. 0 SldUU X dUdldiX. Nor.-west-wind Jil-ghwat. To give 13atan. South-east-wind Sir-ghwat. X O Llll OW Tlnvnfitnn North- wind Gorich. To carry IJUI Ldll. OUULll-WlliU. £^IL -y u w a t. To flee VjrlaLdll. J ama* To eat > V aX l/dil. X I o v\ sers OllciW oil • To bring XldrLdll. Cap Toph, To wash OllLlSLdil. Shoes Kosh. To sit IM&llLdll. IVTn 7P cr -i. ' .X. LI /j C i w • J. U VV 1 ILC Nfl wi^htan VV cULaL-aliaWl toil ILlUtXiLiyXm Tr» Trill X 0 Kill XVLlniltdll. Head-shawl Foffh. To walk Gashtan. JJallU OI LlOWoer Pni-in.iarr J. a.i"iii- jdg. To walk iVIaidan kartan. Ant Muri. X o lear 1. dl SI ldll. FIv Makish In lancrn Handitan. Flea Kak. X o iiiedsui e VJfdZ/ iS.di l/dll. T .nn Bur. To break XI oisnidn. Good Sher. To see Tjishtan Bad Gandag. To sew Dotan, Light Subak, To scrape X 1 asllLdU. Heavy- Garan. To reckon XssclUK.dl ldll. Small Kassan. T^rv nrk woll ShaT kartan Large Massan. To open X dLLll KdridU. Thick Baz. To tie XJdoLdU. Thin Tannak. To come 1— IQ n fan XXdllLdll. Fire Ora. To read Wantan. Water Hap. To sleep Waftan. Cup Tas. To awake Nashtan. Dish T^l. To dry Kusk kartan. Earthern vessel Kulak. To rub Lutartan. Frying-pan Kallind. To pay Pirmatan. Fort Kalat. To fly (as a bird) Bal kartan. Ship Buji. To plunder Lutitan. Sea Deria. To milk Doshtan. To do Kartan. To fight Jang kartan. To be Shutan. To boil Grastan. 398 DIALECTS. To receive Rasitan. To beat Lat jitten. To pick up or To wound Zaham jittan. find Chitan. To fire Tofak jittan. To kiss Chuk'kitan. To hit Lao^ffitan. To kick Laggat jittan. Door Dari. To bite Gat-girtan. Window Darwaza. To blind Cham kushtan. Ladder Padi-ank. To flog Chabak jittan. Pen Kalam. VOCABULARLY OF KUR GALLI, OR THE BRAHUIKI DIALECT. Bread Irag. Nostril Granz. Water Dir. Eyebrows Burwak. Eye Kan. Eyelash Michdch. Mouth Bar. Mustachio Birut. Tooth Dan dan. Chin Zanu. Tongue Dari. Temple Kush. Nose Bamus. Father Bawar. Ear Kaf. Mother Luma. Arm Du. Son Mahal. Leg Nat. Daughter Masir. Finger Or-pindi. Brother Ham. Nail Had. Sister Ir. Forehead Kahtam. Uncle paternal Brader-bawa. Hair Puzhar. Aunt paternal Ir-bawa. Belly Pid. Grandfather Pader-bawa. Heart Ust. Grandmother Luma-bawa Neck Lekh. Husband Hari Waist Mukh. Wife Harvat. Nipple Kad. Marriage Baram. Breast Pehlu. Heir W4ris. Beard Rish. Inheritance Miras. Lip Jur. Year Sal. Cheek Kallak. Month Tu. Bone Had. Day D6. Blood Dittar. Night Nan. Vein Ragh. Winter Sehl. DIALECTS. 399 Ibummer 7'ir-mah. vv ma Thow. Autumn Irlcha. Tempest Tofan. Spring Hatam. Rainbow VK 1 1 ^1 Gl ITYl JDlidsUUl* North jvoiau. AVaDDll bouth bonel. Sheep ivi eni. Last De-tik. Jtiam jvnai . west j^eoud. ICine XvlldX dSo. River Daria. ■Rnll ouii Karighar. Hill Bot. UOW Daggi Mountain Mash. Horse xluli. Flam Dan. fetallion Narian. Valley Dara. Mare iViaaian. Defile Tang. rowl Jvokar. Jlivulet JNala. l^OCK JJdngU. Well "TV ' Dun. T T Hen Makian. Fountain L/nusnuieii. Dog Kam Ir^inar, Uat "Pi' oil ^ xisni. Koad Kassar. L/amel Huce. Iband Kegn. She-goat xiet. ioione ivnai. ii.ni. ivioriuK. Clay L