Asregards the second pdian of my junmey, indPldedl in from Karakul Lake to the E@an f& af C h q , noki-cle sh the ~ompfetion of the GarG rosd from H a q E h (the in Fergbana) to Murghabi, aftieh tfnaWes. s~ppEes to be Pbmirsky post in from 16 h tr, &days, eves in w i n k time, e3eept: of during an unusual snow fa& when the Ed hp2 Pass wodd be cI& rule, however, thia pass is dmys open. Prom the giail ,kt Pags b Xwrqhabi, the Prunir is uninhabited eycept by the E q h k sB&ion.erX in posthouses, this faat may bet attributed to tthe dislike the %firl;hia ham ta living near the posM road, tPhere they Iftag. be called npan for sapplia d wriona kinds. p

Tlile water of &Ire is undt for' J leading to Kok , a .4@ Pass is sn thereby shortening the jonmey br a This map, but this name 3s unknown to the abitPtnts, of the district

The river marked En- on mrrp j s h o r n tra the nams Kudara is applrsd-,m to the spat

KambuftaIi at^^. mite, md where there is s settltement. Fmni Karakul

\ = being not more &ban no Kirphia, and the Tlte inl~stbitaats of

varieties -of the Rrakhi resemble one another understad Persian.'

The history of the Tn@k of R d m and Shipan appears to xt t ~ a faflo- Until the mupation of these valleys by the Amir of Ub*kn wipe 15 years s g ~ , them peo@e w m under their urn Xhans anr3 f i . independent S h t e - p ; ~ ~ tribute to no one. The af

-

three gelleratio'~)~ of IChsns- First, Shah Wan$ Khm. 1[Ffran. Third, Usphda Khan. 1

Up to the time of the deposition of Uspb1a by the A& c.tf I

Afghanistan, the greater prart of the Pamir = fm as Ht.tsah-~f M e , indul- S. 42. A

2 - aB * " - 4

of the post, and fie i likemi,se levid tribub

have been bwid alive. One son, Abcld GfM Khan, waa spared, and he is now in Kabul.

The Afghans then occupied the m n t g and levied tax& OF aif tchis country, they exercised much " d m 'l andt were dete&A by Tayilrs 8ntt Khghiz alike. \

Shur Chur, the Ximbzashi of B d o r village, gave me some interesting information. He informed me that until the Russian owupsition of thle Panjah, his family had for ,fgenemtions been as hj&s of &a Bartang and had beeu aUowd by t$> the Tayik Khans to levy tsibute in kied 8nd money on ELft the between 'rasllkurgan and 3G.b-i-Wsmar ; this fact wss txfkmmh con by the Russian commandzhnt.

Owing, however, to the Cc aulrn " and extortion prsctised bg .the oE&& af the Amir, the Tayiks of- Rosban and S & g kited the Rtzsskm to take these alleys under their protection, and Shur Char and his father were amongst the petty chiefs who, visited Uaqhikm to arrange the matter wit& the Governor. The Russians, of course, were oniy tm eagar to extend t h e possessions from the Pamirs to the Panjah, itnd with the aid of the Wiks, who sl~omed them the only possible i d in this most, &&lcdt country and helped them vith coolie transport and supplies, they fo& the Afghans to cross the Panjah after the fight at Somatash, md l a k on a skirmish a$ Y a h s above Kala-i-Wamar.

The Tayifis aBim tbst but for their assktmee the B u s h would T L ~ F have been able to cdTect an occupation of these wlleps, a d from what I baa seen myself of the difficulties and dangers of these mads I a n quite belie= tliem,

For the msistanoe tbat &hey e y e the 3itisskm Shur Char snd his fa&er - received n number of Russian deco~ations from the Tzar, and were m&md in their ancient right% in the Barhag. Sow time after the occuption of Roshnn (mhicb apparently took place as late as four years ago), Shur Chnr and his father were summoned to 'ililu~habi, where various c h s w w m brought a,.r;tinsi tlreur of sending information of Russian movemeats . ~ c r tfre ofGeials of the British Government in Chitralor Gilgih He was slso ellaged with conteqplating, togefhels with other T a y h a wholesale ~,--&

to British terrihory. The Russia13. Commandant considered these charges to haye been pmred,

ind sentenced the Nimbshi and his father to be -imp~isoned at Nwgahi. mfiilst in prison his father died.

