The Town Contains About 4000
Inhabitants, And, From A Distance, Presents A Curious Appearance,
Each House Being Fitted, As At Sonmiani, With A Large "Badgir," Or
Wind-Catcher.
Like most Eastern cities, Beila does not improve on
closer acquaintance.
The people are dirty and indolent. There is
little or no trade, and the dark, narrow streets, ankle-deep in mud
and filth, are crowded with beggars and pariah dogs, while the dull
drab colour of the mud houses is depressing in the extreme. The fort
and palace alone are built of brick, and, being whitewashed, relieve
to a certain extent the melancholy aspect of the place. I was escorted
to the latter the afternoon of my arrival by a guard of honour,
preceded by the Djam's band - half a dozen cracked English cavalry
trumpets!
Djam Ali Khan, the present ruler of the state of Las Beila, is about
fifty years of age, and is a firm ally of England. The Djam is a
vassal of the Khan of Kelat, but, like most independent Baluch chiefs,
only nominally so. So far as I could glean, the court of Kelat has no
influence whatsoever beyond a radius of twenty miles or so from that
city. The provinces of Sarawan, Jhalawan, Kach-Gandava, Mekran, [D] and
Las Beila, which constitute the vast tract of country known as Kalati
Baluchistan, are all governed by independent chiefs, nominally
viceroys of the Khan of Kelat. Practically, however, the latter
has little or no supremacy over them, nor indeed over any part of
Baluchistan, Kelat and its suburbs excepted.
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