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'Reconaissance through Baluchistan and Seistan, 1897' [7r] (18/120)
The record is made up of 1 volume (58 folios). It was created in 1897. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
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9
the great natural necessity of our existence over any trade route that it is contem^ated
to popularize, a better and purer water supply could be guaranteed al
r ° Ut< The greater part of the route between the above-named places on the Amir Chah
--j-jMj. a.
stretches awav rLht up to and beyond the Helmand river; and all ^e year r oun d the
country being‘subject to violent wind storms, it is not unnatural to expect that the enti e
character of the country will still further undergo great changes.
From Ismail an intermediate route runs south, between the northern route and the
one we proceeded by, joining at Kundi (ride map.) This Nohh—Salgaa kund
txrill rvnpp suo’ o ’est itselt as beino; the most direct.
The meeTpracticable and strategical line for all pnrpnses ap^ata ^ me to run from
Dalh^din and^ynetta. f ^ and protection afforded hj our post at Amir Chah,
the
kafila
A train of travellers; a caravan; or any large party of travellers.
proprietors and merchants informed me that tins is a prefera e rou .
T would here state that I have pointed this out to Mr. Barnes, agent to the
Governor-General, Baluchistan, as also to Lieutenant Webb-Ware, the P 0 ' 11 ^ 1
Chagai su-n-estinff at the same time the advisability of transferring the greater numb
of the ievtel from°Amir Chah to Saindak and placing all under a strong crafty native,
leaving but a small post at the former which requires but little guar mg. . , f
U is in this verv vicinity that the Damini tribe cause such trouble and interfere
with our trade blocking the route by perpetual raids and bolting into the fastnesses o
Miriawa range. It will therefore be seen how important it is to have a strong post at
S‘iindak to check the Damini, who dominate the entire western districts. . r
From Saindak to the frontier, the most practicable route within British limits I
think will be found to follow along the skirts of the hills as straight as the nature o
^^SnclTf^map" 1 ^! show the exact places, with their names where water is
available all the year round (coloured in blue circles or crosses) along the whole routes
traielled. or other rposes it is ever contemplated to construct a railway
and link up Eastern Persia with Quetta, this must be the line of advance and no I
think via Amir Chah if we wish to avoid a source of anxiety similar to that hml
Russian administration have to combat in the section of her Trans-Caspian Railway
bet "TOs M linl a nms C through lofty sand dunes, from which the sand is always on the
move under the influence of perpetual wind, and necessitates a considerable expenditure
tt “s'S ussrw cm,-, -"i <•■•'“ 3*
recommendations made by me in my earlier letters to Mr. Barnes, a 0 cn ^
Governor-General, Baluchistan, had caused supply depots to be placed along the rou e
at convenient centres. These are a great boon, not only to traders, but to the nomad
tribes along these deserts.||
. Or mVJ Bolan, Darwaza, Mastung, Kanak up to Nushki, as suggested by Colonel Bell, V.C.,
(ffeneral configuration of the surrounding country as seen when passing close on either side, I ha e..
to believe there are no topographical difficulties whatever.—B.-O. sg the
t Naturally a shorter and more practicable route from bainda.x (vide Map • d , n- j; j
““’t Ve^^toTeftedT/cofo^far' T. H. Iloldich, according to the recent Indo-Afghan Boundary
suitable for commercial or strategical purposes.—B.-C. Ao-ent Governor-
II The major portion of the suggestions and recommendations made by m, » 2g f
General, Baluchistau, have been embodied under the head of “Improvements, on p. 1«, para. 28, ot
Lieutenant Webb-Ware’s Report on the Baluchistan-Persian Caravan Route. ^
(907)
About this item
- Content
This volume is a confidential report, printed at the War Office, by Harrison and Sons, printers in ordinary to Her Majesty, in 1899, and authored by Major George Washington Brazier-Creagh, Intelligence Division, War Office, concerning the resources, administration and general affairs in Baluchistan and Seistan [Sīstān] following his political mission in 1897. The report contains an introduction by the author, (folio 4), dated 5 December 1898, in which he mentions that details from the report are being incorporated into the Baluchistan Gazetteer and Route books. He also pays tribute to Colonel Bell and Captain Henry Dundas Napier who preceded him, as well as Captain Arthur Henry McMahon and George Passman Tate. The text of the report is accompanied by footnotes and section headings appear in the left and right hand margins.
The report includes a table of contents on folio 5 with the following five chapters:
- 'Chapter I. General Account of Journey across the Baluchistan Desert' (folios6-8), including details of incidents en route, future trade prospects, danger threatening commerical prospects, and a list of leading merchants in Seistan;
- Chapter II. Russian Designs and Political Consideration' (folios 8v-10), includsing details of future policy, approaches to Seistan, alternative routes, influential Sardars of Seistan, treatment of refugees by the British Government, and the feeling of the people;
- 'Chapter III. Resources and Population of Seistan' (folios 11-24), including details of administration, fertile places, a list of villages, climate, seasons and winds, sanitation, population, transport (camels, donkeys and horses), windmills, agriculture, industries and trade, Camel Corps, sport and shooting, locusts, and fish;
- 'Chapter IV. Exploration of the District in the West and South' (folio 25), including details of crossing the Dasht-i-Shelag, pollution of wells, character of country, routes, and pilgrimage;
- 'Chapter V. Land System - Revenue and Productions &c' (folios 26-29), including details of ijaras [ ijārah ], tenant rights and responsibilities, hardship of tenants, collection of revenue, culturable area, annual yield, surplus grain, irregularity and delayed water supply, and ancient ruins.
There is a list of nine appendices (folio 5v) as follows:
- 'A.- Geneaological tables of Sarbandi, Kayani, and Naroi tribes' (folios 30-31);
- 'B.- List of Taoki tribes in Seistan' (folio 31v);
- 'C.- Average temperature of each camp', April to November 1897 (folios 32-35);
- 'D.- Aneroid readings', April to November 1897 (folios 36-39);
- 'E.- List of wells and springs', with serial numbers corresponding to 'Map No. II' (folio 39v);
- 'F.- List of villages', with serial numbers corresponding to 'Map No. II' (folios 40-41);
- 'G.- Table of meteorological observations, Baluchistan' (folios 41v-43);
- 'H.- Table of meteorological observations, Seistan' (folios 44-50);
- 'I.- Table of meteorological observations, Neh and Birjand Districts' (folios 50v-51).
The file also includes five maps and sketches, store in a pocket (folio 58). They are listed on folio 5v as follows:
- 'No. 1. Baluchistan and Seistan' (folio 53);
- 'No. 2. Seistan' (folio 54);
- 'No. 3. Route plan of Robat Nala' (folio 55);
- 'No. 4. Waterways of the Helmund [Helmand] Delta' (folio 56);
- ’No. 5. Nasratabad [Naṣratābād] Fort' (folio 57).
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (58 folios)
- Arrangement
This volumes contains a page of contents (folio 5) referencing page numbers.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: The foliation sequence commences at the front cover, and terminates at the inside back cover; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio.Pagination: The volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
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- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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'Reconaissance through Baluchistan and Seistan, 1897' [7r] (18/120), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/300, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100025688316.0x000013> [accessed 8 August 2026]
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- Reference
- Mss Eur F111/300
- Title
- 'Reconaissance through Baluchistan and Seistan, 1897'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 2r:57v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence