The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1901-08-30
.FljED OF AFR|D|S
Strangest Blood Fued of Gen.
turtles Brought to Light
HAPPENED IN INDIA
Tale of Rivalry for Hand of a
Beautiful Norman.
HAPPENED IN INDIA

What is perhaps the strangest blood
feud on record has been brought to the
attention of the British authorities in
Jamrud. India, away UP on the north
western frontier. Although it had lasted
for sixteen years, it was only by chance
that the officials learned of it, for it is an
Afridi feud, and the Afridis do not burn
with anxiety to tell the British anything.
But the little matter of new murder
/ springing from it happened TO reach the
ears of an oficious native Sikh policeman,
and as the Skins and the Afridis are not
deeply in love with each other he seized
the opportunity to prod a few villagers
| bit. IN doing so he stumbled on this
! extremely remarkable case.
The feud is purely a family matter.
The victims and their murderers always
/ have been near and dear relatives. 1t may
not be remarkable that the feud was
/ caused by a woman, but it certainly is
remarkable that every one of the
/ successive victims was one Of her success
sive husbands; and still more remarkable
habit. and as fast as a husband was kill
ed, Of marrying his murderer.
The continuity Of this pleasing and
idyllic matrimonial arrangement unhap-
PLY been broken by the last murder,
for, while the victim, as usual, was her
husband, the killer was her son.
The woman IS a real beauty-beautiful
enough to seem as If nature wished to
make up IN her one person for the mis-
! takes that she has made In all the others
for the Average Afridi woman are not
delightful, and their charms hardly are
great enough to inspire even an Afridi
TO do murder, however easy the function
may seem to him. Most Of them in their
youth look like men, and in their age
| look like hays.
While the Afridi man, being confined
to a home market that is heavily stocked
with homely females. perforce is satisfied
with the usual run of his womankind, he
! does not lack eyes for something better.
So when Athira, who is the story of this
story, was less than 10 years old the men
Of the village near Jamrud, at
( the head of the Swat Valley. where she
was born, were all in love with her and
each determined TO win her Her father
| listed her value high up, and year after
year raised his rates for her heart and
hand.
The successive advances IN price had
not frightened purchasers, and village
history records that the old gentleman
sold his beautiful daughter year after
year. but always repudiated his agree
ment as she grew more handsome. This
did not make him Overwhelmingly pop
ular. and as the years went by and
! each year saw a new buyer who in turn
was cheated of his bargain the village at
last was full of claimants who agreed on
glorious and that her father was an old
rascal Beyond this they agreed on moth
ing. unless it was a strong desire to kill
each other.
Later, when the girl was Is years old.
all these bitter enemies got a new ground
Of agreement For in that year there
appeared a nabob of Afridi horse traders
named Khel and DIallk. He produced the
herd of cows. the horse, and the coveted
Snider rife, and he got the girl. and Also
the enmity of all the other claimants,
one of whom was Khel Nalik's nephew,
Mir Khan. lie had been knocked out
by the demand for the Snider rife and
his heart was bitter against his pleuto-
cratic uncle. However, he did not say
Of words They carry nice, four-foot Ions
knives, with angular blades and bone
handles that do most Of their talking for
them. Khel Malik's nephew went away
and hefted his knife carefully.
The paternal horse trader. to forget
his sorrow over the loss of his dear
daughter. went of to the south to do a
little in his line. Hidden away. so that
prying British eyes should not see it. he
took the precious Snider and came back
some months afterward. But the simple
and honest horse trader did not return
with it. Until the Snider rife returned
under circumstances which shall be told
later, the village accepted the disappear
ance of the gentleman as being merely
an ordinary occurrence. total disappear
ances and fatalities being common in
horse trading as the fridis carry it on.
But the Snider rife did come back. It
returned in the hands of Mir Khan. He
was accused at once by Khel NIalik OF
having murdered the owner. Mir Khan
denied it placidly. and would have passed
but Khel Malik insisted on making the
Snider rife would have to be delivered
over TO him as the nearest heir There
was only one thing that a self-respecting
Afridi person could co in the circum-
stances. and that was 20 shoot which
Sir. Khan did. lie shot Khel Malik in
the stomach and in view of Mrs Khel
AIalik. who was much interested. Khel
AIalik died hastily.
Airs. Khel Malk became Mrs Mir Khan
almost at once. They lived happily as
turdle doves. having Inherited all the
property OF the old man. as wei as the |
dover which Khel Malik had furnished |
I'm swap FOR the lady. not TO mention all 4
his other property besides.
In the course Of year q young Air /
Khan was born. lie was made the occa-
sion Of great rejoicing for IN Afridi |
knows no pride greater than that OF hav- !
ine lusty male heir 10 succeed him /
h0norably in the business Of taking long
Shots az the British soldiers. Of carving /
an enemy into sections with the family 4
knife. and of painfully and carefully /
requiring horses on one side OF the I
border 70 sen on the Other side AmonE 4
consratulanJs was Mir E1hans younCe- /
brother. He TOO, had been q sutton for I
the charming Athira. now more charming 1
tLan ever. and the result of his renec- 4
TORS became apparent six months later. 4
when. IN fraternal Jest he tickIed Sir /
Kh1n's ribs 50 arnusingly with the bone /
handled knife that Athira became wid- /
osv Then he married her.
oow 1Iir Khan's younger brother. I
athira's third husband. was wiser than
Che rest he'd been He realized strongly 4
what . gsctical a6vantase the Snideg 7
sas- and be never moved abroad without /
i- Always before lie made his Cxit from