Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-01-22
THOSE BOTHERsOME HlLLMEN.
They Are Uneasy NeiEhbOrs for the
British In India.

IN
From the Army and Navy Journal
The country of the Mohmands, to which
attention has been called by the frontier
troubles in India. is described being ex-
ceedingly dreary; the eye is everywhere
met by dry ravines between long rows Of
rocky hills and crags, scantily clothed with
coarse grass, scrub-wood and the dwarf
palm In summer great want of water is
felt, and the desert tracts radiate an in
| tolerable heat; this. coupled with the I'M
healthiness of the river lowlands. probably
accounts for the inferior physique of the
Mohmands TO the surrounding tribes. The
first occasion on which the British govern
| ment came into contact with the Mohmand
tribe was during the first war in Afghanis
tan. In 1852. During the early years of
British rule in the Peshawar valley the
Mohmands gave more trouble than almost
any other tribe. During the Sepoy outbreak
the Mohmards continued their raids. but
did nothing of a more formidable nature.
The Afridis derive their Importance from
their geographical position. which gives
them command of the Khyber and kohat
roads.
They were first encountered by British
troops in 1889. when Col. Wade. with
contingent of Sikh troops, forced the Khy-
Der pass. There was difficulty with them
| they were continually raiding and being
fined or blockaded, though, as one COM
missioner remarked, getting fines out of
Afridis Is like getting blood out of stone"
During the mutiny the Afridis also did not
take advantage of their opportunity. In
February. 1881, all the Khyber clans finally
ratified the agreement with the British
government to keep the Khyber open the
terms of which have now been seriously
broken for the first time. The trouble with
the Afridts is traced to the policy of bribine
| them to make them keep the peace, instead
of Furnishing them for breaking 1t.
A native paper at Lahore, India, recently
published an interview with the amir's
mir munshi, who was visiting the CITY,
The causes for the late conflicts between
British Indian troops and the Afghan tribes
on the northern frontier of British India is
stated by an officer of the Amir of Afghan
tstan to be the desire to increase the "waz-
largess which the Indian government pays
to them for keeping the peace. The size of
the "wazifa" Is matter of pride with
them, as well as source of income. Their
methods of bringing about a rising are
described as follows:
First, they rouse their friends and trust
worthy disciples. and as soon as they have
collected a gathering of 800 or 400 thew
attack and take a post and send word to
the surrounding villagers that they must
now either fight together with them against
their enemy or be killed in a quarrel that
Is not theirs; and thus obliged the poor viii
layers, hclens volens, take up arms and
follow them. Following this method, the
chief by and by finds himself at the head
of thousands of armed followers enough
he feels satisfied, to make his own terms
with the government, Another reason that
the amirs officer gave was the interference
with the tribal and other customs by DO
litical officers. The remedy proposed was
that the government should never allow
any "wazifa" or largess to those chiefs or
mullahs who have once opposed them in
the field, so that 1t may be known among
c ho -ho
are never rewarded. An English paper.
commenting upon the foregoing statement,
says: There Is a grain of truth in this criti-
cism of the unwisdom of the government
policy in paying blackmail, and also we
believe. in relation to the political officers
But, as whole, of course, these views
must be taken. not as the opinions which
Afghan officials actually hold but as those
which they wish US to believe that they
hold. Hindu. who was interviewed, stated
that India was in state of chronic revolt,
and 1t required but little agitation to set
the whole peninsula in a blaze and sweep
away English rule, like the chaff before the
wind. The priests are waiting, with i'm
patience and suppressed rage. for suitable
moment to begin the agitation. The edu-
Gated Hindus appreciate the advantages of
British rule, and this native said:
To-day, If the English wanted to leave
our land, On our knees must we implore
them to remain, for India without the Eng
lish means disorder or chaos" Nature is
on the side of the natives, who believe in
India for the Indians; for the children of
English settlers die under the Indian sum-
and on the Ganges and Indus there is no
European in Its third generation.