Читать книгу From the Black Mountain to Waziristan - H. C. Wylly - Страница 7

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Before describing the Black Mountain itself and the various tribes which inhabit its slopes, it may be as well to say something about the country which encompasses it on three sides and about the men who occupy it.

Allai is a valley bounded by Kohistan on the north and east, by the Bhogarmang Valley, Nandihar and Deshi on the south, and by the Indus on the west. The valley of Allai is divided from Kohistan on the north by a range of mountains rising to over 15,000 feet, and from Nandihar and Deshi by another range running from the British boundary to the Indus above Thakot. The average breadth of the Allai Valley is about twelve miles, and the total area about 200 square miles. Wheat, barley, Indian corn and rice are grown, and the mountain slopes at the eastern end are covered with forest.

The men of Allai are ever engaged in internal quarrels; blood-feuds are rife, and often embroil the whole tribe. They are but little dependent on British territory; number some 9000 fighting men, indifferently armed; they have at times, although not of late years, given us some trouble, but have usually been coerced by means of a blockade, although a really effective one is not easy to enforce.

Surrounding Country

Nandihar is a valley lying to the south of Allai, and adjoining the British valleys of Bhogarmang and Konsh on the east. It is divided by a spur of the hills into two long narrow glens; the area of the valley is about ninety square miles, and its elevation is from four to five thousand feet. There are about a thousand fighting men; the people are perpetually at feud; the country is very easily accessible from British territory.

Tikari is a valley lying to the south of Nandihar, and between it and Agror in British territory. It is about eight miles long, four broad, and lies at an elevation of about 4500 feet. There are only some 400 fighting men. Supplies in Tikari are plentiful, with the exception of fuel, and water is abundant. The men of Tikari have not been troublesome neighbours.

Deshi is the name given to the country to the north of Agror, and lying to the west of Nandihar. It comprises a portion of the eastern slopes of the Black Mountain—a succession of bold, wooded spurs with intervening watercourses, on the banks of which are the villages. The fighting men number just over 700, indifferently armed. They are a united tribe, equally among themselves and when external danger threatens, but are easily accessible and exposed to attack, although not immediately on our border. They gave us some trouble in 1868, but have been quiet since.

All the above-mentioned tribes are Swatis; none of them, except the men of Deshi, have a very high reputation for courage; they are all Sunni Muhammadans and very bigoted.

Tanawal, an independent State, is, roughly speaking, a square block of territory in the north-west corner of the Hazara district, south of the Black Mountain and Agror. It consists of 200 square miles of hilly country, held as a jaghir by the Nawab of Amb, a fort and village on the right bank of the Indus. Little is known of the origin of the Tanawalis.

We now come to the Yusafzai tribes inhabiting the slopes of the Black Mountain lying to the east of the Indus, and occupying the southern corner of the angle formed by that river and the British boundary. The total length of this mountain is about twenty-five to thirty miles, and its average height about 8000 feet above sea-level. It ascends from the Indus basin at its southern end near the village of Kiara, and so up to its watershed by Baradar; thence it runs north-east by north to the point on the crest known as Chitabat. From here the range runs due north, finally descending to the Indus by two large spurs, at the foot of the easternmost of which lies Thakot. The Indus, after passing Thakot, runs westward along the northern foot of the mountain till it washes the western of the two spurs above mentioned, when it takes a sharp bend to the south, and runs below and parallel to the western foot of the range.

The Mountain Itself

The Black Mountain may be described as a long, narrow ridge with higher peaks at intervals, and occasional deep passes; the general outline of the crest is more rounded than sharp. From the sides numerous large spurs project, which are often precipitous and rocky, with deep, narrow glens or gorges lying between them, in which are some of the smaller villages of the tribes, the larger ones being, as a rule, situated on the banks of the Indus. The whole of the upper portion of the mountain is thickly wooded, with pine, oak, sycamore, horse-chestnut and wild cherry. The crest of the mountain is crossed by several passes. The mountain is bounded on the south by Tanawal; on the east by Agror, Pariari, and the Swati tribes of Tikari, Nandihar and Deshi; on the northern extremity lies the Indus and Thakot; and on the west, between the crest and the River Indus, the slopes are occupied by Yusafzai Pathans. These slopes fall steeply from the crest for some 2000 feet; then follows a zone of gentle, well-cultivated slopes; and then from 4000–5000 feet altitude the hill drops precipitously to the Indus. The actual Indus Valley here varies in width from a few hundred yards to nearly two miles, being narrowest at Kotkai and at its broadest at Palosi. It is crossed at about eleven different points by ferries, the boats holding from twenty to thirty passengers, but the inhabitants pass over the river almost everywhere on inflated skins.

There are many routes by which the mountain can be ascended, and most of these have been used by our troops in different expeditions: from British territory all of them start from either Tanawal or Agror.

The western face of the Black Mountain is inhabited by three clans:

1.The Hassanzais.2.The Akazais.3.The Chagarzais.

On the eastern face are the Saiyids of Pariari, besides the men of Deshi who have already been described.

