The New York herald., 1922-10-15

this Is how the Afridi did it: He waited
at the door until he saw the Sahib drop
OFF to sleep about O'clock. Then he en-
! and folded the sheet up close to the sleep
ing Sahib on both sides. until the sleeper
slept on a twelve inch strip Of folded
sheet. Then he ticlzled the Sahib's ear as
lightly as II a mosquito had come through
the netting and the instant he moved In
his sleep. the sheet beneath him was
folded over again until he finally lay on a
six inch strip of folded sheet. Then the
Sahib's ear was tickled again and the in
slant he moved off the narrow strip OF
sheet altogether, the trick was done And
that is as true as any story that ever
came out OF the frontier.
In the raiding industry by which the
latest estimate of the number of rifles on
the frontier is 10000. with millions o;
rounds OF ammunition to supply them.
The figure is necessarily a guess, but in
all probability there are more rifles on
the frontier to-day than there have ever
been before Most OF them were acquired
either in 1919 when large numbers of from
der irregulars deserted the British at the
time Of the Anglo-Afghan war, or after
the signature of the Anglo Russian treaty
Of 1907.
certain European Power whose capital
Is not thousand miles from a town called
Paris. resented its exclusion from that
famous settlement by instituting q gun
running traffic from the Persian Gulf over
land TO the frontier. traffic which the
British took steps to suppress in 1910 but
which was not finally ended until the
signature of belated agreement concern
ing trade rights at Muscat in the Gulf
after the war broke out In 1914 Between
1907 and 1910. however, about 10000 rifles
are supposed to have been run through
from the Gulf TO the frontier. Among
them are known to have been 10000 Mar
tini-Henrys which had been discarded by
the Australian and New Zealand militias
and which were run through tn a single
consignment. Others have been stolen in
raids on British military conveys or lifted
down In India from the guard houses of
regiments newly arrived from England and
not yet aware that rifle stealing is India's
favorite outdoor sport Others have been
issued by the British to supposed friend
lies in near by countries, hundreds o.
those issued in northern Persia during the
boom days OF 1919 having turned up on
the frontier. few are made on the
frontier. In fact the only known industry
on the frontier is the little Kohat Pas
arms factory, a roadside shed STANDING
in little salient of nom British territory
crossed by the Rawalpindi- -Kohat road, i'm
which about 400 rifles year are produced
The British know about 1t and frequentl,
point 1t out to visitors as curiosity
Doubtless they could suppress it but the
official view ia that il would only turn up
further back in the hills, where II could not
be watched. So there 1t stays.
India's northwest frontier is one of the
worlds greatest rifle markets, sucking in
its supply by underground sources from
all over Asia. Rifles are a passion on the
frontier. II there were any possibility
of giving the tribes regular work and reg
ular pay, this passion for rifles would not
matter so much. for the necessity of using
them In raids would not arise Time and
again when the British have enrolled the
tribesmen as irregulars they have settled
down at once. but in time of trouble. such
as the Afghan war Of 1919. instead of be-
ing relieved by regulars Immediately, they
have been left on their own while the reg
uiars modified in their rear and while
their relatives were frantically summoning