ملف ١٩١٦/٣٣٦٠ الجزء ١ "مراسلات بلاد فارس (١٩١٦-١٩١٧)" [و‎‎١‎٩‎٦] (٨٠٤/٣٩٦)

whereabouts of Hussain Khan are unknown, but it is said he has gone to
Balvard. Enquiries are being made. He is unlikely to leave there for some
time unless we move. But I propose to move against him to-morrow if he is
there. Bruggman, Lorentz the Sarhang and Schahzad Hussain are said to
^ have been with him. The Safir and Aghans are said to have not been
here. A
My mounted men have been patrolling from dawn 28th to dawn 29th and
all day yesterday to prevent any enemy tufangchis getting away. All the
rifle men who helped the enemy are still hiding in the town, and owners of
towers held by the enemy have all fled, and I find it absolutely impossible to
find the culprits or disarm the men who fought against us because nobody
will help us and we cannot recognise them. They have buried their arms.
5. As none of us have any doubt that the very large majority of the men
firing on us, were provided by the townspeople, and it’s like looking for a
needle in a haystack to find these men, I am informing the Adl-es-Sultan that
the town must pay a fine of Ts. 15,000, which I will take in horses, supplies or
cash. For this I request that sanction may be granted. If this is nut
considered advisable it can be returned.
6 . I have no ammunition for the Mountain Gun except 4 case shot and
4 star shell, and I would request that at least 200 rounds for this gun be sent
to me at once. The fight we were engaged in lasted all day and we had only
50 rounds with us. Really this gun is not big enough to break down towers
without a large expenditure of ammunition and I would suggest that either a
bigger gun be sent here or motors or another mountain gun be sent here with
at least 200 rounds per gun. I am told that either of these is available in
Kerman.
7 . I attach a list of casualties we sustained, and beg that a town that
helped an outlaw to this extent should be heavily punished. The Persians
themselves have nothing to say when we accuse the town of helping Hussain
Khan and the thing is obvious to us. i'he only outsiders here are a caravan
of Laris who have 60 good rifles. They arrived a day before Hussain Khan
and I consider the coincidence very suspicious. I myself had a bullet through
my topee and I think that efforts should be made to get proper compensa
tion out of the Persian Government for the killed and wounded.
8 . I am taking it upon myself to keep the whole of my force here until
I get further orders. In view of the now proved fact that a large proportion
of the local population is against us, and that Hussain Khan is again in the
neighbourhood, or could at any rate reach here whenever he wishes to, ^ and the
probability of having to defend a town of this size, and at the same time keep
a striking force available to attack him if I can find out where he is. I hope
that no reduction will be made in favour of other places. The force is
absurdly small for the duties asked of it.
9 . I wish to add that I had arranged to put picquets all round the town
on the evening of the 27 th in consequence of the rumours of the possibility of
Hussain Khan’s coming, when I received from two sources news which
seemed to make this impossible, and in consequence did not put out the
picquets.
I think it quite likely that the Safir, Obeidullah, and the Afghans have
gone towards Afghanistan, but they must be half way there by now. The
greatest difficulty here is to get any information, without any telegram or
means of rapid transit, and with most people concerned in sending us astray
or hiding information until it is too late.
10. Of Merrill’s irregular force only about 30 sowars and 60 tufangchis
gave us any kind of help, and that only at a safe distance.
11. If we are not to leave Sirjan yet for Kerman please send us, in addi
tion to the gun ammunition asked for:—
2 drums of rifle oil,
30 boxes of small arms ammunition ’303.