The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1899-07-27
THE GORGE OF SHAME
A Story Of Indian Retaliation


/ 4 caution, for the tale is grewsome.
L II i 1 story from life, Renaissance
sof the early colonial days, and forms
- Of series of tales illustrating the
narch of British power in the East
Indian empire. The Waziris are tribe
ishabiting Afghanistan, which was
transferred to the British in 1894.
IN their manner of dealing with the
woman question the Waziris are old
isshioned. With them, above all peo-
ples, chastity is the virtue of woman,
courage Of the man. There is no place
among them for the wanton or the
coward; and the expression of public
opinion seems to be founded on some
] MI maxim AZ ''The dead sin no
nore.r =
Ludlow, the doctor, Gordon, my sub
alttrn, and myself were sitting outside
4 the little fort smoking after one of the
stfnbby dinners of the country, and
Dkshan Khan, who had been invited
y share our cheroots, was smoking
/ With us Ludlow had spent 13-hour
dsy tramping after elusive Markhor, in
h The course of which he had climbed
y 1000 feet above the sea level, and,
tough as he was, was very tired. He
showed no wish to tell us of his sport,
which had been confined to fleeting
sanpses of distant Markhor; but,
pmewhat wearily, he told us that he
~ come across the bones of woman
h the soft sand under the lee of
loWlder at the mouth of a very ugly
5pfge; bones curiously shattered
skull, arms, legs, ribs, not a bone whole.
And the sepoys who were acting as his
lhlkarris had spat on the bones and
ecyered them again, and would tell him
aething, only that the gorge was called
The Gorge of Shame
| looked at the Bakshan Khan. He
bew slow cloud of smoke from his
nusth and said: ''Years ago" We
ulled ourselves together to listen, for
always listened to Bakshan Khan,
s - he told us the story of Grierson.
fears ago, when the post was first
~ By the English. there was sahib
command named Grierson. Perhaps
Nas u, perhaps 20, years ago. what
ame to us who only know day and
nsht, summer and winterT' He was
So eraSe man, but reckless. He loved
Ncmen too well. He also drank and
aoked very much, but was never a
a weaker for it. In those days the
efsvans passing down had to fight for
sll the way along the Waziri border,
& sad y was out in the broad bed of the
A1eh, where the rivers meet, that they
safest under the rifles of the little
oss g it then was-only one-third as
: % It is now, and not half as many
IN IN It. Often the party at the post
b "a to sally out to fire on raiders, and
.ofe often wounded traders used to
slop IN at the post to be healed of gun
ee, sword and spear wounds. The
Js were by no means dull. To man
Il = ufaerson's nature life of hard iv.
T, hghting, drinking and no woman
Il cheer him was but fuel to fire.
~ uf1efSon was not a sentimentalist
men who mean and do no wrong
|s. women are not sentimentalists, and
10y DO not usually make the worst
sssnands. One day there had been 9
- on Q caravan at early dawn anG
M pursuit. Grierson had succeeded ir
ssking and shooting Mahsud
Msrr, who bore away a girl on his
et and she lay fainting from it.
n ior it dropped dead, shot at tn,
B ume as its master. Grierson wen
a y aer aid and found her beautiful.
thought her back to the caravan
terms and was married to hel
:ne Mohammesian law, and for tn,
1 s.s me price of a thousand rupees
oney and kind. 1t was difficult
sef 20 arrange, but in those days
- 9ore than now, might was right
ao could say nay to a man VIII.
/ .say as well as protect? lit ha,
| Grierson to have her abducte,
sas Inc price would have been less
splcious rs all savages are, tn
of Zillah Khel Waziris saw tina
sseoo good chance of a create
= one Of their women was tn