Publications, Newspaper Cuttings, Photographs and Correspondence about Persia and the Persian Gulf [‎314v] (631/879)

16
THE TIMES OF INDIA MAIL EDITION.
DIARY OF A TRAVELLER.
The Bakhtiaris.
AHWAZ, January 19
Having completed my journey through their
country it would seem appropriate to offer
some observations in regard to the Bakhtiaris,
particularly in view of the important part
they have recently played in Persian politics.
With a Bakhtiari chief practically leading
the Government in Teheran, and likely to re
main for some time to come the foremost
figure in the new regime, the Bakhtiaris have
become a factor to be included in any examin
ation of the Persian problem.
Our acquaintance with them is of com-
paratively recent date. Though Layard under
went the experiences so graphically described
in his “Early Adventures” some seventy years
ago, that fascinating work was not published
until forty years later. Meanwhile other
travellers had given us accounts of the Bakh
tiaris all of which have been comprehensively
summarised by Lord Curzon. Subsequent to
the appearance of the latter’s “Persia’ fur
ther wanderers have confirmed what their pre
decessors observed, the common conclusion be
ing that the Bakhtiaris were exceptionally
clever thieves, and that they possessed the
independent and generous character usually
associated with mountain peoples. Most are
agreed that they constitute fine material for
the army, the experience of Sir Henry Raw
linson, who recruited Bakhtiari regiments while
engaged in reorganising the Persian army con
firming this opinion.
Tribal Organisation.
To understand recent events in Persia in
which the Bakhtiaris were concerned some
knowledge of their internal economy is neces
sary. The tribe appears always to have been
divided into two main sections, the Chahar
Lang and the Haft Lang. In Layard’s time
the Chahar Lang were predominant and held
all the important tribal offices, the rival sec
tion apparently being without power or in
fluence. Jealous of the prestige of Layard’s
friend, the Chahar Lang Illkhani (Chief of
the Khans), Mohamed Taki Khan, the then
Shah, sent an expedition into his country and
broke his power. The Ilkhaniship was then
given to a Khan of the Haft Lang, since when
that section has completely lorded it over the
other. The present position is that the fami
lies of four brothers of the Haft Lang, all de
ceased, monopolise the tribal offices and com
pletely ■ rule the tribal councils. Were there
unanimity between these sets of cousins the
Bakhtiaris would be a formidable community,
for their numerical strength is considerable,
though their power for offence outside their
own territory is comparatively small. But
family feuds and jealousies have been the
curse of the Bakhtiari since time immemorial,
a state of affairs encouraged by the Shahs of
Persia with the object of keeping the tribe
down. Layard has described the subjection
of Mohamed Taki Khan, and middle-aged
people will recollect how a recent Shah, Nasr-
ed-din, procured the murder of the Bakhtiari
Ilkhani The paramount chief of certain tribes in south west Iran. of the day because of his growing
power. The recent entrance of the Bakhtiaris
into Persian politics is also in great part a
consequence of royal interference in their af
fairs. Mohamed Ali Shah deprived Samsam-
es-Sultaneh of his Ilkhaniship, whereupon that
injured chief hoisted nationalist colours, and
set afoot the Bakhtiari movement which was
ultimately mainly instrumental in forcing
Mohamed Ali from the throne. The Samsan
could have borne the loss of the Ilkhaniship
if it had not been intended to give it to his
own cousin, of whom he was desperately jea
lous.
Internal Feuds.
So recently as 1906 and again in 1907,
the internal struggle for supremacy among the
Bakhtiaris had nearly reached a crisis, for in
both years the clansmen had been assembled
to fight for their respective sides. This being
the constant condition of affairs in Bakhtiari-
land, it is not surprising that the Bakhtiaris
took a long time to make up their minds to
march on Teheran. Even when they did they
were not united for one of the leading Khans
had sworn on the Koran to fight for Mohamed
All—so had others, who ultimately had the
prudence, to forget their oaths—and fight he
Ai- against his own people, until Mohamed
Ali himself threw up the sponge. That Khan,
Amir Mufukham, thus lost the Ilkhaniship at
which he aimed, and has now seen the tribal
power concentrated in the opposing faction.
