1845.] An account of the early Ghiljdees. 315 



but the stony hills covered with the thorn, known by that name in 

 Pushtoo. 



It was such uncivilized acts as the above, no doubt, that made the Per- 

 sians stigmatize the Afghans with the following : 



Oughaa i khar, Tobra ba sar ; 

 Bakalee ba khar, Dingla ba zan : 



Which the Afghans retort in the clumsy " Tuguogue" of Parseeban, 



Da khira kurban. 



Leaving the period of the Ghiljye (not Afghan) wars in Persia to the 

 above-mentioned authorities, I return to the seat of the tribes. 



On Hajee Meer-khan (who seems to have set the fashion of perform- 

 ing the Haj to Mecca, as we find many Hajees among the chiefs both 

 Afghans and Ghiljyes about his time,) gaining possession of Candahar, 

 he called on the Tokhees to pay him revenue for their lands, and furnish 

 him with recruits for his wars, as they had not assisted him in the late 

 struggle. In reply, they asked how they could be expected to give up 

 rights that they had acquired with so much trouble, and after so many 

 battles. 



The chiefs of the Tokhees at this time were Shah Alam, the son of 

 Alee, the brother of Malakhe, and the son of Shah Alam, Khushal- 

 khan, and they would not acknowledge the supremacy of the Hotakees ; 

 war therefore broke out between the tribes, and the Tokhees were 

 obliged at last to quit the Tarnak valley and take refuge, that is, to 

 retire to the Arghandah.* Others formed into two Toraks or gatherings. 

 The Shah Husen-khel, and other tribes about Ab-i-Tazee had their ga- 

 thering at Yakhav, and the Peerak-khels and other tribes around them 

 had their gathering at Omakai-kalat, at this time was held by the 

 Tokhees under Hajee Edil, the son of Malakhe, to whom are attributed 

 some supernatural powers. 



He had a son called Bayai, a very brave and daring man ; who built 

 a small fort on the river Tarnak, a little way from Kalat up the road ; 

 and the Hotakees had a fort on the other side of the river at Jukh- 

 taran, the Hotak gathering being at Choudai. 



* I found in 1841, that a threat to burn the crops they had left standing, and to fill 

 in their karez (irrigation tunnels,) brought them back to the Tarnak, (month of July.) 



