'Seistan' [‎96r] (191/782)

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relied almost entirely on personal influence and my knowledge of Persian to make
fiends with these people, nor have they been spoilt. Katkhudas and others of
that rank who come to see me come with their offerings and sit on the ground.
The camp has become a sort of rendezvous in the evenings, and it is quite a
common sight to see 10 or :o horsemen riding into the camp or galloping their
horses on the maidan, or having tea or kalian with the native officer or Munshi A term used in the Middle East, Persia and South Asia to refer to a secretary, assistant or amanuensis. Munshis were employed in the British administration in the Gulf.
Ahmad Din.
I am greatly indebted to both these men for the interest they have taken in
securing the friendship of every one, and in their tact and good humour in enter
taining them. As the native officer is a Sadozai Shahzada, those with Afghan
proclivities are attracted to his entertainments.
This intercourse with the people and officials keeps the camp alive and ac
customs the Persian of Seistan to the English Sahib and his “ entourage.”
T U j n ?. iary T men tioned that nearly all the party were now housed.
The domed building! have erected without one piece of wood in them now form
a collection of small houses, and the camp looks like a village. The cost of all
the buddings has been a little over Rs. i,coo. The buildings, besides making
hfe bearable to every one have had a great political value. Their erection hal
tested the feelings of thejpeople. They have shown our strength to the Seistanis
and are a sure sign that we mean to stay here. ’
For myself I have three rooms with a serving room. As they are well car-
petted they give a good impression to visitors of the English mode of life and
have added to my influence. All the buildings have been built so as to form use
ful annexes to any good house which may be built afterwards. The site is
capital, capable of any extension, in a good position, and on the best land.
The cost of my small house has been less than a Swiss collage tent which
would have been very hot to have lived and worked in. The boisterous wind
of this place, too, would have torn it to pieces.
The daily payment of the coolies A term used to describe labourers from a number of Asian countries, now considered derogatory. for the buildings has been of great political
value, while the local Persian official has always been attached by the work, and
so through these means I have been able to make many acquaintances.
The building of a mosque has been a great political move. All the local
mullas are loud in its praises, and very few of them have not been 10 see it and
have not praised me for the act of toleration as they call it. Munshi A term used in the Middle East, Persia and South Asia to refer to a secretary, assistant or amanuensis. Munshis were employed in the British administration in the Gulf. Ahmad
Din and the native officers have taken charge of the mosque, and it has already
received offers for embellishment from various sources. I find that every
evening many people come from outside to say their prayers there, and to sit in
the shade of it. In fact, it has become a sort of political meeting place for all
sorts and kinds of people. The Musjid has brought many people to see me.
I hope that though no sanction was given for buildings, my action will be
approved of, not only because we have secured through this means a good site,
but because we have increased by this small expenditure our prestige and our
influence in Seistan, until I think we may safely say that its paramountcy, as far
as the province of Seistan is concerned, is an accomplished fact. This is not in
my opinion an optimistic view, nor do I attribute it to any particular good
management on my part. It is the natural result of the opening of the mad
and of the various visits of my predecessors here.
The Eastern Persian-Afghan border .—For the present there is no sign
of any quarrels along the border either from opposition boundary claims "or
over water rights which could assume any importance. Abbas Ali reports
that a few grain stacks have been burnt, and that there have been some quarrels,
but these have been among the Seistanis themselves. In one instance some
Afghans have cultivated land which is considered Persian, but with the free
intercourse that naturally exists on such a border, this encroachment is not taken
seriously by the Persians.
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