When I met him at Shamsabad, barely three
weeks ago, however he appeared to be on the
most friendly terms with the cousins
who had blasted his hopes. It
may be that the Bakhtiaris will be wise
enough for the future to sink their internal
differences in the endeavour to advance tribal
interest in general and to obtain a
greater predominance in the country than they
even now possess. On the other hand the old
jealousies and feuds are not likely to disap
pear all at once; they may even be accen
tuated by recent events. Bakhtiari quarrel-
ling though seemingly fatal to the interests
of the tribe, must therefore always be regard
ed as a contingency of Persian politics. The
effect of a Bakhtiari split might be far-reach-
in that defection of one faction from the
Nationalist side might mean its adhesion to
the forces of reaction, which though power
less for the moment are far from lifeless
Interested Constitutionalism,
The Bakhtiaris are at present ardent cons
titutionalists, as well they may be, for adop
tion of the cause has made one of their Khans
the most important man in Teheran, another
Governor of Isfahan, one of the most import
ant provinces, and two others governors of
other provinces. A good deal of loot came into
the possession of the tribesmen during the
troubles, and where that came from more may
come. I shall long remember how one horse-
man who rode with me for several days through
the Bakhtiari mountains rejoiced openly in
going home to his family with seventy tomans 10,000 Persian dinars, or a gold coin of that value.
(£12). I asked him how he got so large a
sum of money and he explained with all the en
thusiasm of an expert that he found it when
they were pillaging a house on the way from
Kashan. Needless to say the tribesmen have
not the remotest conception of what a cons
titution signifies, the most primitive form of
education even being entirely absent from their
scheme of existence. It is enough for them. that
their chiefs profess it, and that the profes
sion entails profit for them. Nevertheless the
ancient faithfulness of the tribesman to his
chief is far from what it used to be, and the
situation is now such that the various Khans
have to be extremely circumspect in their
treatment of their adherents. Special causes
in fact have been at work of recent years con
siderably to modify the internal situation and
to alter the simple and old-fashioned relations
which used to exist between the people and
their national leaders.
British and Bakhtiaris.
British relations with the Bakhtiaris have
been far from satisfactory at times during the
last few years. Official connection with them
commenced with the opening of the trade route
between Ahwaz and Isfahan. The firm of
Lynch Brothers undertook the improvement of
the existing track and the construction of three
bridges at an estimated cost of £5,500. Un
fortunately £8,500 was spent in the work, al
though only two of the bridges were built.
Lynchs asked for acknowledgment of the ex
tra £3,000, but the Bakhtiaris countered with
a demand for reduction on account of the un
constructed bridge. Lynch’s figure of £5,000
had been only an estimate, not a contract price,
so the extra charge was perfectly reasonable,
particularly as it would appear that the addi
tional cost was largely due to the Bakhtiari
failure to assist with labour and material at
cheap rates. At the sametime Lynchs, know
ing themselves to be dealing with Orientals,
ought to have been extremely careful about ex
ceeding the estimated expenditure. As it was
the Bakhtiaris regarded the additional cost as
an imposition and utterly refused to ack-
nowledge it. The matter being referred to the
Legation, it was decided that Lynchs could not
demand the extra £3,000, while as regards the
unconstructed bridge the Bakhtiaris them-
selves built it, and the British Government
paid the cost, some £800. The latter part of
the decision was probably due to the feeling
that Lynchs had been unfortunate as regards
their claim, while political expediency sug-
gested the appeasement of the Bakhtiaris by
the present of the bridge—this took place in
1904, before there was any idea of an Anglo-
Russian rapprochment.
Divers Disputes.
Other points were in hot dispute. The
arrangement was that the capital expen
diture in connection with the route was
to be repayable in twenty-five an
nual instalments with interest at 6 per cent.
The Bakhtiaris having fallen behind with the
instalments Lynchs put in an account which
included interest on arrears; they also includ
ed charges for repairs of bridges and other
minor items. AR of these the Bakhtiaris de
clined to admit. Eventually, however, they
paid up the arrears and certain of the charges,
but it is understood that Lynchs still press the
British Government to support their claim for
the £3,000 additional cost, and for the interest
on arrears. Within the last year or two the
Bakhtiaris vigorously protested against paying
the expenses of an engineer to inspect the
bridges, and for the cost of painting them,
treatment which is essential for the preserva
tion of the ironwork from corrosion. All ques
tions between the Bakhtiaris and Lynchs have
remained in abeyance of late owing to the for
mer being occupied with politics. With the
return to Persia of Sirdar Leader of a tribe or a polity; also refers to a military rank or title given to a commander of an army or division. Assad, and the adop
tion of liberal ideas by tune Bakhtiaris, it is
fully expected that petty differences will dis
appear and that relations henceforth will be
more satisfactory. The Nationalist movement
in Persia has an ardent supporter in Mr. H.
|F. B. Lynch, the member for Ripon, and it
would certainly be ungracious of the Bakh-
tiaris to continue to suspect the bona tides of
the firm of which he is principal.
