File 3516/1914 Pt 18 'German War: Persia; general situation - 1916' [‎131r] (272/368)

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things for the road, also Mr. Ayrton’s man, but when they returned with them
they found their masters gone and were not allowed to follow them, though
they expressed their willingness to.
The womenfolk having protested against riding mules were promised
“ kajavehs,” but they were not allowed to wait for them but were permitted
the use of the Bank Manager’s carriage and hurried off out of Shiraz. The
men were allowed to ride their horses of which there were 16 belonging to the
British Government which the Consul brought away with him It was now
3 p.M. and the party duly started without having had any food since 8-30 a.m.
At the last minute Mr. Pettigrew was kejt back as well as Mr. and Mrs.
Zeytoon.
The first halt was made at the Baghi Jennett, then after a half hour’s
rest the party arrived at dusk at Chenerdar and hoped to spend the night there,
all being tired out. But on the arrival of the baggage and “ kajavehs ” at
midnight they were roused again. Mr. Pettigrew and Mr. Misso also arrived,
the latter a Cingalese Bank clerk having refused to remain behind. They
balanced each other in kajavehs and so the party of 7 men and 4 womenfolk—
one of them girl of 11—and 10 sowars, besides a British Indian refugee
from Mesopotamia travelled the whole night in bitter cold, on the coldest stage
on the whole road, arriving benumbed and worn out at 7 a.m. at Khaneh
Zenian on November 11th.
The party was in charge of the officer who arrested the Bank staff and who
now became quite friendly and chatty. He allowed them to stay there all day
and to make themselves as comfortable as possible, at the same time guarding
them very strictly and allowing no liberty whatever. An early start was
made next day and after a short rest at Dashtarjin Telegraph Office, Mian
Kotal, was reached in safety and no untoward incident occurred. But the
next day’s march was a very different affair. Till now the Gendarmerie
officers had been outwardly friendly and had talked freely with their prisoners
and accepted the latter’s offers of smokes, giving no hint of the hostility in
store for them at Kazerun.
As the little party approached the town quite unsuspiciously they^ were
met first l* farsahhs away—by a large body of horsemen headed by the Nasr-i-
Divan who rode up and joined the Consul. At the same time some 3,000
townspeople of all sorts poured out to meet the little cavalcade. Boys and
men closed in on both sides of the prisoners, hooting, jeering, cursing, and
screaming insults at the womenfolk. They spat at them and insulted them
in every manner, while bands of women placed at different points of vantage
uttered a shrill whinnying cry of derision in chorus. The Mullahs headed
separate detachments and raised the cries against the British and for the
Independence of Persia, but after a time utter confusion reigned and no cry
was distinctly audible beyond a hoarse shout of rage and nothing visible but a
seethin" mass of people surging in clouds of dust. The Britishers never moved
a muscfe which enraged the populace and when ^ they began to throw stones
the Gendarmes looked uneasy and anxious. Pinally the procession arrived
at the Gendarmerie garden where amid renewed hoots the party were dismounted
and snown to their quarters.
These were a pleasant surprise and the Gendarme officer expressed his
apologies for the behaviour of the mob, although he well knew that an
organized hostile reception was awaiting the prisoners. He promised that
they should not be subjected to any further demonstrations in Hazerun and
on the morrow there was no crowd to witness the departure. But tie next
unpleasant surprise was the confiscation—just as the start was being made or
all the horses. An order from the Shiraz “ Committee for the Preservation of
the Independence of Persia ” as it called itself came by wire ordering the con
fiscation, so all the Government horses (16 in all) as well as Mr Ayrtons
private horse were kept. Mr. Livingstone’s horse had been stolen the first day
out while his groom was bringing it after him. Mr. Ferguson had been
ridine a Government horse, his carriage and two horses having been seized at
Chenardar at the first long halt. From Kazerun onwards the men had to
ride baggage mules all except Major O’Connor, who was given a horse.