THE HAMAVAND RAIDS
So the Hamavands gaily continued raiding, retaining the posts, burning them, cutting up the telegraph lines. The Sulaimania governor when first called to Chemchemal refused to go—he could not venture outside the town. So the Chemchemal authorities obtained three hundred mules by the simple means of appropriating them in Kirkuk, and sent three hundred of their best soldiers thus mounted to bring the Mutasarrif of Sulaimania. With this escort he made a rush, getting to Chemchemal in seven hours, but not without having been chased by the Hamavands and losing some riders.
As the utmost mounted strength of the Hamavands is two hundred and fifty men, scattered in small bands about their country, their assailants probably did not number more than thirty or forty, but the brave three hundred fled.
At last merchants in Bagdad, Mosul, and Sulaimania made so much fuss, and the Central Government—partly ignorant of the reason for the delay of the proceedings—became so pressing, that the commanding officer started from Bagdad. Simultaneously the Hamavands, informed by their own spies, leisurely packed up their tents and their goods and retired over the Persian border to the territory of the Sharafbaiani Kurds, a little tribe the other side of the Sirwan River, upon the frontier.
The commander-in-chief arrived with much éclat, and with orders to pursue the Hamavands in his possession, and to invade Persia if she could possibly be accused of receiving even a Hamavand child over her borders.
The troops at once started to ascertain the whereabouts of the Hamavands, and finding no one in their country, had the satisfaction of eating the growing vegetables and burning the wooden roofs of some deserted villages. For two months they made quite certain that no Hamavands lingered, catching every now and then a poor stranger Kurd and mutilating him on suspicion.
This heroic task was proceeding when I left Sulaimania, and till now I have reason to believe that the happy gathering at Chemchemal still exists, six months after they arrived to march against two hundred and fifty horsemen.
Some day they will retire, as soon as food gets scarce, and the Hamavands will reappear suddenly, to commence another period of raiding and defiance.
When we were among them on this occasion, as yet no move had been made against them, and the universal opinion was that no caravans after ours could pass. This was the case, for it was not till late August, when the tribe had gone away, that caravans once more went between Sulaimania and Kirkuk.
A large number of horsemen escorted us next morning, and we left their country after about two hours’ journey, under the western side of their eastern range of boundary hill, finding at last a path over a neck.