'Military Report on South-West Persia, Including the Provinces of Khuzistan (Arabistan), Luristan, and Part of Fars' [‎94] (129/466)

94
fully justified the character he received; his tHbe, too, was the most extraor
dinary assemblage of animals bearing the human form that I ever set eyes
upon. They had high shoulders, long legs, pucker faces, and (if the Lamarck-
ian theory of transmutation of species be true) perhaps also lono- tails
although I will not vouch for this fact, not having had an opportunity of mak
ing a minute zoological examination. They could not, however, have been so
far advanced in the scale of progression as those men with tails, whom it is
said the French naturalist, M. Castleman, heard of in Abyssinia, because the
latter possessed benches with holes in them, through which they passed their
tails; the Segwendis were not so civilized as even to construct a bench ! Had
we encountered the strange race in this desert without Methkur's protection
our safety would not have been valued at a straw. As it was, however, Ali
Khan provided a guide, in addition to the Arab sent by the Shaikh, and by
his assistance we crossed the river Kerkha at a dangerous ford, and ultimately
arrived in safety at Dizful (see pages 100, 105),
Sir A. Layard estimates the total force that might be raised in Lur-i-Kuchak
Fighting strength. as 4,000 to 5,000 horsemen and 20,000 matchlockmen,
(assuming that every two families can send one man to
join a field force). The quota that the Shah can demand of them is 5,000
horse and 10,000 foot soldiers.
He remarks : " In calculating the actual force of an Ilyat tribe, like the
Bakhtians, it may be presumed that each family can produce at least one
armed man, and, indeed, each family may be called upon by the chief for the
services of one person in his wars ; but it must be remembered that, both for
the internal defence of the country and for the actual cultivation of the soil
and other necessary labours, a large portion of the male population will be
unable to leave the tents. In the event of an external war, three-fourths of
the males between the ages of 16 and 60, would probably join the chief
[see pages 136, 137),
They speak a dialect of Persian easily understood
Language. and understand Persian. The various tribes of Lurs un
derstand and speak Turki very much amongst themselves,
•II.
lur-i-huzurg 9 occupied hy the BaJcJitiari, Kuhgehlu and Mamasenni tribes.
T he B akhtiari.
The Bakhtiari tribes occupy the country bounded on the north by the tribu
taries of the Ab-i-Dizful and the Zaindarud streams (southern branch); on th&
south by an imaginary line extending from Deh-i-Yar (Yur or Ur),in the plain
of Ram-Hormuz to Felat or Pelart; on the east by an imaginary line from Felat
to the valley of the Afhus (north branch of the Zaindarud) ; and on the west
by the Ab-i-Dizful and the low range of hills extending from the Kuh -i -Fedelak
to Deh-i-Yar.
Language, Their language is a dialect of the Persian
above),
They are divided into the Haft Lang, the Chahar Lang and dependencies
Organization. or no t originally occupiers of the mountains.^ r l^ e
. , , Haft Lang formerly doubted the number of the Chahar
Lang. ^ The original enmity that existed between the Haft Lang and Chahar
Lang is losing its intensity with time and the two tribes are becomm^ fl 101 " 6