176 . Journal of a Route [April, 



chants who frequent this route provide themselves with a stock of pro- 

 visions sufficient to last them through the Veziri country before their 

 entrance into the hills. 



As soon as we had passed the limits of the Veziri tribe, we came in con- 

 tact with the Suleiman kheil, who resemble the Veziris in their predatory 

 habits, and like them have the virtue not to take the life of their victims. 

 When a man falls into their hands, they strip him of every thing they 

 find about him, and let him go. On the same principle of forbearance, if 

 any of these freebooters fall into the hands of Lohdnis, they spare his 

 life, but inflict every other kind of injury on him, such as stoning and 

 beating with clubs, pulling off his beard, and setting it on fire. In fact, 

 they use almost every species of torture short of death. On the arrival 

 of a kafila among the Suleiman tribe, they come and barter ghee, curd, 

 ropes, and such like articles, with the merchants, for clothes, which en- 

 ables them to see and ascertain the situation of the property belonging 

 to a kafila, and as the night falls, and the travellers retire to rest, these 

 pests come to the camp and carry off such things as they have previous- 

 ly marked for their prey. 



There is a singular custom among these people : their women form 

 their hair into ringlets, which they throw over their head, so as to cover 

 their eyes, and half of the face ; and when these damsels wish to use 

 their eyes, they raise their heads backwards, so as to move these 

 ringlets from the line of sight. The Lohdni women invariably have 

 a Venetian gold coin suspended on their forehead, and the generali- 

 ty of these people wear black- coloured clothes. Their tents are of the 

 same colour. They speak the Afghani language, which is very harsh 

 and uncouth, compared with the Persian ; but the mercantile part of the 

 tribe, who resort to Kabul, Hindustan, and Bokhara, have a knowledge 

 of Hindustani, Persian, and Turki. Their wives are of great use to them. 

 They share their toils, load their camels, pitch their tents, and perform 

 every other domestic duty. On their journeys they travel in kajawas two 

 and two on each camel. During the hot season, these people leave 

 their homes and move towards Ghezm'n, to pass their time in the 

 neighbouring mountains, which possess a cool and temperate climate 

 from their superior elevation. They generally pass two months on this 

 migratory excursion, and remain the rest of the year at De'ra bend. 

 There may be altogether about one thousand families of these Lohanis, 

 four hundred and fifty of which reside at Selkhir, a place which they in- 

 herit from their forefathers, and the others live at Kara bdgh. They 

 maintain a standing force of two hundred horse, besides a portion of foot 

 soldiers. About one hundred of them separated from us at the fortress 

 of Kheruti, and went towards Kandahar. They have altogether ten 



