Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1896-04-29
'CALLING THE CAMEL HOME.

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1t was very dark night when Hah-
bullah arrived with his nine camels at
the lonely Zhob Levy post on the road
10 Dera Ismail Khan. Though a na-
dve of the regions round about, he, with
true Mohammedan recklessness, turned
bo IIeep, leaving his beasts unsaddled
b. forage during the rest OF the night.
Small wonder that at dawn the loss Of
The whole nine was reported at the
nearest post. The loss was promptly
attributed TO cattle-nfters, as q ba nd
Of Waziris had been rumored to have
some from the Mahsud tribe during the
last few days. Saddle and rde! was
the order Of the day. Bakshan Khan
slipped his medicine phial into his pock-
1t. Wazir Khan put q chillum and come
tobacco into his holster, instead of his
ration pocket. Gurdit Sinh put twist
ed cloth containing opium into his tur-
ban The English officer crammed half
Q dozen chupatties and a flask Of whis-
ky into his pockets. In twenty minutes
afteen armed men We're gallopdng to the
place whence the animals had been
lifted.
Bakshan Khan's trackers had been
before them, and had run the trail
across the river and into the hills on
the other side. Every indication was
that the party had gone -eff toward
Wano in a bee line across the hills, and
with probably ten hours start. In that
awful country. and with the slow and
malignant camel peculiar to those
parts, they were probably a dozen
miles ahead. To follow that trail among
that mass OF torrents, all twisting like
wounded snakes. and In as many direc-
lions as Imagination could devise, SEEM
ed at first an absolutely impossible
tnsk. But to the men following 1t every
nunah was as well known as London
streets to a cockney. Not for nothing
had they hunted the wild goat and
sheep and chikor day after day In those
Businesses. Only two routes were pos
sibie. One wus an easy one with sandy
Kdng, up a nullah and then across a
shallow neck, through kind of down
country with rocks for grass, Into en-
ocher nullah, and so down among an
interminable wash OF rayines to the
Gunai and Waziristan. The other was
q stiff, but not steep, Climb by the way
of the lowest hills into wide plain
crossed by ravlnes, and then by an
intricate system Of nuilahs 10 the con-
duence of the Toi and Gumal and so to
Wano. AT the end of two hours ride
up the latter route, chosen because 1t
was the shortest In distance, q sure
indication was found.
Turning a tail, ragged knee Of precip-
ftoIrs rock, a man was seen making eff
I'D che mountain side. He bore a hand
some jezail across his shoulders and
was dressed as Il on a journey far from
home. At the shouts Of the party he
turned and unslung his jezail, but
shot fired by a sowar induced him to
ground arms, and then at a second hail
from Wszlr Khan he came down TO
the party. He was instantly seized ana
dlsarmed On inquiry he was found to
bea young Mahsud, who gave the name
OF Mazduri, till an application of stir
rup leather to his legs revealed an alias
of Bakhtawar This being accepted
as probable, he was further questioned.
His replies were evasive, to say the
least. During the conversation four or
Ave sowars had gone ahead and found
ON the soft wet side OF trickle OF
water a plain mark Of a camels foot
THIS damned the prisoner.
He was decorated as to his neck
with a collar of tough picketing rope.
faae slack end was made fast to a sowar' s
saddle and he was bidden run or hang.
A sword point at his back ended nll
his hesitation. He ran, and nimbiy,
too, while the pursuers followed at
brisk trot, winding up the sandy bell
Of the nuliah. A collection OF camefs 4
dung hastily thrown into a small cram
nv in the rocks, close to the site of n
,heepfo,d. removed all doubts. The
urIsoner ran on for nearly mile more,
before he tripped and fell, cutting his
left knee and arm badly. As he did SO
n shot fred from a rock on the noun
tain side. about 400 yards ahead, scat
tered sand and flint among the horoes
Lays. 1t was now quite certain that :he
rear guard of the camel hftey had
been caught, and hard gallop to head
OF the firere resulted in his capture
within half an hour He was moi
wounded. but very tired
Arapid council OF war was held while
the horses drank at the water, and
cropped little of the sour herbage al
h. edge. When all are of much the
sams mind there Is little need Of words
and 30 In half an hours time the pur
suers. now ten IN number, saddled anC
mounted and were of at canter
While crossing the rough and stony
down4lke country horse fell and wa:
badly hurt This necessitated The
lending back of the injured horse, ant
three other sowars, whose horses seem
al unlikely to last out the stern chase
which as all knew was bound to be
long one. This delay OF ten minutes
was not such greet loss after all. Fo
hardly had the pursuers started ngaii
Than the keen eyes Of Bakshan khil
.aw a camel standing against the SIX!
Nne on the top of a mountain about
mile ahead, as the crow flies. AS h
called attention to It another camel MP
Da.red and then a man. Against tn
isaear sky they looked gigantic. TIL
oameas semed the most weird and Ola
boNcal creatures seen out or dream
while the man appeared at least te
feet high and of gigantic dimensions
truly uncanny sight. In a moment NOR
Nhey dropped over the ridge
The point at which they appearet
showed that they had changed thel
route little, and that by daring dh 81
across a difficult and little used shee,
track the purssers could drop into tn
nhain of the rayines before OF at tn
same time cs the Wazirta. The ques
tGon was whether the horses could SUI
.vivs that awful scramble and gallo
aAbervard. But blood was up, an'
ah1neuk q HaCd khAn - 3HA6 Coz It