The Hassanzais are a division of the Isazai clan of Yusafzai Pathans, and live on either side of the Indus; those cis-Indus occupy the most southern portion of the western slopes of the Black Mountain, while those trans-Indus live immediately opposite to them. The former are bounded on the north and east by the Akazais, on the west by the Indus, and on the south the Hassanzai border adjoins the territory of the Nawab of Amb. The Hassanzais are divided into ten sub-divisions with a total fighting strength of something under 2000 men, who are not, however, specially noted for their bravery. In the event of attack the Hassanzais could probably depend for assistance upon two other divisions of Isazai Yusafzais, the Akazais and the Mada Khels, of whom the last named live on the right bank of the Indus. Of the ten sub-divisions of the Hassanzais that known as the Khan Khel is the most troublesome, so far as we are concerned, but the whole clan is constantly engaged in internal feud.

During the days of the Sikh rule, the famous Sikh general, Hari Singh, with two regiments, made an expedition into the Hassanzai country via Darband and Baradar and burnt some of the villages.

Akazais

The Akazais, like the Hassanzais, are the descendants of Isa, and are also a division of the Isazai clan of Yusafzais, inhabiting a portion of the crest and western slopes of the Black Mountain to the north of the Hassanzais, having on the east a part of Agror and the Pariari Saiyids, to the north the Chagarzais, and on the west the Indus. They have no territory trans-Indus, with the exception of part of one village which they share with the Hassanzais. Their chief villages are Kand, Bimbal and Biliani, the two first being nearest to the crest of the Black Mountain, and situated on flat, open ground, with difficult approaches. The Akazais are divided into four sub-divisions, and can probably put some 1100 men in the field. Neither this clan nor the Hassanzais are dependent on British territory, but so far as the Akazais are concerned we possess the power to attack them, while we know all about the rich and accessible rice and wheat crops which they cultivate round the villages which they own, or in which they hold shares, in the Tikari Valley. During the Sikh rule, and up to 1868, the Akazais held the village of Shatut in the Agror Valley. It is only within the last twenty-five years or so that this clan has begun to give trouble.

The Chagarzais are a division of the Malizai clan of the Yusafzai Pathans, claiming to be descended from Chagar, the son of Mali, who was one of the sons of Yusaf. They occupy the country on either side of the river, those cis-Indus being located on the western slopes of the Black Mountain, to the north of the Akazais. They are divided into three sub-divisions, and could probably call together from both sides of the river some 4600 armed men—the larger body from across the Indus.

The southern boundary of the cis-Indus Chagarzais is contiguous with that of the Akazais, and follows the spur of the Black Mountain running from the Machai peak to the Indus bank—the southern face of the spur belonging to the Akazais and the northern to the Chagarzais. On the west and north the Indus forms the boundary, while on the east the Chagarzais are bounded by the country of the Deshiwals and of the Pariari Saiyids.

The Chagarzais are considered braver than the Hassanzais and Akazais, who would, however, probably unite with them if attacked, as would also contingents from Swat and Buner.

Little is definitely known about the communications in the interior of the country. The crest of the mountain and the Machai peak may be gained by advancing up the Kungali spur to Chitabat; but owing to the steep and rugged nature of the country, and the thick forest clothing the whole of the upper portion of the hill, an active enemy, well acquainted with the ground, would have every facility for annoying the troops and opposing the advance. About three miles north of Machai is the high peak of Ganthar, and the pass leading from Pariari to Pakban—one of the principal villages—lies on the crest between these two points. Here the ground is broken and precipitous, flanked by thick pine forests, and in all probability forms a strong position from which the advance of a force moving from Machai upon Ganthar could be disputed. From this point, which lies in a deep hollow on the crest, the ascent to Ganthar, though steep in places and everywhere flanked by forest, is not of any great difficulty. Beyond Ganthar the advance along the crest would be easier.

Chagarzais and Saiyids

The Chagarzais also are not in any way dependent upon British territory. It is only since 1863 that they have given us any trouble, and on the few occasions when they have opposed us, their operations have not been long protracted nor of a very serious character.

Colonies of Saiyids, religious adventurers—theoretically those who are the direct descendants of Ali, the son-in-law of the Prophet—occupy several of the glens on the mountain itself, and have caused much of the bloodshed and trouble which have stained and disturbed these parts. In two of these glens on the eastern slope of the Black Mountain are the Pariari Saiyids. On the western face, among the Hassanzais, are the Saiyids of Tilli; one or two more such colonies are scattered through the Chagarzai country; while a rather formidable religious body, the Akhund Khels, holds the glens and spurs on the extreme north-west corner down to the Indus. Numerically all are more or less insignificant, but they exercise considerable influence.

Neither the extent nor the population of this Black Mountain country warrant its being ranked as of any exceptional importance. As Oliver reminds us, “the tribes are not numerous, nor particularly warlike, and most of them are miserably poor, but they, and the nests of fanatical hornets they shelter, have for long proved capable of inflicting an altogether disproportionate amount of annoyance.”