Notes Prepared for Reference during Curzon’s Tour of the Persian Gulf, and Other Papers on Persia and the Persian Gulf [‎219v] (438/678)

place, is let by the Sultan of Muscat for 22,000 dollars a year, now equal to
about Its. 33,000 at the rate of a dollar to Its. 1^.
The imports amount to Rs. 6,00,000, of which 4-1 lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees go to Kej Makran
and consist of :—
Piece goods, jowari, rice, wheat flour, tea, sugar, spices.
The exports amount to Rs. 8,00,000, of which 6 lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees are from Kej and
consist of :—
Wool, cotton, ghi, pulse, fish and dates.
The customs duty levied on all these is a uniform rate of 4 per cent., od
valorem. The telegraph staff at Gwadur, owing to the persistent malarious
fever of the place, from which all foreigners suffer alike, has now been reduced
to one man, who is both telegraph clerk and post master. A Parsi holds the
post and a second was sent by the Director with me to assist him during my
stay in Makran.
A Baluch 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. , by name Abdul Rahim, born at Gwadur, and a Muscat
subject, known as the Native Assistant at Gwadur, and whose pay is Rs. 40 per
mensem, is the representative of the Director of Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. lelegraphs in his
capacity of Political Officer in charge of the Makran Coast. According to
him Gwadur (Muscat) territory extends to the Karwat River on the east and
Pishukan on the west. On the north the line of hills form the boundary.
Pishukan is held by an Arab representative of the Wali of Gwadur with two
Arab sepoys Term used in English to refer to an Indian infantryman. Carries some derogatory connotations as sometimes used as a means of othering and emphasising race, colour, origins, or rank. and contains some 20 families of Baluchis. The customs contract
is included in that for Gwadur.
Asked abcut the capabilities of the different Makran ports, Abdul Rahim
stated that Gwadur was the best, Charbar second, Gwettar third, Jiwani, op
posite Gwettar and near the mouth of the Dasht River in Kej territory, fourth,
and Pasni fifth. Jiwani was said to possess 300 houses and 16 boats. Shimal
Bandar to have only five or six families of Baluchis and no boats.
I see no reason why Pasni, which is the nearest harbour to Kej, should not
be developed, and why British Baluchistan should not have a harbour of its
own. At present all trade seems to gravitate to Gwadur, a foreign port, but
this might be altered were Pasni and Jiwani properly developed. Macgregor,
at page 13 of his book “Wanderings in Baluchistan,” considers Pasni and
Jiwani as the most suitable places for the landing of troops owing to the greater
convenience of the routes from them leading into the interior. I hope to inspect
both places later on.
In the afternoon I inspected the town of Gwadur. There is one narrow
street in which the Khojahs and Hindus have their shops. The centre of the
town comprises a walled enclosure with two whitewashed round towers called
the fort, in which the Wali resides with his men and in which the Khojahs and
Hindus live with their families.
The Wali’s Court-house is a long entrance passage with a stone ledge, as a
seat, on either side. Inside the Khojahs have a fine building as a Musjid, from
the roof of which a good view of the place can be obtained all round. The
Musjid had all been freshly done up in the hopes of a visit from Agha Khan,
and the flags put up in my honour were originally obtained in Agba Khan’s
honour.
I was joined at the fort by the Wali and his men and they took me to see
the Jama Musjid, a grand stone building built by subscription with a Kanda-
hari Moolla, curiously enough, in charge of it who is also the Kazi of the town
and sits with the Wali for the settlement of cases in the entrance passage to the
fort above described. All the rest of the town consisted of Baluch mat huts.
To the south of the town lay some cemeteries, in one of which a stone
domed mausoleum had an inscription on the eastern wall “ Built by Nakhuda,
Bangi, Ismail, to the memory of Mirak, Bang! and Allahdad Bangi, dated
873 H.” or A.D. 1468.
On the top of the headland is an ancient dam across a small ravine formed
of large blocks of stone, all dovetailed one into the other.
Saturday, the 7th December 1901 .—Gwadur to first Nagor wells, 5 miles.
In the morning the Wali of Gwadur came to call. I had a talk with him about