70 



BELOOCHISTAN. 



and telegraphs, and to erect forts. A British 

 agent is to have his headquarters at Kelat, 

 while another is also to be stationed at Quetta. 

 On February 24th an official notice was given 

 that the friendly relations between the British 

 Government and the Khan of Kelat, which 

 were suspended in 1873, had been resumed. 

 The Viceroy was pleased, in compliance with 

 the Khan's wishes, to direct the reestablish- 

 ment of the Kelat agency, and to appoint 

 Major Sandeman as the agent to the Governor- 

 General for Beloochistan. Major Sandeman 

 left Calcutta on February 23d, to assume the 

 position. He was accompanied by an escort 

 of about 1,000 men, half of whom were sta- 

 tioned at Kelat and the other half at Quetta. 

 His first duty was to endeavor to appease the 

 discord between the Khan and his feudatory, 

 the Chief of Mekran, as well as other minor 

 chiefs in western Beloochistan. In this he was 

 successful. The well-known German traveller, 

 Emil von Schlagintweit, gives the following 

 account of the occupation of Quetta: 



On April 1st, the city of Quetta, politically the 

 most important one next to Eelat, and strategically 

 the point of junction of the roads from India and 

 Beloochistan to Afghanistan, became the seat of a 

 British garrison, while the British political agent 

 resident there was placed directly under the Supreme 

 Government. A telegraph line was constructed from 

 Jacobabad, the last Indian telegraph station, to 

 Quetta, and was completed in the middle of May, so 

 that the agent could communicate directly with Cal- 

 cutta. For months the best understanding prevailed 

 between the garrison and the natives, the only com- 

 plaint being of the high prices of food. In July, 

 however, some native laborers on the fortifications 

 attacked two British officers, killing one and se- 

 riously wounding the other. Upon tne first alarm, 

 the British commander ordered the occupation of 

 tlie fortress of Quetta left hitherto in the possession 

 of the Kelat troops which commands the city and 

 the entire neighborhood, and therefore afforded good 

 protection. It was soon ascertained that the attack 

 was not made for political reasons. The fortress, 

 however, remained in the hands of the British, on 

 account of various reasons. It was, for instance, 

 stated that the communication with India was so in- 

 secure that it became necessary constantly to patrol 

 the road ; while the Afghans and the border tribes 

 daily showed their dissatisfaction with the close 

 proximity of the British more plainly. To secure 

 the communication with India, a garrison was also 

 placed in Mitri, halfway between Jacobadad, in In- 

 dia, and Quetta. This town is situated in a fertile 

 country, at the entrance to the Bolan Pass, and is in- 

 habited by peaceable tribes. 



The continued occupation of Quetta by the 

 British was regarded with great distrust by the 

 Khan, who complained of it as a direct breach 

 of faith. In October it was currently reported 

 that the Khan and the chief people were all 

 thoroughly convinced that the British occupa- 

 tion was an accomplished fact ; that the British 

 Government had no intention of withdrawing 

 the force located in Quetta under the desig- 

 nation~f its Resident's escort, and that it was 

 to be essentially strengthened. Many messen- 

 gers and confidential agents were going to and 

 fro between Cabool and the Khan and the 

 Sirdars. The Amir strongly advised the forci- 



ble expulsion of the British garrison, offering 

 his aid, and warning the Khan that the occu- 

 pation meant eventual absorption. He advised 

 a Russian league, and urged, as an inducement, 

 the plunder of the rich plains and cities of 

 India, and the possession of Sinde. The Khan 

 and the Sirdars were said to be willing to co- 

 operate with the Afghan army, but they dis- 

 trusted the Amir. In the latter part of October 

 it was reported that the Khan had made an 

 effort to raise the Belooch tribes, and induce 

 them to attack the English cantonment at 

 Quetta. The Beloochees, however, professed 

 themselves unequal to such an enterprise, and 

 advised the Khan to go to Candahar and get 

 the aid of the Afghans. 



On October 20th the Indian Government 

 sent three more battalions of native infantry, 

 a regiment of irregular cavalry, and one-half 

 of a mountain battery, to Beloochistan. Of 

 this force only a small part went to Quetta, 

 two battalions went to Mitri, and one battalion 

 and the artillery to Dadur. Mitri is situated 

 in a well-watered mountain country on the 

 Nari River; it is the principal town of the 

 strongest of all the Brahovee tribes the Lara- 

 wan tribe numbering 10,000 warriors, and 

 was quite flourishing until a few years ago, 

 when it was destroyed by the Khan of Kelat. 

 Dadur is situated 13 miles northwest of Mitri, 

 immediately at the entrance to the Bolan Pass. 



BOLAN PASS. 



Mitri was up to this time used as a relay sta- 

 tion for the postal service between the garri- 

 son of Quetta and India. In order to explain 

 its elevation to a strongly-fortified point, and 

 the guarding of the entrance to the Bolan 

 Pass, the Indian Government adduced that the 

 formation of a winter camp at the mouth of 

 the Pass had been provided for in the first 



