BALUCHISTAN CAMEL CORPS
While the course of the Imperial Government in respect of Afghanistan cannot be defined with certainty, there is an equal lack of decision in respect of our policy towards Persia. The condition of our affairs in Mid-Asia, Persia and Afghanistan, which our lamentable lack of foresight has precipitated, is altogether disastrous; our difficulties increasing precisely as the integrity of Persia and the dependence of Afghanistan disappear. In consequence of the serious defects in our policy, coupled with most inadequate representation at Teheran, Great Britain has been almost completely ousted from north-east Persia. The success of the Boundary Mission in Seistan cannot be regarded as introducing any permanent factor in nor effecting any radical alteration of the situation. In view of the significant hold over Persia which Russia possesses and since Russian movement in Khorassan in the future cannot but affect Seistan, the present occasion is one where a firm stand against Russian pretensions undoubtedly should be made.
The trials of the mission in Seistan were of a distinctly unpleasant order. During the winter 1904-05 the jackals with which the district abounds, for some unknown cause went mad, attacking men and animals. Four members of the Mission were bitten, one of whom died of hydrophobia. The disease also spread to the wolves, who played great havoc. One wild night, March 25, 1905, during a blizzard blowing at a velocity of 88 miles an hour, two mad wolves raided the lines of the Camel Corps and worried seventy-eight camels and one horse. Forty-eight of the camels and the horse died of hydrophobia. On another occasion a horde of these creatures tried unsuccessfully to rush the main camp. The Seistanis themselves were so overcome by terror that they actually killed off all but a few of their dogs on whom they depend for safety and security at night.
1 2 3
BALUCHI CHIEFS WHO ACCOMPANIED
COLONEL MCMAHON
1. Jalal Khan.
2. Bungle Khan of Zhob.
3. Merab Khan, son of Chief
of the Buchtie tribe.
One of the most tragic experiences was the death of an Indian surveyor while on duty in the waterless Dasht-i-Margo. He ventured too far from water and, owing to the intense heat, was unable either to move forward or to retrace his steps. He and seven of his followers paid the penalty with their lives. This incident was marked by the heroism of one of his men who, seeing the surveyor die, determined to rescue the map, to secure which so many lives had been given. He cut it off from the board of the plane table and, knowing that he could not long retain consciousness, wound it under his waistcloth round his body. Then he blindly started northward in the hope of reaching water. The four men who commenced this journey with him collapsed, he himself remembers no more than regaining consciousness at night-time lying by a pool in the Krash river. Here he was found by a wandering Afghan, who carried him on his back to a native village where, after receiving careful attention, his life was saved. The bodies of his unfortunate companions were subsequently discovered in a completely mummified condition.
Seistan resembles other parts of Central Asia and almost every centre of importance in Afghanistan, insomuch that its existence depends upon irrigation. The canals which branch off from the Helmund, bearing the waters of that river throughout the heart of the country, date back to a period which itself is long prior to either Persian or Afghan conquest. The systems in vogue to-day are hardly an improvement upon those earlier waterworks; there is no doubt that the region might be made the centre of an exceptionally fertile oasis if there were any enduring qualities in the local government, security for trade or opening for agricultural activity. Life in Seistan does not entail elaborate preparations. Provisions are cheap; and sheep and oxen are abundant. Rice comes from Herat, vegetables are scarce, while wheat and barley may be purchased in large quantities.