The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1879-01-24


friendly mission and its escort. The
head of the Waziris are, it appears,
now period cally summoned to Cabub
whence they return bearing handsome
presents from the Amer. The members
of the tribe are, however, an astute set
of fellows; and it is not al all improbable
that they may eventually desert Shere
Ali in spite Of his presents, in order to
accept regular pay from the Indian gov
ernment. For though es t
ing men, the Wszlris are fond OF money,
and are not only dreaded by their neigh
bors for their ferocious bravery, but are
likewise envied for their wealth. They
possess a famous breed of horses, which
they have managed very cleverly to
keep to themselves. These horses are
distinguished by peculiar curve and
twist of the ear, and are remarkable Tor
their wiry, hardy frame and high tenn
per. The tradition is that the Waziris
stole the royal progenitors c their studs
from the stables of the Persian Nadir
Shah when he invad India but the
Waziris themselves assert that the con-
queror bestowed the precious animals
upon their ancestors as a mark of his
admiration of their brilliant herseman.
ship.
They never shoe their steeds, but
ride them bare-hoofed and even at times
bareebacked, up and down the dangerous
mountain passes, as if they we're yerita-
bic centaurs; and 50 highly do they prize
their exclusive possession of the breed
that they will never sell mare, though
q market is held periodically at Thul for
the sale of horSes.
In some parts of the country, so thiev
ish are the propensities of the inhabit-
ants that, while one man plows in the
field another stands on the watch, rifle
in hand. Indeed, the Toris of Baghzsi,
a large hamlet situated near Saddah, are
all thieves; and when a male child is
born, the baptismal ceremony consists in
putting the infant burglar through a
hole in the wall, while his relatives ex-
hort him to be thief heart and hand -
as his father and grandfather were before
him. a marlin-spike, used for breaking
holes through the mud walls OF neighbsrs'
houses, is part of the regular furniture
of Tori house, and is looked upon as a
household chattle, especially in the
home of young couple about to make a
start in life.
On the other side of the hill, or noun
tain, where these people dwell, exists a
tribe called the J-jis; and the two tribes
nourish such a hatred of each other
that no member of either party dares to
cross tho barrier which thus separates
them. These Jajis live in square struct-
ures of stone and mud erected on log
platforms and profusely loop-holed. The
entrance is from beneath by trsp-door
and rope-ladder, which is drawn up when
the inmate is housed. When neighbour
ing families are at feud, they keep such
a strict watch en- each others movements
that they mn confined to their
"shoot kor weeks together.
ERECT savages in their
@)D--i--.+-v NsuoHy are
1 pun from rock to rock like
a lot so that there is no
possibility S!1-1hing them for any act
of savagery that they may have COM
mitted When they are thoroughly
aroused, they dance about the sides and
SUBMITS of the hills, yelling fesrfully,
and brandishing wildly their terrible
Afghan knives. Chanting war-song as
an accompaniment to pipes and drums,
they endeavor to terrify an enemy to the
utmost extent previous to attacking him.
1t is an astounding fact, however, that
although they are deaf to every other
appeal which may be made to them,
they instantly submit to listen to one
based upon their "honorl" Savage
and lawless az they are, they yet deem
| themselves possessors OF honor" and an
appeal based upon their honor as Afghan
gentlemen is simply irresistible. Surely
this is remarkable psychological TACT,
and one that is worth inquiring into by
students in the science of ethnology.
Atghanistan and British India are
divided by a mountainous range, which
reaches in some cases to an elevation OF
$4,000 feet, and which not only serves TOR
a screen. through which secretly~col-
lected army could dash upon an unsus-
pecting foe, but also consists of a broad
tract OF mountainous land, inhOspitabie
to the last degree and inhabited, as we
have already seen, by numerous savage
and utterly lawless tribes, 1t is pierced
by several passes, the most famous of
which is the Kyher or Khyber, of evil
memory, near which, in 1889, large
English force was literally cut to pieces,
one man alone escaping to Jelslabad to
tell the lamentable story. There are
now about seventeen well-defned roads
practicable for the movements OF lightly
equipped columns, ana tour along which
guns could be taken. These are annually
trayersed by Afghan merchants VINO
| bring the produce of Central Asia into
Hindostan and take back English wares
in exchange.
s-~-
Provoking ChirOgraphy.
Prof. S., whose loss is deeply
lafnented in the scholastic circles OF New
York, was st one time highly valued