of rest. It might, therefore, be supposed to require a certainty of great gain, as an inducement to the Belooches to risk their lives in such desperate undertakings; but so entirely is this reversed, that the Chupaos are often unsuccessful, from the natives of the devoted districts having previous information, and taking means to repel them; and again, some that succeed in a partial manner, barely repay them for the camels that die during or after it from over-work. At times, however, the robbers reap the reward of their intrepidity, and Mihrab Khan Rukhshanee told me that he himself once shared, from a Chupao into the Persian province of Laristan, slaves and other spoil to the amount of six thousand rupees, a large sum in the estimation of a savage.

The Rinds and Mughsees are less predal in their habits and mode of life than the Nharooés; but whether that proceeds from an innate detestation of such outrages, or a dread of the Khan of Kelat, I am unable to pronounce with certainty. I should, however, be inclined to suspect the latter cause as operating more forcibly than the former; for we find that the Muzareés, Direeshks, and other Rind tribes, who live in the hills, and are in a great measure out of the immediate precincts of the Khan's authority, infest the roads and commit the most atrocious robberies and murders on traveller, a practice more to be reprobated than even that pursued by the Nharocés; in extenuation of whom I may observe, that as they never enter into any engagements, they al

ways deem themselves in a state of warfare with the surrounding nations, and the Chupaos I have described, form their system of carrying on hostilities. The Rinds and Mughseés resemble the Nharooés in size and stature; and like them, have good features and expressive countenances, but are not capable of bearing an equal portion of hardships and labour. The climate of the country, in which they chiefly now reside, seems to have enervated and deprived them of that energy of mind and body which doubtless once appertained to them in their native mountains of Mukran, and which is still to be traced in the tribes already mentioned as inhabiting the hills. They are darker in colour than the Nharooés, a circumstance also to be attributed to the heat of the climate of Kutch Gundavee. The men of these two classes, or any of the tribes emanating from them, whom I met with, either during my journey or since my return to India, did not strike me as differing from each other in manners or appearance, and a stranger might readily have supposed they were all of the same class, which is not the case with the Nharooé and its different ramifications; but as I shall have an opportunity, in the course of my na rative, of exemplifying the distinctions I perceived amongst them, I now proceed to finish the sketch of the Belooche character, by describing those points in which they all appeared to me to correspond.

With regard to religion, they are, with a very few exceptions to the westward, Soonee Moosul

mans,

mans, and inveterate in their hatred and enmity against the Sheeas, under which persuasion, I am convinced, it would be more dangerous to appear in Beloochistan, than even as a Christian.

a

The hospitality of a Belooche is proverbial, and I found it equally conspicuous in every part of the country which I visited. Among them pilfering is considered most despicable act; and when they once offer, or promise to afford protection to a person who may require or solicit it, they will die before they fail in their trust. They obey their chiefs with alacrity and willingness, but this obedience seemed to me rather to result from a confidence placed on the propriety of what they are ordered to perform, and a wish to uphold the respectability of their tribes, which depends much on that of the Surdars or chiefs, than from any feelings of deference and respect that they entertain towards the latter; for I observed, that in many instances, even under their immediate eye, they acted as if they held themselves scarcely amenable to their authority. In their domestic habits, the Belooches are almost all pastoral; they usually reside in "Ghedans," or tents, made of black felt, or coarse blanket, stretched over a frame of wickerwork, formed from the branches of the Guz (Tamarisk) bush: an assemblage of these Ghedaus constitute a Toomun, or village, and the inhabitants of it a Kheil, or society, of which, from the nature of their formation, it is clear there may be an unlimited number in one tribe; and I know half a dozen of instances where they

exceed twenty or thirty: they are commonly discriminated by a titular prefix, such as Umeerée, Daodée, Surdaree, &c. to the word Kheil, as the Umeerée Kheil, the noble society, Daodée Kheil, David's society, &c. &c. This complicated subdivision of the tribes into Kheils, is likely to confuse a casual observer, and more especially from their changing, as they often do, their distinguishing titles with their places of residence. For example, when I was at Nooshky, on the borders of the desert, there was a Kheil of Mingull Brahooés, (a people whose country is to the southward of Kelat,) encamped about two miles off; and, on my asking one of them his tribe, he replied, Mingull, and his Kheil, Nooshkyée, or the society of Nooshky. It is right to add, that some of the Belooches, particularly the Nharooé clans, prefer mud houses to tents, and even live in forts; nor is it uncommon, in the western parts of Beloochistan, to find one half the Kheil residing in Ghedans, and the other in huts; I believe that the preference which is shewn to the latter, is on account of the cold.