Mter some months an order came that the lhfiramni was ko be mid, and together with o%her petQ EajaI~s f*ra the TsyLks he was sent kr St. Petersburp to attend the curonation of tbe !Tzar as an h a n o d g a d . Here he appears to have been made much of, and he received o&er decorations.

When in St. Pctelsburg, he petitioned the Tzar to restore to him the former possessions of his family in Koskan whiCh hahi hen forfeited, brrt,

*

necessity. 0 r'he Mirnbsshi affirms tha-t the BBarans am intriguing

The Amir of

Pimjah .to very peat ~ ~ t s ; the A.f3&n garrisons on the Upper Osns - have alsa been inmssecl considersbfy (this the E& suhrrena~ 60*sdf. i

This Mimbashi is intensely hwae to the*Ru&m on-aammt of the -7 he has been treated, and m211d.be e a g g to help us in any m y p i l e ; he has considerabli, influence. Great scttl.city, amouting in ptak to a famine, prevails in R o s h and dong the- owhg to a fdm in the rains last year, qmd the p w l a m a ~ o n of tke amir d Afghanistan prohibiting any import of grain from Btidakshan.

'Phe fort rrt Ktila-i-Wamar is to be rebuift a;nd garrison& by 5& The population of these valleys is too great for lEhs srea a£ tand

culti~atd. In Roshm money is little sought aRer. &. Iittle nsa be made d it, tlie *

natives prefer trinkets of various kinds, and P a h d felt n m & s specially prized* otherwise Rnssian p a p . roubles are plrrefed tn &her;;

& Chinese silver passes readity on the Russian P&. The Badakshis are reported very discontented xtth Afghan rde, as are also

the Afghan Tayiks. 9

Mir Isban Hnl Bag is the m e of the ~okhsran Beg in oiYil oh- of - h h a n , Shi=nlczn, and Wakhan. ' Be told me that, ia the past ten years, 28 ,W BOW, s a d

Tsyiks, have fied from Afghan tenitmy inb &- h a y;ear &,,ffiOlJ . houses crossed from Afghan D m a z into B o B m r)83!m~. The Amk &

&,khm has issued a prociaation that hhe nifl give dl ~ f n , p s A safe asylum and land to adtivate, and t b t they- will be free from tasahon for fum years. ,Must of the refu"-.ses are settled in Darm.

Roshan contains 4-00 houses, Shignan 1,10Q, W&ban 5QO-a BOW may Ebe . reckoned at from eight to ten inmates.

Tfie fort af is exf-mn&y -well bdt"md wodd withstssd a ent by z n u u n h h artaferg; s Bir mad lea& considemB1e born

Charog to bp ha,* ankxxds in +ht &;n;'; it = $. nteaded to cqnsbct a: cafk mct . Y'

Aceording to the ftwsian Commaaht %the Afghan . ~ i d e r a b l y . stntnpthead lately, sn6 tke Bnssian

% *.

in summer t;p. saafb 8 river* MXnE? 9nQW

The Kzmjut, maif is wnsidered qaite out of the qaest;ion. Tho Tayiks tot& me that fast p a r rt Nopi @ttrtar) oEffic?c3+ &+d

as a 'I'ayik visited mtral a d bpougl~t back mmplekb p k of t b f place.

I askex1 Kevekiss if this was true, and he a but ztftermarcts owned t h ~ t it, was.

EEa told me Cbt sac'u ai stop .nas necessitated by €he policy of the In& Govempcnfc iu pafusing Russim o%~%rs perrui;rusiou to the lndins frontier.

Tho next day he tukl me &hat it 9 s not true h t a &ussiaa oBeez h t year had visited Ghitrtzl.

