They Also Carry Water In A Small
Skin-Bag, If Requisite, Which Is Often The Case If The Expedition
Is Prolonged.
When all is prepared the band sets off and marches
incessantly till within a few miles of where the chupao is to
commence, and then halts in some unfrequented spot to rest their
camels.
On the approach of night they mount again, and, as soon as the
inhabitants of a village have retired to rest, begin their attack by
burning, destroying, and carrying off whatever comes in their way.
They never think of resting for one moment during the chupao, but ride
on over the territory on which it is made at the rate of eighty or
ninety miles a day, until they have loaded their camels with as much
pillage as they can possibly remove; and as they are very expert in
the management of their animals, each man on an average will have
charge of ten or twelve. If practicable, they make a circuit which
enables them to return by a different route. This affords a double
prospect of plunder and also misleads those who pursue the robbers - a
step generally taken, though with little effect, when a sufficient
body of men can be collected for that purpose."
"In these desperate undertakings the predatory robbers are not always
successful, and when any of them chance to fall into the hands of
exasperated villagers, they are mutilated and put mercilessly
to death. The fact," concludes Pottinger, "of these plundering
expeditions being an institution in Baluchistan must serve to show how
slight is the power wielded by the paramount rulers, and what risks to
the safety of both person and property must be run by those engaged in
the business of trade in such a country."
Chabas visited me towards evening, accompanied by his son, a
clever-looking, bright-eyed lad about fifteen years old. Noticing that
he wore a belt and buckle of the 66th Regiment, I inquired where
he had procured it, and was told that it had been purchased from a
Gwarjak man, who brought it down from Kharan shortly after the fatal
disaster to the regiment at Maiwand. The kindly old chief now pressed
my acceptance of a fine fat goat - a very acceptable gift, considering
the impoverished condition of the camp larder. We then visited the
fort and village, under his guidance.
Jebri and its neighbourhood are well cultivated. The system of
agriculture practised in this part of Baluchistan is simple, but
effective, the fields being divided off by ridges of earth and raised
embankments to an accurate level. They are then further subdivided
longitudinally by ridges thrown up about seven or eight paces apart.
This is done for purposes of irrigation. The soil is then ploughed and
manured, the former operation being generally carried on by means
of bullocks. Tracts of land not irrigated by streams, but which are
dependent on rain and the rivulets which come down from the hillsides
after it, are called "kash-kawa," and are found scattered about the
valleys here and there near the tent-encampments of the nomad tribes,
who plough a piece of land, sow it, and return to gather in the crop
when it is matured. The implements of husbandry in general use are
a light wooden plough of primitive construction, consisting of a
vertical piece bent forward at the bottom and tipped with an iron
point, and a long horizontal beam, which passes forward between the
pair of bullocks that draw it, and is fastened to the yoke. A harrow,
consisting of a wooden board about six feet long by two wide, is also
used, being dragged over the ploughed land attached to the yoke by
iron chains. If found not sufficiently heavy, the driver stands upon
it. A spade or shovel, exactly like its English counterpart, and a
reaping-hook, or sickle, having its cutting edge furnished with minute
teeth, complete the list of a Baluchi's agricultural tools.
Jebri Fort stands on a steep hillock about fifty feet in height.
From here a good view was obtainable of the surrounding country.
Immediately below were pretty gardens or enclosed spaces, sown in the
centre with maize, wheat, and tobacco, and surrounded by plum and
pomegranate trees and date palms. There is a considerable trade in the
latter between here and Beila, which perhaps accounted for the myriads
of flies which here, as at Gajjar, proved a source of great annoyance.
In Chabas's garden were roses and other flowers, some remarkably fine
vines, and a number of mulberry trees. The grounds were well and
neatly laid out with paths, grass plots, and artificial streams, upon
which I complimented the old man; but he would talk of nothing but his
fort, which was, indeed, the only structure worthy of the name met
with between Quetta and the sea. In the evening his son brought
me a delicious dish of preserved apricots and cream, for which
I presented him with three rupees, one of which he instantly
returned. It is considered, by Baluchis, extremely unlucky to give
or accept an odd number of coins.
[Illustration: JEBRI]
At Jebri, for the first time, we suffered severely from cold at night,
the thermometer dropping to 42 deg. Fahr. just before sunrise. The climate
of Baluchistan presents extraordinary varieties, and is extremely
trying to Europeans. Although at Kelat the natives suffer considerably
more from cold in winter than summer heats, the hot season in the
low-lying valleys and on the coast, which lasts from April till
October, may be almost said to be the most severe in the world. At
Kej, in Mekram, the thermometer sometimes registers 125 deg. Fahr. in the
shade as early as April, while the heat in the same district during
the "Khurma-Paz," or "Date-ripening," is so intense that the natives
themselves dare not venture abroad in the daytime.
Notwithstanding this, even the south of Baluchistan has its cold
season. Near Beila, in the month of January, the temperature
frequently falls as low as 35 deg.
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