'Telegraph and travel. A narrative of the formation and development of telegraphic communication between England and India, under the orders of Her Majesty's Government, with incidental notices of the countries traversed by the lines.' [‎621] (662/782)

XII.] GWAJJAR. (52!
was chiefly grazing ior camels, and even this was not
always procurable. We laid in a stock at Karachi for
the hoises, replomshing as best we could. AVater was
upon the whole, sufficient for the wants of our party, and
we numbered more than sixty, inclusive of Europeans. 1
(Iwadar was estimated by far the most populous of the
fishing villages, and could boast of more than 1,000
houses, while Sonmiani and Ormara had barely a third
of that number, and Pasni had not 100. The inhabi
tants of Gwadar were mostly Mods, or boatmen and
fishers : in a lesser ratio, Baluchis, Hindus, Khwojas,
Arabs and slaves. Of these the Arabs formed the
smallest, but at the same time the ruling section.
Perhaps the governor and staff, with attendant soldiers,
were the sole representatives of the race, inclusive, in
some cases, of households. The slaves were proportion
ally few, according to the statement given ; but the
principle of slavery was fully acknowledged, and the
slave possessor clung tenaciously to his privilege. We
have already shown the fort and huts thrown together
on the neck of a sandy isthmus beneath a low pro
montory. ihis last is long, rocky and flat-topped, and
though singular in shape has its jxmdant at Ormara.
1 he most picturesque object in the vicinity of the port
was a hill to the north, but the landscape, with the sea
to the front and high mountains in the background, as a
whole, was worthy the artist's attention.
Recalled from Gwadar in 1862, owing to circum
stances which rendered further negotiations at this par
ticular period premature, it was not until seven years
I was accompanied by Lieut. Campbell and Dr. Lalor, of the Sind
Horse ; also Mr. Henry Ryland, a meritorious member of the Uncovenanted
Service. The first alone survives.