The Geographical Journal (Journal of the Royal Geographical Society): Volume XVI, No. 6 [‎373v] (99/232)

672 ON THE AFGHAN FRONTIER: A RECONNAISSANCE IN SHUGNAN.
prosperity, repulsed him with scornful words. The holy man thereupon, angered
at their shameful forgetfulness of the laws of hospitality as enjoined by the
prophet on all the faithful, changed their kibitkas into stone.
On the right-hand side, we soon come to a ravine which bears the characteristic
name “ Duzakh-Dara ” (hell’s ravine). This is quite a misnomer, if the much-
quoted dictum, “ Facilis est descensus averni,” is right, for the road which leads
through this ravine is most difficult. Right opposite the ravine Duzakh-Dara,
in the centre of the Jaushankuz valley, may be seen ruins of the old fortlet
J aushankuz-kala.
Alter ascending a small ridge a little further on, the ruins of an old Shugnan
village became visible. The road then led us through a small stone ravine, and
thence continued along the Jaushankuz valley again, to the junction of the
river with the Yrang. From this junction, in reality, commences the river
Shakh-Dara. Here we were met by the Shugnan Khudoyar, who acts as “ aksakala”
(governor) over Shakh-Dara, having been appointed to the office by the Afghans,
when they took possession of the country.
Khudoyar is a tall, fine-looking, energetic man, with the characteristic features
of the Pamir-Tajiks. Barred from any but casual intercourse with the surrounding
countries by almost untraversable mountains and the neighbouring desert, the
Tajiks of Shugnan were forced to intermarry among themselves, and thus to keep
pure, though debilitated, their original Aryan blood. Another thing to strengthen
this isolation was the fact of their being Shiites,” who are heretics, and worse
than dogs in the opinion of the surrounding Sunites. Khudoyar was accompanied
y a jiguit” a tall, fine young fellow, dressed in the gray uniform of the
Afghans, with bright buttons, carrying a curved Afghan sword. I could not help
looking on him with suspicion, and the more I looked, the less satisfaction I got
from his cunning, evil-looking face. He disappeared soon-“ gone home,” we were
told—and that was all the information we could glean about him.
Eventually we got quite accustomed to the various uniforms, but at the
beginning the sight of them raised rather uncomfortable feelings.
the 7 I77 f th6 “ ki3hlag ” (encampment) Yrang, we rode along
ovprb f 7 7 bhakh - Dara ’ soi netimes making our way over bare rocks which
anr Pnt DS f 7 v’- ^ sometimes throu S h will ow bushes, till we reached the
700 v f ° k r7 UVat ; AcC ° rding t0 local tradi tion this fort was erected
0 years ago by the Amir Koi-Kuvat; and its strategical position, built as it is
the obi fT PerP< !f d r ° ck ’ Was certainl 7 very well chosen. At the present,
o Kurban D 8 !^ '77 S6Veral hUtS ’ “ sakl ^ a ” which serve as winter quarters
Kurhan-Datkha and his numerous family. The surrounding country is very
sXedforthen- ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ w'e
was^sotof'tW Th0Ugh 8ti11 earl y> the southern sun
as so hot, that some of us sought the friendly shade of the willow-clumps where
we could tranquilly he and gaze our fill at the beautiful landscape before us The
bright emeralds of the valley at our feet, made brilliant by the changffiniow of the
Ik? whilsTthe 0UtHneS °/ th6 m0UntaiDS StandiDg ° Ut a^nSThe blue
from wh eh w ^ ^ aU C ° mbined t0 make U P a P icture
irom which we were loth to move. ^
When the time flxed for the halt had expired, it was very unwillingly that we
rose to our feet and prepared to continue our journey. ° J
A little further on the road passed to the right bank of the Shakh-Dara and we
Which Z S “ td P f0rd - aW half a mile B.wlS.Mat:
which was agreed on as our night's halting-place, we had again to ford another