Many Of His Subjects Were Natives Of
Seistan, Kharan, And Shotrawak, All Afghan Border Districts, And Gave
Him At Times No Little Trouble.
The Jebri fort had been attacked only
a year previous to my visit, but Chabas (who I afterwards heard at
Kelat is a renowned fire-eater) gave the rebels such a warm reception
that there has been no outbreak since.
My genial old host had himself
given a good deal of trouble to the Kelat Government in his younger
days, and told me with evident pride that he had led many a chupao in
the good old days. The savage and predatory character of the Baluchi
was formerly well exemplified in these lawless incursions, when large
tracts of country were pillaged and devastated and the most unheard-of
cruelties practised. Chupaos are now a thing of the past. Pottinger,
who traversed this country in the last century, and had more than one
unpleasant _rencontre_ with these armed bands, thus describes one of
these plundering expeditions -
"The depredators are usually mounted on camels, and furnished,
according to the distance they have to go, with food, consisting of
dates, goat's milk, and cheese. 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.
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