The age-herald., 1898-01-23
HE H|LLSMEN IN REVOLT Causes of the Uprising onthe
 Indian Frontier. AFGHAN CLANS ARE RESTIVE Religious Frenzy, FOndness for Rapine and the British Favored Policy All Con-
 tributing Causes.

1 From the New York Mail and Express.
 The exact relation between British India and the Afghan clans which have risen on the Indian frontier, is complicated one It is hard to say just where the boundary | of India is, for in this case frontier and boundary are not quite synonymous. While the British policy has been one of non-intervention in the dnternal affairs of 1 the tribes and solemn pledges have been l given to rspect their independence, the so- called scientific frontier runs from Cha man to Baroghil Pass. conterminous with the eastern boundary of Afghanistan, 1. e., of the domdnions of Amir Abdur Rahman Khan In the negotiations of late years between the British government and the | Amir for the delimiuation of the Indo- Afghan boundary, neither party took any account of the border tribes except as nominal subjects of the Amir.
 The actual boundary. however, of Brit ish administration lies along the eastern l spurs of the Suliman Hills, and their con- mutations, from Dera Ghazi Khan to Peshawar. To the southwest of Dera 1 Chazi Khan posts have been established west of this line. In 1887 the districts of Pishin and Sih were formally annexed to Cuo DrlliSu empire, upon Uno completl0n or the Pishdn-Sibi railway through the Bo,an Pass to Chaman. North of PeShawar Brit ish domindons are bounded by the terri tory of Swat and Buner, while beyond this territory Chltral has been partially occu- pied. To the north of Chitral on the plateau of little Pamir formerly subject to the overlordship of Kabuq, the outposts of Muscovy alrelady look towards India. The General Limits.
 On the whole the boundary is as vague and elastic as possible. In a general way we may regard British territory as bound ed by the Biluche Desert, the Suliman Hills and the region of Swat and Buner. Chitral belongs to England much as the little Pamir already belongs to Russia, not officially, but potentially. Between the do- minions of Amir Abdur Rahman and the British boundary line lies a rugged, al- most impossible belt 600 miles long and 200 miles deep inhabited by a large number of Biluche and Afghan tribes. They are both nominally and actually independent in their internal affairs, though they are all, to use a vague but none the less sig nificant expression, within the sphere of British influence. In reality each tribe lzhee-- the sssnio relation as Afghanistan to Great Britain, except that the Amir can al- ways jump into the arms of Russia and so holds somewhat independent position.
 The religion of all these tribes is Moham- medan. Fierce and ignorant as they. are their passions are easily swayed by the preaching of their mullahs; that is, men full of knowledge, and what is also requi- site, mad with religious frenzy. Religion is always cheap justification of misdeeds. Mullahs and people alike have no difficulty in satisfying themselves that in lighting the torch of war they are obeyingi the call of Allah The real motive for an act of vi- olence may be love of mischief, but on top of this comes the desire of self-justifica- ton. The mulah soon works himself into rpIQi0lS hVSte.1A pinaG hirngalf called of heaven, and by telling the people so increases vastly his own belief in him. self. The people are too ready to believe and to catch the infection of his madness. They rise in perfect fury and attack with great rush. But, like the ancient Celts, they quickly pocket their religion on meet ing a severe reverse, and slfnk back each sept to his own village. The mullah who drummed together the clans is not often heard of again.
 Like Highland Tribes.
 The Biluches are mixed race, with no common language The Afghan tribes, or PathanS as they are often called, are of pure Iranian stock with no affinities what ever to the inhabitants of India. They live much like the Highlanders of Scotland be- fore 1745. by their herds and by plunder. Their villages scattered through the moun- tain valleys are almost inaccessible to the outside world. Among the Afridis the Orakzais and the Mohmands, sort of democracy exists While the tribes north and south of them are governed by power- full chiefs, these three tribes more loosely organized, and are therefore harder for the British to manage. The principal limit to Biluche Chitral chieftains power is the probability of assassination. This very fact has made the British con trol over the Biluches comparatively easy. The chiefs are open to bribes and are very glad for non-interference.
 These petty tribes of the mountains have always regarded the plain to the east of them as their natural prey. For centuries the Waziris. the Biluches, the Mohmands and the Yusafzais, boosting their independ- ence of Khan or Raja, have worried each other and vexed India with continual hos tiiities. Under the Sikh government tfe Trans-Indus country was in a state of an- archy, studded with robber castles and yielding taxes only at the swords point Sir Lepel Griffin describes the Derajet as a miserable waste, stony and wet. This Is due to the long insecurity of life and prop erty along the west bank of the Indus. as well as the natural poorness of the soil.
 Their Restless Character.
 It is clear then that the primary cause of the present disturbances lies in the rest less character of the tribesmen. In spite of the kind, firm treatment practiced toward them by the British government, the old instincts of robbery and lawless license are still active in the Afghan Hills. Ard she unprecedented fury of this years attacks must be referred in part to .the long period of comparative inactivity which I,ritsh order has enforced upoif the clans. They have been forbidden to$ close the p.ssss or plumber caravans. Tilling the stony soil of their hilsides is not so re- nlinerative or So exciting as Marrying the Indus Valley and blacknlaiing travellers in the KAybe-.
 The Forward Policy.
 The second general cause of the present o.;tbreaks is probably the vigorous and InwArrauted interpretation of the forward policy applied to the northwest frontier region by the military authorities who have managed the Trans-Indus district since 1887 The eager advance of British ou posts, tie haste to occupy new territcry, the buildin2 of roads through the moun-