eir
being such much finer specimens of men than the average Persians, may be
accounted for by the fact that during the Arab invasion only the fittest
and finest survived to get as far as this, and that of these men the
Beluch are the present descendants.

Like all nomads the Beluch are most wonderful linguists. I met a great
many men who knew three, four or five languages, such as Brahui, Nharui,
Persian, Afghan, and even Hindustani, and on experiment they showed
remarkable facility for picking up and correctly retaining words of any
foreign language.

The theory that the Brahui--the most numerous class in Beluchistan--are
Tartar mountaineers is, to my mind, incorrect. They believe themselves to
be the aboriginal people of Beluchistan, and this, I think, is more
likely the case. Their language is quite different from any of the Nharui
dialects. The Nharui tribes are much given to raids and warfare, and
even last year, when I was going through Beluchistan, a small war had
just been settled by a British force, sent to suppress the rebels, in
conjunction with a Persian force from Kerman on the other side.

I cannot speak of the southern tribes as I did not visit them, but the
Brahui with whom I came in contact, although very fond of a life of
adventure, I invariably found extremely gentlemanly, hospitable and
dignified in every way. They were men of a splendid type who, combined
determined bravery with the quietest, softest, most considerate and
graceful manner.

The Khan of Kelat is the most powerful ruler, and with him we have
several important treaties. From the time of Abdullah Khan, in the
eighteenth century, Kelat had been a state independent of the Delhi
Empire, and had incorporated several provinces. To understand fully the
evolution of Beluchistan into its present condition I will give a hasty
historical review of the most important occurrences.

The political connection of the British Government with Kelat commenced
during the time of the grandson of Nasir Khan, Mehrab Khan, a weak ruler
who became Khan in 1819. He was disliked by the chiefs of the various
tribes for being under the influence of a man of low extraction called
Daud Mahommed, for whom Fateh Mahommed, the hereditary Minister, was
sacrificed. Fateh's son, Naib Mulla Mahommed Hasan, however, murdered
the intruder and was himself placed in the position his father should
have occupied, but his hatred for the Khan never ceased to crave for
revenge.