Neglect of the Road.
In connection with the trade route, however,
there are certain points upon which the Bakh
tiaris would be very well advised to take action.
The Lynch road which I followed across their
mountains was not meant to be anything but
a mule track, so one never expected to be
able to drive a carriage along it. At the
same time much of the good work done by
Lynch’s engineers is rendered useless by de-
ter-ioration, many parts of the road being
extremely difficult even for the nimble mule
Moreover there are practically no caravanserais
on the road, with the result that muleteers
have to put up with considerable hardships,
while merchandise is liable to damage from
rain for lack of protection. Further, mule
teers, though the goods carried are guaranteed
against robbery, are continually being squeez-
e d in a small way, by wandering tribesmen, who
ask them for their tea and bread and tobacco
in a masterful manner that is not to be denied
Complaints meet with no redress. But wors
of all from the muleteers’ point of view are the
exorbitant prices charged for forage, when
ever opportunity offers. The animals must
be fed on the road, and only the Bakhtiaris
possess supplies. The object of the Bakhtiaris
route is to cheapen the transport charges to
the interior of Persia, Lynchs profiting by the
traffic on the Karun River, the Bakhtiaris by
the tolls levied on the goods in transit. But
the Bakhtiaris are killing the goose that lays
the golden eggs by neglecting to keep their
road in repair, by allowing the muleteer to be
mulcted and by failing to provide accomoda
tion by the way, this latter reason accounting
to a great extent for the closure of the road
for three months in the winter.
The Oil Fields.
The affairs of the oil syndicate gave rise to
difficulties of a much more serious kind and
nothing goes further to demonstrate Bakhtiari
ignorance of the world and affairs generally
than the behaviour of the Khans a few years
ago. A stipulation of the agreement between
the Bakhtiaris and the syndicate was that
guards should be provided for the exploitation
camps. £2,000 per annum was to be paid for
this protection, against which the Bakhtiaris
were to be responsible for the safety of life and
property, and to give compensation for loss from
robbery. Despite the guards, however, the
greatest inconvenience was suffered from con-
tinuous. and systematic robbing of material.
Complaints were rudely met and relations be
came generally strained. In 1907 a European
employee of the syndicate was assaulted in the
neighbourhood of the fields : the headman of a
village appeared on the scene and stopped dril
ling operations : the manager of the fields was
actually threatened by his own guards. In ad
dition to . this provocation the Bakhtiaris
threatened to denounce the agreement and to
divest themselves of responsibility for the
safety of the employees if claims for compensa
tion of robberies continued to be presented. In
this intolerable state of affairs, the quarterly
instalment of the guard money was withheld
as a protest. A deputation of the Khans then
visited the Legation in Teheran demanding
payment of the money withheld, and the trans
fer of negotiations from the Ahwaz Consulate
to that of Isfahan, the official of the former
place not pleasing them on account of his sup
port of the oil syndicate’s claims. Both de
mands met with a refusal, whereupon the de
putation formally repudiated responsibility for
the protection of the camp. Meanwhile the
Legation had been pressing for the punishment
of the assailants of the oil company employee
who had been assaulted in July. As no steps
were taken by the Bakhtiaris the Legation ap
plied to the Persian Government which put
pressure on the Khans with the result that the
offenders were publicly beaten in October.
Thieving still continued at the oil-camps, how
ever, and as there seemed no prospect of im-
Provement the Home Government took a step
that had been long in contemplation, and which
redounds very much to their credit. Two Bri
tish officers, eight sowars, and twelve native
infantry were brought from India and sent up
to the oil-fields.
A Warning.
As protection this small force was, of course,
totally inadequate, but it proved amply suffi
cient to show to the Bakhtiaris that the British
Government intended to stand no more non
sense. The Bakhtiaris immediately climbed
down, since when matters have gone much more
smoothly and it has been found possible to
withdraw the Indian guards. This, of course,
is an old story now, and as, in the case of the
Lynch affairs, it may confidently be hoped that
for. the future the Bakhtiaris will prove less
difficult to deal with, and more alive to their
own interests.
DAVID FRASER.
REVOLVER ACCIDENT.
