Evening star., 1907-08-26

nrevfously ascsrtained that q supply of
water can be obtained, other vertical shaits
are sunk and the bottoms OF an eonnec'eS asc go
the shaft increase with their distance from
the original one according to the slope OF
the ground. Great labor u required 70 oig
serve to make fnhabitable large tracts OF
country that would otherwise oe "''A'u'
water. ... ~,
water buffalo are used for plow1ns. Ihe
plow IL very primitive and In many cases
oniy n aharpes,ed tree fork. but usually mas
q native forged iron point. On shaA pso.S p
on hilisides women are httched 70 the p.o"
instead Of oxen. Horses are one OF the
staple exports Of the country. The indige-
nous species is the hardy luggage pony
but horses for export are mainly tne SO
called Kabui horses. mixed nreeo Oh Tue
Turkman, Persian and kabui. Some pure
bred Arabian and Persian horses are also
exported. The native sheep belong to the
fat-tail variety The fat in the tail and
along the back Of a well-fed sheep Is over
one-third of its total weight. The people
are all flesh eaters, and especially prefer
mutton. A large amount OF TINS rat 1or-
merly thrown away is now used to make
soap and candles by the new process the
amir has introduced. In the smaller towns
this Is done by hand. but in the larger
towns 1t is carried on by improved for
eign machinery.
Camel Caravans.
1.-The transportation question of Afghan
istan is still in its infancy. Camel caravan
trails have been the only highways. but
the present government has built military
roads between all the important towns and
Is pushing them out to the Indian, Persian
and RUSSIAN borders. The country is very
mountainous, however. so that wheeled
conveyances of any kind are yet little
used. The camel. the luggage pony and
donkeys take the place OF the train IN CIV
ri In
transit trade Some of these kaflias, or
camel caravans make trips of thousands
of miles from India. through Afghanistan
and on to the little-known marts OF cen
trail Asia Most camels used In India are
the single-hump camel, the fast-rding spe-
cies of which is known as the 'dromedary.
but in Afghanistan the larger portion
seems to be the short double-humped Box
hara camel.
There are in Afghanistan a good many
Persian and Hindu merchants though both
Afghans. The Hindus are called .Hindkis
by the Afghans. The shops for dyes and
drugs are usually ioept by them; and they
also act in a small way as bankers. The
Persians are hated being Of the Shias
instead of the Sunnis sect of Mohamme-
dams
Clothing Of the People.
LAS in the case with practically all nom
manufacturing nations, the largest import
is cotton piece goods. and the largest Item
of this is white shirting. The Afghan and
other Pashto-speakfng races on the border
dress differently from the races in India
The main feature of the Afghan, Beiuchi
and Afridi costume is the loose baggy trou-
sers or -bloomers' which are made Of
white shirtng. These are cut so as to hang
down in festoons to Just above the bare
ankles Above these 'bloomers' there is a
long tunic. or loose shirt. also of white
shirting. nearly to the knees. and then very
often an armless waistcoat. The headgear
Is either large turban or c!ose-ftting
skull cap. The rough native-made slippers,
with upturned point. complete the picture.
The ankles are bare, as socks and stockings
are purely western invention and nowhere
worn in the east. In cold weather a long
sheepskin cloak Is worn with the hair in
side. The more remote tribes are clothed in
native-made fabrics Of camel's and goats
hair, skeepskins and furs.
1.-The women. being Mohammedans. wear
trousers of striped susi,' short upper
vest and a long sheet that is wrapped
around the upper part of the body and
used to envelop the head. A good many
go entirely clothed in white gown that
couple Of holes left for the eyes. Other
border women wear a single long white
wooden gown with q piece Of cloth around
their heads.
Cotton is grown in parts Of Afghanistan,
and lungis' for turbans, 'susis for womens
trousers. and coarse cotton cloth for wear
and for wheat sacks are woven by hand.
but foreign cloth is much preferred. and
the native woven Is only used by the poor
est people and by those of the beaten
tracks.
'.The habitations Of the pastoral tribes
are black sheepskin tents. or rude shelters
built of sticks. grass and bark. The set
tied Afghans live in mud-built villages. or
rather clusters of houses. with loop-holed
walls and high mud tower. Even the
cities have only mud houses and walls of
sun-dried brick. The new amir Is establish
ing brickmaking but brick stone houses
as yet are practically unknown"