The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-06-05

II you cry out Kill you
their TANKS watching from the sides Of the
hills till we were well assured that their
path was lost behind them. Then we came
down, for we desired their clothes, and their
brides. and their rifles, and their boots
more especially their boots. That was
great killing done slowly" Here the old
man vi rub his nose, and shake his snaky
locks, and lick his bearded lips, gTinning till
the yellow tO0th-stumps show. ~ ca, we
killed them because We needed t1er gear.
and W4 knew their lives had been forfeited
10 God on account of their siu-the sin OF
tre3chery to the salt which they bad eaten
They rode up and down the valleys, Stun
bling and rocking IN their saddles, and
bowling for mercy. We drove them slowly
like cattle till they were all assembled
in one place, the fat, wide val
from want Of water. but there still were
many left and they could not make any
stand. We went among them pulling them
down with our hands two at 8 time, and
our boys killed them who were new 10 the
sword Nv share Of the plumber was such
and such-so many guns and so many sad
dies The guns were good in those days
Now We steal the Government rifles, ana
despise smooth barrels. ! es, beyond doubt
we wiped the regiment from of the face Of
the earth, and even the memory Of The deed
is now dying. But men say"
At this point the tale would stop abruptly,
aud it was impossible to ind out what men
SAID across the border. The AfghauS were
always a secTetiVe race, and vastly preferred
doing something wicked TO saying anything
at all. They would for months be quiet
and W5ll-behaYed, till one night, without
word or warning they would Tusn police
post, cut The Threats Of constable or two,
dash through a village, carry away three or
four women, and withdraw. IN the red glare
Of burning thatcb, driving the cattle and
goats before them to their deSOlate hills
The Indian Government would become
almost fearful on these occasions. First it
would say: please be good and we'll for
give YOU" The tribe concerned IN the
latest depreciation would collectively put its
thumb TO It's nose and answer Tudely. Then
the Government would say: "Hadn't you
better pay up little money for those few
sOrpses you left behind you the other
night?" Here the tTibs would tempCriZe
and lie and bully, and some Of the younger
men, merely 20 show contempt Of authority,
would raid another police post and FIRE into
some frontier mud fort, and il lucky, kill
real English officer. Then the Govern
ment would say: observe; If you
persist in this line Of conduct YOU
will be hurt" If the tribe knew exactly
what Was going on in India, it would ap0l-
cgiZe or be rude according as it learned
other things or able TO devote its full atten-
ton to their performances. Some Of the
tribes knew to one corpse how far TO 60.
Others became excited, lost their heads. and
told the Government to 'come on" With
sorrow and tears, and one eve on tie British
taxpayer at home, who insisted on regard
ing these exercises as brutal wars Of an
nexatiOn, the Government would prepare
an expensive little field-brigade and some
guns and send all u , into the hills to chase
The wicked tribe out Of the valleys, where
the corn grew, into the hH!tOpS. where
there was nothing to eat. The tribe would
turn out in full strength and enjoy tie
campaign, for they knew that their women
would never be touched, thattheiT wounded
would he nursed, not mutilated, and that
rs soon as each mans bag of corn was spent
they could surrender and palaYer with the
English general as though they had been
a real enemy. AfteTward, years afterward,
they would pay the bl00d-mOney driblet by
GTibet TO the Government and tell their
children how they had slain the redc0ats by
thousands. The only drawback to this
kind Of picnic-war was the weakness Of the
TeCeOaIs for sOlemnly blowing up with
powder the Afghan fortified towers and
keeps. This the tribes always considered
mean.
Chief among the leaders Of the smaller
tribes-the mean little clans who knew to
one penny the expense of moving white
troops against them-was priestly bandit
chief, whom we will call the Gulla Kutta
Mullah. His enthusiasm for border muir
der as an art was almost digniied. He
would cut down a maIi-Tunner IN pure
waniOnness. or lombard a mud fort with
rife fire when he knew that our men needed
sleep Ia his leisure moments he wOald 60
on circuit among his neigbbors and try 10
lncite other tribes to deVilry. Also, he kept
kind Of hotel for fellcw-outlaws in his
village, which lay IN a valley called BeT-
suud. ANY respectable murderer of that
section OF the frontier was sure TO lie up at
Bersund, for it was reckOned an exceed
ingly safe place. The sole entry to Il ran
Though narrow gorge, which could
be inverted into ga death-trap ia FIVE
minutes. 1t was surrounded by high
Bills. reckoned inaccessible 10 all save
born muuntaineers, and here the Gulla
Kutta Mullah lived in great state,
tie bead OF colony OF mud and stone huts.
and ID each mud hut hung some portion of a
red Uniform and the plumber Of dead men.
The Government particularly wished for his
capture, and once invited him formally to
come out and be hanged on account Of II
murders in which he had taken a direct
part. He replied:
4 am only 20 miles, as the crow flies, from
your border. Come and fetch me-"
Some day we will come" said the Gov
eminent and hanged will you be-"
The Guila Kutta Mullah let the matter
from his mind. He knew that the patience
OF the G0YefumeuJ was as long as a summer
day, but be did not realize that its arm was
as long as a winter night.
Months afterward. when there was peace
on the border and all India was quiet. the
Indian Government turned in its sleep and
remembered the Gulla Kutta Mulah at Ber-
sund with his Is outlaws. The movement
against him Of one single regiment, which
the kilograms would have translated as
brutal war, would have been highly i'm
polite. This was a time for silence and
speed, and, above all, absence Of bloodshed
You must know that all along the north
west frontier Of India is spread force Of
some 80. 600 foot ana horse, whose duty it is
to quietly and unostentatiously shepherd
the tribes in front Of them. They move up
and down, and down and up, from one des-
olate little post to another; they are FeaoY
to take the field at 10 minutes notice; Ihsy
are always halle in and half out of diff
cu,ty somewhere along .he monotonouS
line: their lives are a, hard as their own