A curious revolver accident occurred to a E.
spean, named James Caniff, at Calcutta on
-unday, resulting in his bring badly -injured,
daniff has only been in India about a year, and
is employed at Whiteaway and Laidlaw. He re-
sided at the Xaverian Club Chambers. On
Sunday Caniff was seated in his room in com
pany with other residents of the club, named
Herd, Hudson and Lackerstien. Herd was
showing them a revolver which had recently
been given him by his uncle. Taking it ou
of a box, he handed it to Caniff, who tried t
pull the trigger, but found it very stiff. Her
then took it from him saying: “You must us
more force.’ He proceeded to pull the trigger
He did so twice harmlessly. The third tim
the revolver went off. The revolver, which wa
believed to have been empty, was pointed to
ward Caniff. The bullet struck him in the face
He was wearing glasses at the time and th
bullet first struck his glasses and then entered
his face near the left eye, shattering the bridg.
of the nose. The injured man was removed t
the Presidency The name given to each of the three divisions of the territory of the East India Company, and later the British Raj, on the Indian subcontinent. General Hospital. The. police
came on the scene of the occurrence and fount
the revolver to be a seven-chambered one
Herd was surprised when he heard this as he
was under the impression that it was only six
chambered. was due to this fact that the
acid nt occurred. The revolver was loaded,
when Herd received it from his uncle, and about
a fortnight ago he unloaded it, thinking how-
ever that it was, a six-chambered one He did
not extract the last cartridge and it was this |
cartridge that caused the accident.
trans womrd" be—a" Tff 1
communvy.
for their numerical strength is considerable,
though their power for offence outside their
own territory is comparatively small. But
family feuds and jealousies have been the
curse of the Bakhtiar since time immemorial,
a state of affairs encouraged by the Shahs of
Persia with the object of keeping the tribe
down. Layard has described the subjection
of Mohamed Taki Khan, and middle-aged
people will recollect how a recent Shah, Nasr-
ed-din, procured the murder of the Bakhtiari
Ilkhani The paramount chief of certain tribes in south west Iran. of the day because of his growing
power. The recent entrance of the Bakhtiaris
into Persian politics is also in great part a
consequence of royal interference in their af
fairs. Mohamed Ali Shah deprived Samsam-
es-Sultaneh of his Ilkhaniship, whereupon that
injured chief hoisted nationalist colours, and
set afoot the Bakhtiari movement which was
ultimately mainly instrumental in forcing
Mohamed Ali from the throne. The Samsan
could have borne the loss of the Ilkhaniship
if it had not been intended to give it to his
own cousin, of whom he was desperately jea
lous.
unconstr ucteu oragetebarnt ans the ttt -
selves built it, and the British Government
paid the cost, some £800. The latter part of
the decision was probably due to the feeling
that Lynchs had been unfortunate as regards
their claim, while political expediency sug-
gested the appeasement of the Bakhtiaris by
the present of the bridge—this took place in
1904, before there was any idea of an Anglo-
Russian
Divers
Other
rrangement
rapprochment.
Disputes.
points were in
was that
hot dispute. The
the capital expen-
diture in connection with the route
was
prove ment the Home Government took a step
that had been long in contemplation, and which
redounds very much to their credit. Two Bri-
tish officers, eight sowars, and twelve native-
infantry were brought from India and sent up
to the oil-fields.
Internal Feuds.
So recently as 1906 and again in 1907,
the internal struggle for supremacy among the
Bakhtiaris had nearly reached a crisis, for in
both years the clansmen had been assembled
to fight for their respective sides. This being
the constant condition of affairs in Bakhtiari-
land, it is not surprising that the Bakhtiaris
took a long time to make up their minds to
march on Teheran. Even when they did they
were not united for one of the leading Khans
had sworn on the Koran to fight for Mohamed
Ali—so had others, who ultimately had the
prudence to forget their oaths—and fight he
did, against his own people, until Mohamed
Ali himself threw up the sponge. That Khan,
Amir Mufukham, thus lost the Ilkhaniship at
he aimed, and has now seen the tribal
which
power
When
weeks
most
who
concentrated in the opposing faction.
I met him at Shamsabad, barely three
ago, however he appeared to be on the
friendly terms with
had blasted his
the cousins
hopes. It
to be repayable in twenty-five an
nual instalments with interest at 6 per cent.
