92 K. C. Temple— SoMife of the Tal Ghotiali Field Force. [No. 3, 



the excuse to be found in all my papers on this subject that my notes were 

 from the nature of the circumstances under which they were made necessa- 

 rily of a rough and Imrried kind and contain doubtless many mistakes, but 

 as it seems the route is to be abandoned, it is likely to be a long while 

 before it is again traversed throughout, and I hope therefore my notes will 

 be found to be of value. 



The geography of the route, thanks to the exertions and reports of the 

 officers of the Survey of India* who accompanied the Force, is now well 

 known and needs no remark here. Suffice it to say that the Force was sent 

 from the Pishin valley towards Dera Ghazi Khan via the Kakar country 

 and Ba'rkho'm to open up what is known as the Tal Chotiali Koute, 

 and that the present writer was attached to the 2nd or pi'incipal column of 

 the Force. The route taken and referred to herein is shewn in detail in 

 the map attached, which was published for me by the Surveyor General of 

 India, and in its general aspect in the map attached to my paper on the 

 Geology of the lioute in a former number of this Journal.f 



II. The Tribes en route. 



Before proceeding to discuss what was seen of the various tribes of 

 Afghans along this march, it may be as well to give a brief account of what 

 is known of the vexed question of the origin of the Pathan and Afghan 

 Tribes. 



The people of the nation known in India as the Pathan Tribes call 

 themselves Bani' Isea'i'i or PxjKHTu'isr (pi. PuKHTA'si), and the Afghans, 

 as a race of these Pathan Tribes, claim descent from Ta'lu'tJ or Sa'ru'l (the 

 Saul of the Bible) as their ancestor. According to native accounts Sa'eu'l 

 had two posthumous sons Baraki'a (Baeachiah) and Ieami'a§ (Jeee- 

 miah), both born in the same hour of different mothers of the tribe of 

 La'wi' (Levi). They rose to high postitions under David, Saul's successor ; 

 thus Bai'akia became prime minister and Iramia Commander-in-Chief. In 

 Sulima'n's (Solomon's) time they were succeeded in their posts each by his 

 son, Barakia by Asae and Iramia by Afgha'na, and Afghana is said to 

 have had the building of the Baitt7-i-muqaddas or Temple of Jerusalem. 

 Asaf left 18 and Afghana 40 sons, and these founded important families or 

 tribes. When tlie BAiTU-ii-MiTQADDAS was destroyed by Bakhtu-n-N"ASB 

 (Nebuchadnezzar) the Afghana Tribe, adhering to their forefathers' religion, 

 were banished from Sha'm (Palestine) and took refuge in Kohtsta'n-i-Ghob 

 and KoH-i-EiROZA. Here their neighbours called them Afghan (or Aoghan) 



* J. A. S. B., for 1879, paper by Major Waterhouse. 



t J. A S. B.. for 1879, Vol. XLVIIT, Part II. 



1 Eaverly. Gram, of Pushto. Introd. 1860. 



§ BiiiKivA and AiiMi.^H according to Raverty. 



