1. Bada Khel. 2. Haji or Para Khel. 3. Khwajak Khel. 4. Khani Khel.
Up to 1897 the Chamkannis had never been conspicuously troublesome, or what seems more probable is that while they may on occasion have leagued with their more powerful neighbours against us, their own comparative insignificance has helped to preserve them against the consequences. When, however, in 1897 the long line of north-west frontier broke into flames, and the several tribes evinced a quality of cohesion which had not been expected of them, and the several points of our border had been portioned out for attack, the general jirgah held on the 20th August had arranged that the Chamkannis and their neighbours, the Massuzai Orakzais, should move against the Kurram.
The Chamkannis remained, however, tolerably quiescent until the 16th September, when a proportion of their fighting men are believed to have been concerned in a sudden and hotly-pressed attack by night upon Colonel Richardson’s camp at Sadda, at the junction of the Kharmana and Kurram Rivers. To Sir William Lockhart’s proclamation of the 6th October they returned insolent and defiant replies, offering peace upon their own terms; they built a barrier right across the Kharmana Darra; and it was probably only the presence in the neighbourhood of the Kurram Moveable Column under Colonel Hill, which kept from other open acts of hostility the large concentration of tribesmen known to be in this neighbourhood. But even then it did not appear certain that the Chamkannis as a tribe had thrown in their lot with the remaining firebrands of the frontier; and their complete and final implication was probably due to the unfortunate result of a reconnaissance undertaken by our troops on the 7th November. On that date the Commander of the Kurram Moveable Column, taking advantage of a temporary suspension of hostilities in the neighbourhood of Sadda, moved out into the Kharmana defile. The resulting reconnaissance, successful enough in itself, was marred by a heavy loss of life. The defile is seven miles long, and the river bed is throughout commanded from both sides within short rifle range, but the enemy was evidently taken by surprise by our advance, which was undisputed, even the barrier erected across the defile not being held. The villages of Hissar and Janikot were reached, and although the final retirement to Sadda was followed up as usual, our casualties were but few, while the enemy suffered heavy losses. It was not until some time after arrival in camp, that a havildar and thirty-five men of the Kapurthala Infantry were found to be missing. Subsequent inquiries revealed the fact that this body had, during retirement from a position, taken the wrong road, and being surrounded in a ravine with further retreat cut off by a jungle fire, had there been shot down by the Chamkannis. This comparative success of the tribesmen naturally inflamed afresh the spirit of revolt on the northern side of the Kurram Valley, the Chamkannis and Orakzais being reinforced by other tribesmen who had hitherto held more or less aloof, and the strength of the concentration near the village of Hissar, which Colonel Hill had destroyed, being continually augmented.
Coercion of Chamkannis
As a punishment for their complicity in this resistance the Chamkannis were ordered to pay a fine of Rs. 1000, to surrender thirty breech-loading rifles, and to restore all Government property; but as these demands were treated with contempt, it became necessary to march through their country and inflict other punishment.
On the 26th November, therefore, the Kurram Moveable Column took part in the operations alluded to on p. [388], entering the Khani Khel country of the Chamkannis in two bodies, destroying Thabai and other villages, and inflicting heavy loss upon them. In these operations another of the famous family of the Battyes was killed; hardly a single frontier expedition has closed but that a Battye has died for his country, and has always fallen foremost in the fight.
Unlike the rest of the tribes in 1898, the Chamkannis failed to make formal submission, and thus encouraged, they broke out again in 1899, raiding two villages in the Kurram Valley, killing and wounding several villagers, and carrying off a large number of cattle. A counter-raid, however, quickly organised by Captain Roos-Keppel, and directed against Chamkanni villages in the Kurram Darra, soon brought these tribesmen to terms. Over a hundred prisoners were taken, several villages burned, and large numbers of cattle and firearms were seized. Upon this the Chamkannis at once paid up their fines, and since then have remained tolerably quiet.
Turis or Torizais
The Turis.—The Turis, or Torizais as they are sometimes called, are a tribe of whose origin little definite is known, but all authorities are agreed that if Afghans at all they are not Afghans of pure descent. Muhammad Hyat Khan says they are Karlanrai Afghans; Lumsden says they are of Mogul extraction; Ibbetson regards them as being probably Tartar tribes which accompanied Chengis Khan and Timur in their Indian raids; Bonarjee calls them a tribe of mixed blood—Indian stock with a Tartar admixture; while Edwardes and others say that they are a Hindki race, some sixty families of whom, about four or five hundred years ago, because of drought, migrated from their native country in the Punjab (opposite Nilab on the Indus in the Kohat district) to the Kurram Valley, or, as it was then called, the Bangash Valley, and became hamsayas of its inhabitants. They themselves support this last tradition, but say that the ancestor who originally settled at Nilab was one Torghani Turk, who came from Persia. In his diary of the year 1506 the Emperor Baber mentions the presence of Turis in the Kurram Valley. About the year 1700, owing to a quarrel arising out of insults offered to Turi women, the Turis and Jajis, who were then united, attacked the Bangash, and the Turis gradually made themselves masters of the Kurram Valley, the Bangash remaining on in their turn as hamsayas. The Turis were in the course of time conquered by the Afghans, though the exact date is not known; but there was no actual attempt at occupation of their country until 1850, the Afghans satisfying themselves with periodical expeditions every five or six years to collect the revenue, the soldiers living on the people. About 1850, however, the districts both of Khost and Kurram, were occupied, and an Afghan governor was appointed, a fort being built at Ahmadzai and a strong garrison maintained in the valley. Until the outbreak of the second Afghan war in 1879, the Kurram Valley was ruled by a succession of Afghan governors, and the Turis were so heavily oppressed at times that they rose in rebellion, and on one occasion attacked the Afghan camp and slew 500 men.
Of the Turis, Oliver writes: “They are not very big nor very good-looking, and have somewhat of the look of the savage about them, but they are strong, hardy and compact, and are essentially horsemen, as the Wazirs, in spite of their well-known breed of horses, are essentially footmen. The Turi is a model moss-trooper. Profusely armed, he has probably a couple of brass-bound carbines at his back, two or three pistols in front, knives of many sizes and sorts in his waist-belt, and a sword by his side. His mount, often a small, sorry jade, is necessarily wiry and active; for, in addition to the Turi and his armoury, it has to carry his entire wardrobe packed under the saddle, certain wallets containing food for man and beast, some spare shoes, nails and a hammer, an iron peg and a picket rope, all the requisites to enable this distinguished highwayman to carry on distant and daring raids, which is the Turi road to distinction. The local Dick Turpin is honoured with the title of Khlak, a hard man, the Turi equivalent for the hero of the hour. The newly-born Turi is introduced to ordinary life by a number of shots fired over his head, to accustom him to the sound and prevent him shrinking when his turn comes to be shot at. Nor does he usually have to wait long for this, for he is at feud with pretty well all his neighbours, Wazirs, Zaimukhts and Mangals, and most bitterly with the Jajis; even a Bangash has to attach to himself a Turi badraga, or safe-conduct—an excellent word for a most ragged but faithful little ruffian, who protects him from all other Turis.