The Bakhtiaris having fallen behind with the
instalments Lynchs put in an account which
included interest on arrears ; they also includ
ed charges for repairs of bridges and other
minor items. All of these the Bakhtiaris de
clined to admit. Eventually, however, they
laid up the arrears and certain of the charges,
but it is understood that Lynchs still press the
British Government to support their claim for
the £3,000 additional cost, and for the interest
on arrears. Within the last year or two the
Bakhtiaris vigorously protested against paying
the expenses of an engineer to inspect the
bridges, and for the cost of painting them,
treatment which is essential for the preserva
tion of the ironwork from corrosion. All ques
tions between the Bakhtiaris and Lynchs have
remained in abeyance of late owing to the for
mer being occupied with politics. With the
return to Persia of Sirdar Leader of a tribe or a polity; also refers to a military rank or title given to a commander of an army or division. Assad, and the adop
tion of liberal ideas by t<ne Bakhtiaris, it is
fully expected that petty differences will dis
appear and that relations henceforth will be
more satisfactory. The Nationalist movement
in Persia has an ardent supporter in Mr. H.
|F. B. Lynch, the member for Ripon, and it
would certainly be ungracious of the Bakh
tiaris to continue to suspect the bona fides of
the firm of which he is principal.
A Warning.
As protection this small force was, of course, |
totally inadequate, but it proved amply suffi
cient to show to the Bakhtiaris that the British [
Government intended to stand no more non
sense. The Bakhtiaris immediately climbed ।
down, since when matters have gone much more
smoothly and it has been found possible to
withdraw the Indian guards. This, of course, ‘
is an old story now, and as, in the case of the 2
Lynch affairs, it may confidently be hoped that 3
for the future the Bakhtiaris will prove less 7
difficult to deal with, and more alive to their :
own interests. ,
DAVID FRASER.
REVOLVER ACCIDENT.
A
curious revolver accident occurred to a
II
a:
31
S
Eu-
may be that the Bakhtiaris will be wise
enough for the future to sink their internal
differences in the endeavour to advance tribal
interest in general and to obtain a
greater predominance in the country than they
even now possess. On the other hand the old
jealousies and feuds are not likely to disap
pear all at once; they may even be accen
tuated by recent events. Bakhtiari quarrel
ling, though seemingly fatal to the interests
of the tribe, must therefore always be regard
ed as a contingency of Persian politics. The
effect of a Bakhtiari split might be far-reach
ing, in that defection of one faction from the
Nationalist side might mean its adhesion to
the forces of reaction, which though power
less for the moment are far from lifeless.
Neglect of the Road.
In connection with the trade route, however,
there are certain points upon which the Bakh
tiaris would be very well advised to take action.
The Lynch road which I followed across their
mountains was not meant to be anything but
a mule track, so one never expected to be
able to drive a carriage along it. At the
same time much of the good work done by
Lynch’s engineers is rendered useless by de
terioration, many parts of the road being
extremely difficult even for the nimble mule.
Moreover there are practically no caravanserais
on the road, with the result that muleteers
have to put up with considerable hardships,
while merchandise is liable to damage from
rain for lack of protection. Further, mule
teers, though the goods carried are guaranteed
against robbery, are continually being squeez
ed in a small way by wandering tribesmen, who
ask them for their tea and bread and tobacco
in a masterful manner that is not to be denied.
1pean, named James Caniff, at Calcutta ontu
Sunday, resulting in his being badly injured. 31
Saniff has only been in India about a year, and"
is employed at Whiteaway and Laidlaw. He re
sided at the Xaverian Club Chambers. On
Sunday Caniff was seated in his room in com‘J
pany with other residents of the club, named"
Herd, Hudson and Lackerstien. Herd was
showing them a revolver which had recently! 1
been given him by his uncle. Taking it on?
of a box, he handed it to Caniff, who tried tu
pull the trigger, but found it very stiff. Herd
then took it from him saying: “You must us,
more force.’ He proceeded to pull the trigger
He did so twice harmlessly. The third tim 1
the revolver went off. The revolver, which wa”
believed to have been empty, was pointed to
ward Caniff. The bullet struck him in the face
He was wearing glasses at the time and the
bullet first struck his glasses and then entered
his face near the left eye, shattering the bridg
of the nose. The injured man was removed t
the Presidency The name given to each of the three divisions of the territory of the East India Company, and later the British Raj, on the Indian subcontinent. General Hospital. The police
came on the scene of the occurrence and
the revolver to be a seven-chambered
Herd was surprised when he heard this
fount
one.
as he
was under the impression that it was only six
chambered. It was due to this fact that the
accid nt occurred. The revolver was loaded,
when Herd received it from his uncle, and about
a fortnight ago he unloaded it, thinking how
ever that it was a six-chambered one He did
not extract the last cartridge and it was this
cartridge that caused the accident.