Evening star., 1907-08-26

Ali-have equal power. The Shias believe
that the fourth companion-Ali-was his
only true companion. and that the other
three had unjustly taken precedence over
Ali. The Afghan war cry Is va chahar
var. which means The four companions.
This sectarian matter has had important
influences in many ways. and even now the
Afghans who are SunniS dislike having
dealings. commercial otherwise, with
the Persians. who are almost wholly of the
Shias persuasion.
The Afghans are. as rule. tall. bearded,
f1erce-looking. we'll set-up men. and are
brave. hOspitable and intensely liberty low
Ing. No nation has ever been able to hold
them long in subsection. and. in fact, the
of their own rulers who mastered them
sufficiently to fuse them into one central
lied nation. The language Of the Afghans
is called Pushto or Pashto, and the people
as whole are frequently called Pathans.
The court language is Persian.
"Afghanistan Is divided into the prov
inces of Kabul. Kandahar. Herat. Turkes-
tan and Badakshan. The main cities and
commercial centers are Kabul. the capital,
in the east. and Herat in the west. Herat
Is one of the greatest trading cities Of GEN.
trail Asia. and from its strategcal position
is known as the key of India. Other cities
Of Importance are kandahar. GhaZni, Tash-
kurgan, Balkh and Jalaiabad.
Sovereignty Seized.
"Afganistan receives yearly subsidy
of f12O.OOO. from the English. and by agree
ment with them has no foreign relations
with any power except the government
of India. In all other respects. however.
Afghanistan is entirely Independent and Is
a despotic monarchy ruled over by an amir.
The ruler is known as the Amir OF Kabul.'
and until recently his power was only
nominal. being mainly confined to the one
province of kabul In 1880 Abdur Rahman
became amir. and. being very strong char
ecter, subjugated his kingdom by force of
Il ais. ana ior the first time in its history
AfGhanistant has become real united
kingdom centralized under one man.
when Abdur Rahman came to the
throne the country was disunlted. and many
tribes acknowledged no ruler but their own
chiefs. Caravans were plundered indiscrim-
inately, no mans life was safe. and the
mulahs and religious fanatics proclaimed
holy wars at will. Abdur Rahman cur
tailed the power Of the mullahs, subdued
the rebellious tribes with heavy hand.
protected the caravans of trade, and made
travel safe by making every district re-
sponsibie for any disturbance within its
bounds. He built forts. raised a we'll
equipped standing army on the European
model. and provided laws and fixed taxes
Though violently opposed by many he
cautiously began to introduce foreign goods
and to establish manufactures. This policy
is being continued by his son Habbullah
The first establishments were all for hand
manufactures. but small and then larger
day at Kabul there are a few engines and
boilers of 1O0-horsepower or over, which
were transported hither over mountain
passes at great labor by camels. donkeys
and coolies. and which are now operated
by Indian and Afghan workmen. Within
the last fifteen years many new industries
have been started in Afghanistan, especial
ly at Kabul Englishmen and occasionally
Russians are brought to start the enter
prise and teach the trade. and as soon as
they do so are replaced by the natives.
Methods Of Irrigation.
1.-THE mass of the people, of course, are
still agricultural and pastoral. Irrigation
is extensively practiced by means of short
canals from the rivers and mountain
streams. Some of the streams that rise
on the koh--Baba, and that promise to be
large rivers, have their waters 80 diverted
for irrigation that they are dried up before
they get out Of the country. The curious
Persian well system of conveying water Is
also used. This system is used all over
Persia, Afghanistan and neighboring coun-
tries. and consists of subterranean aque-
duct uniting several wells and conducting
their water in one stream to the surface at
a lower level. They are thus constructed:
A shaft five or six feet In depth Is sunk at
the spot where the stream is to emerge to
the surface. and at regular intervals of
from twenty to fifty or more PAGES in the
direction of the hill wfapco n hae baan