The system of espionw from C b g is rery tltomn~h. T&m sre regular spies employed by the Chief Politic& OSear, &ey are paid & kbie mte of 25 mublcs a month, and do nottu'ag else but Omre1 to and fmrn IC;?bd -

and G h i t d ant1 oictea~onally visit Gilgit-. These men are TayZks, md as tlthcg- piwisely resernl.de the Cihifirzdis it -

wodd be difticul$ to catGh them ; they keep the E d ex&gly 6 informed of every m a t h of interest in Ea?>ttl and GlrimiZ.

One of these spies had bm1;~30ISt baok a ma,nuiEmnt &la Kabul.

Kevekiss infbnned me that the ,wrison of nati~e tmps at 33- 'Ezad. been withdrho n. %

Afghan sepoys eomtantlg desext fmm BY Pmj snd 2Xk.M Panj, t h w ; deserters am not pure afghans.

Kevekiss sbtes he pats gcxsd infar~tii-sn h m Pasirr h r r r the Priml~?. I , Xinister of the Nehtar,"

" It appeass -that the plans f q the inmsian of B & k and Chit& * tfte Upper Oxus am s m a t h of eminon dknssilon st tke dinner b b Z ~ qf fi i +he Governor of, Fwghmrq and the idEcers & f:

jS9q+itsn the present Busso-Afghan frontier ofC&e p ~ E l p teruprar~ asrsn,gmenl, and Qewiue &e P d r CommiSsion as by DO means permanent. IFi&p m m they .~viU advance 4beH frcrntier to the &du Kash m the math mid

e S. 42 3

miP8 is 2,000 S;O* Them

near $Eemt- Em there merit of &saefrs,-anit f+m bLLerim

of some i m n s ilod p y s his may IibemUy, and a R e nho df pmbbly ' be an official, or, if a private iniliridmI, 162 be armed with an o S & A "parrraaa," the possession of which places hirn at on= an a par with mi officiaf, and makes it ablipato~y on the mti~;a to supply s13 his -mats '"by ordes."

1 have been greatly surprised at the @d e r i n d e ~ q v h f ? r e I +

L hare &en, by Bnssian 1U;ussuEm snhjwts, to myself as an Eug&hm.rtq, and the idea generally prevalent that some dsy t h q be an our side a3&st their conquerors is a-cwions one to uota. I

I need hasdfy poiut our the advanta,~ to b.e ,&EST b j o&ms in hrt* the h2xissnlmans in Ferghana itnd on om side, and &e ,pat disadvantages tfie Russians would lahour under if szt& a state of -&& =me: about. In an advance on Chitrid and- Badaksban, the w h i z of F q b in

which I indude the Psmirs, . ifodd be d e d u p to of cmels,"ponies, and yaks, also sheep ; if %hey WWB

: \ " .

fkme o w p1iey as to ,

Pcrrte. Erne aime caS"

exercised in favdur of The Chinese in &.&gar -*entirely undm ff- M u a c e ; .Ear ssy

demand that the 33ussb Corn& rnav make and m&h is mi; eonrpE& with is forth~vith telegraphdon ta ~ e k i n % ~ hirn, when fie seam toebe &-Sly supported by X. PavloE"and in ttre eu d & demands ruo cx)nd&.

X , Petmvsky told, ine ss rnuch h e I f , bq&~ &* the wntmst ' $ e h e e ~ 4 j

his position md Xacktiiej's ; adding that the F ~ h i wzs SO much ia. his hands that if he refused to a d e Co any IT&& of fie woulb h w i W to invite him ,to the Consulate to bike s Em+& bath, and then b p e hiul fkaggd by his Cosxicb.

Xt should be noted that, the Chin- ttEe&~es am well to;- Mr. Xamtney, and would wctlcame say hprorement in fsis statas. I f hich vodd help thent to camttSn.t mafe e & t d y BaSIsi39 h&g. - I

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mith0~% Z~U& q-ired~~Q&$J. Russian oB&& seem toi thik &a& t.& -$

Kompatkin as War Miniskt denah %be renewed q.&kitjr on'&t3 R-Mgb .%Gejrrejrr

Sb"pre,

of Shk , t

Moja - Fa&?& riuer; d gW3 dl arS

aE7 Cli-- Pass

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