Kelat.

The inhabitants of Baluchistan may be roughly divided into two
classes: the Brahuis [A] in the north, and the Baluchis in the south.
The former ascribe their origin to the earliest Mohammedan invaders of
Persia, and boast of their Arab descent; the latter are supposed by
some to have been originally a nation of Tartar mountaineers who
settled at a very early period in the southern parts of Asia, where
they led a nomad existence for many centuries, governed by their own
chiefs and laws, till at length they became incorporated and attained
their present footing at Kelat and throughout Northern Baluchistan.
Both races differ essentially in language and customs, and are
subdivided into an infinitesimal number of smaller tribes under the
command or rule of petty chiefs or khans. Although somewhat similar in
appearance, the Brahuis are said to be morally and physically superior
to their southern neighbours. The Baluch, as I shall now call each, is
not a prepossessing type of humanity on first acquaintance, with his
swarthy sullen features, dark piercing eyes, and long matted locks.
Most I met in the interior looked, a little distance off, like
perambulating masses of dirty rags; but all, even the filthiest and
most ragged, carried a bright, sharp tulwar. Though rough and uncouth,
however, I found the natives, as a rule, hospitable and kindly. It was
only in the far interior that any unpleasantness was experienced. This
was, perhaps, only natural, seeing that seventy miles of the journey
lay through a region as yet unexplored by Europeans, the inhabitants
of which were naturally resentful of what they imagined to be
intrusion and interference.

Owing to the nomadic nature of the Baluchis, the barrenness of
their country, and consequent absence of manufactures and commerce,
permanent settlements are very rare.

[Illustration: SONMIANI]

With the exception of Quetta, Kelat, Beila, and Kej, there are no
towns in Baluchistan worthy of the name. Even those I have mentioned
are, with the exception of Quetta (now a British settlement),
mere collections of tumble-down mud huts, invariably guarded by a
ramshackle fort and wall of the same material. The dwellings of the
nomads consist of a number of long slender poles bent and inverted
towards each other, over which are stretched slips of coarse fabrics
of camel's hair. It was only in the immediate neighbourhood of Gwarjak
that the native huts were constructed of dried pal