Their reception of guests is simple, yet impressive. When a visitor arrives at a Toomun, a carpet is spread in front of the door of the Mihman Khanu, or house for guests, of which there is one in every town or village in Beloochistan; the Sirdar, or head of the Kheil, immediately appears, and he and the stranger having embraced, and mutually kissed hands, the followers of the latter successively approach, and the Sirdar gives them his hand, which

they

they press to their foreheads and lips. So far the reception is conducted in profound silence, and the parties now sit down, on which the chief addresses the stranger, and asks him, four several times, how he does, to which the other answers in the usual complimentary terms; he then inquires in the same manner for his family and friends, and even for the health of his followers who are present, to whom the visitor turns, as if to appeal for information; they all nod assent to being in good health; and the ceremony concludes, by the new-comer making an equal number of inquiries for the welfare of the family, Kheil or society, followers, and friends of the Sirdar. By nature the Belooches are extremely indolent, and, unless occupied by some favourite amusement, they will spend whole days in lounging from one Ghedan to another, smoking and gambling,; many of them are addicted to the pernicious custom of chewing opium and Bhung, but I neither met with, or heard of a single instance of habitual ebriety, from spirituous liquors or wine; in fact that species of the vice of drunkenness seems to be unknown amongst them. Their various foods are wheaten and barley cakes, rice, dates, cheese, sweet and sour milk, which last they infinitely prefer; soup made from dholl, or peas, and seasoned with red pepper, and other heating herbs, and flesh-meat whenever they can procure it, including that of young camels, and every kind of game: of vegetables they prize onions, garlic, and the leaves and stalk of the asafoetida plant, which they

roast or stew in butter, raw or clarified. They usually limit themselves to one or two wives, and their chiefs four; but this totally depends on choice. I saw men of the lowest station, who had seven or eight living, and. Mihrab Khan, chief of the Rukhshanees, had just espoused his sixteenth when I was at his capital. They treat their women with attention and respect, and are not so scrupulous about their being seen by strangers as most other Moosulmans, although they by no means allow them to appear in public at all times.

The Belooches keep great numbers of slaves of both sexes, the fruits of their Chupaos, whom they treat with a kindness and liberality that is quite gratifying to

see.

Whe a first taken, they look upon them selves as the most unfortunate beings in existence, and, to say the truth, the treatment they then experience, is of the harshest and most discouraging description; they are blindfolded and tied on camels, and in that manner transported, to prevent the possibility of their knowing how to return; the women's hair, and. men's beards, are also shaved-off, and the roots entirely destroyed by a preparation of quicklime, to deter them from any wish to revisit their native soil; but they shortly get reconeiled to their fate, and become very fai thful servants. I shall relate an anecdote, which will best exemp lify the footing on which they li ve with their masters. Captain Christie, speaking on this subject, expressed his surprize to Eidel Khan Rukhshanee, the Sirdar of Nooshky, that the numerous

66

slaves which he had, should work so diligently, without any person to look after them. "Why not," said he, "they are clothed, fed, and treated like the other members of my family, and if they do not labour, they are well aware that bread will be scarce, and they must then suffer as well as ourselves; it is their interest to have plenty, because they know whatever may fall to my lot, they get a share of it." Captain Christie assented to the justness of these observations, but added, that he should have thought them likely to run away. Nothing of the kind," replied the old Sirdar, they are too wise to attempt it in the first place, they don't know the way to their own country; but even adroitting they did, why should they wish to return? They are much happier here, and have less worldly cares; were they at hon.e, they must toil full as hard as they now do; beside which, they would have to think of their clothes, their houses and their food situated as they now are, they look to me for all those necessaries; and, in short, that you may judge yourself of their feelings, I need only in form you, that the severest punishment we can inflict on one of them, is to turn him about his business.”

The common dress of the Belooches is a coarse white or blue calico shirt, open about fourteen inches down the front, buttoning roud the neck, and reaching below the knee; their trowsers are made of the same cloth, or a striped kind of stuff called Soosee, and puckered round the ancles :

on their heads they seldom wear any thing except a small silk or cotton quilted cap, which is made to sit to the shape of the skull, and over this, when in full dress, they add a turband, either checked or blue, and a Kummurbund or sash, of the same colour, round their waists. The chiefs and their relatives likewise appear in winter with an Ulkhaliq, or tunic, of chintz, lined and stuffed with cotton; and the poorer classes, when out of doors, wrap themselves up in a surtout made of a peculiar kind of cloth, manufactured from a mixture of goat's hair and sheep's wool. The women's attire is very similar to that of the men, their shifts are usually cotton cloth, dyed red or brown, very long, quite down to the heels, open in front below the bosom, and as they wear nothing under them, their persons are considerably exposed; their trowsers are preposterously wide, and made of silk, or a fabrication from that and cotton mixed. The young women, both married and unmarried, have a very ingenious method of fastening their hair up, by dividing it into different locks, twisting them round the head, and inserting all the ends in a knot on the crown; it looks very tidy, and at a short distance I repeatedly mistook it for a cap. The old women tie handkerchiefs round their heads, flowered with worsted or silk. When they go abroad, both young and old muffle up their faces so as not to be seen, but in their houses they are not, as I have already stated, at all particular; and when I was at the village of Nooshky, I

was

was frequently in the Sirdar's Ghedan, when his whole family was present.

a

A Belooche soldier, when armed cap-a-pee, makes a very formidable display. He carries matchlock, sword, spear, dagger, and shield, besides a multiplicity of powder flasks, priming horns, and pouches; the latter crammed with balls, slugs, flints, tinder boxes, and other warlike apparatus, which, on active service, must encumber hira beyond conception; they do not, however, seem to mind it, and a warrior's prowess is often estimated by the weight of his accoutrements. They are all capital marksmen, and on that account in battle, avoid as much as possible, coming to close combat; but when they have no alternative, they either throw away their fire-arms, or sling them by the side of the camel, or horse on which they are mounted. The best and most prized warlike weapons they have, are of foreign manufacture. Matchlocks, swords, and diggers, they get foom Persia, Khorasan, and Hindoostan : shields from the latter country; and for spears they are generally indebted to their neighbours the Sindians. At Kelat there is an armoury for matchlocks, swords, and spears, belonging exclusively to the Khan, but the workmanship I saw from it was bad and clumsy.

The amusements of the Belooches are such as we should expect to find among a wild and uncivilized people: they are enthusiastically fond of every species of field sports; and much of their time is passed in shooting, hunting, and coursing, for which latVOL. LVIII.

ter purpose, they bestow a vast deal of attention on the training of their greyhounds: a good one is valued at two or three camels, or even more, and I was informed that the Khan of Kelat has been known to pay to the value of four hundred rupees for one dog. Firing at marks, cudgelling, wrestling, practising with swords, and throwing the spear, are likewise, all favourite diversions with them; and neighbouring Kheils cope with each other at these exercises; the four latter they understand scientifically, and at the former, some of them are so incredibly expert, that I am assured they can invariably hit a target, not more than six inches square, off a horse at full gallop; and I can positively affirm, that the different guides I had during my journey killed, at the distance of fifty or sixty yards, every small bird, such as larks, sparrows, &c. they fired' at with a single ball; nor did they appear to consider this as any signal proof of their dexterity as marksmen. Before I close this enumeration of their diversions, I may describe a very hazardous, though popular one among all classes, which they perform on horseback, and call Nezuh Bazee, or spear play. A wooden stake of moderate thickness is driven into the ground, and a horseman at full speed, pierces it with the point of his spear in such a manner, as to force it out of the earth, and carry it along with him; the difficulty and danger in accomplishing this feat, is evidently augmented or decreased, according to the depth that the stake is in the ground; but in its easiest form, it requires a violent 2. L

and