Page 371 - PERSIAN 8 1912_1920_Neat

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FOR THE YEAR 1015.
Political Histohy.
The Governor General started off early in the year for a tour through the
District. His main object was certainly sport though, no doubt, lie expected
the tour to he profitable as woll: he is a spendthrift and very fond of money,
but, for a Persian Governor, he is a moderate in the way of extortion. He
planned his tour to tnAe him round hy Bam aud Jiruft to Aqta and Afshar
and hack to Kerman He hailed short of Bam and the Khans of Bam and
Narmashir came out to his camp and paid their respects to him thcro.. Ho went
on through Jiruft and, though it looked at first as if there was going to be
a difficulty with the Zargham-i-Nizam, the latter listened to the advioe of His
Britannic Majesty’s Consul, and went to meet him with proper respect. The
Governor-General received him well and confirmed him in the Governorship
of Rudbar.
Unfortunately, before the camp got beyond the confines of Rudbar, some
Bakhtiaris, who entered a Rudbar village, were fired on and, in a fit of temper,
the Governor-General allowed bis men to make reprisals. This upset the
Zanrliam and he threatened to loot caravans coming up tho Jiruft road.
However, on the representations of Ilis Britannic Majesty’s Consul, the
Governor-General soothed down the Zargliam and the latter superseded his
threatening letters by ono promising to safeguard the road as before. When
tin; Governor-General*got to the end of Jiruft and began to enter tho Aqt'a-
Afshar country he was met by a hostile gathering of the tribes who refused to
allow him to march through their country. lie was attacked by their advan­
ced posts on the border but, the Bakhtiaris drove them in and, after demoli­
shing a few village lowers, his force advanced to Urzu and encamped there.
Husain Khan, Bukagchi, who had joined the Governor-General, ostensibly in
loyal obedience, buo really, simply to spy on him, here decamped and went
over openly to the enemy. The Governor-General was hung up here for some­
time and began to find himself in a difficult position, llis force had about
cleared out the Dis:rict behind it, he was cut off from supplies from Kerman
and the country immediately around him could provide practically nothing in
the way of provirions. lie Avas in a hurry to return to Kerman, before the
arrival of the GciLian o:2ccrcf whose advance agent had already reached
Kerman. He was himself ready to buy off the tribesmen, but was luckily put
off by the Sirdar-i-Kasrat and by the extravagant demauds put forward by
Gunj Ali Khan at uhe instigation of the Democrats in Koriran, fortunately
the tribes themselves solved his difficulties for him by attacking his position
and being badly beaten hy the Bakhtiaris. GuDj Ali Khan was captured,
and Husain Khan only escaped with a handful of men, and was rounded up
without much difficulty. The combination of the tribes was completely
broken up and the Governor-General returned in triumph with his captives to
Kerman. The whole Kerman District and the Baluchis were, of course, in­
tently watching the trial of strength between the Bakhtiaris and the other
tribesmen and. the complete victory of tho Bakhtiaris put tho whole province
into a state of order and quietude, which it had not known for years. This
lasted until the time the Consulate was olosed in all the districts except
Jiruft and a corner of Rudbar so that a separate review of each is unnecessary.
Jiruft and Rudbar unfortunately suffered from an incursion of Baluchis
in October and November and two large caravans of carpets going to Bandar
Abbas were looted hy thorn. The Baluchis were undoubtedly incitecfby Gorman
Agents and were satisfied that tho Governor-General was too occupied by the
Germans in Kormau to detach any force against them, but even so they left
Narmashir alone and only attacked Jiruft Which had no Bakhtiaris in it.
The first half of the year in the Korman city was not marked by any
Kcmum citj. cvc,nt °f importance. Prices wero high
Rad trado was dislocated, but people had
got used to tho new state of affairs The Governor-Goncral loft, m the early
Spring, to tour through the Districts aud the ICormanis waited with interest :
to see how his visit would he taken in Itudbar by tho Zargham who had a
strong inclination towards repudiating the authority of tho Governor-Gonoral
and in Aqta-Afahar by Gunj Ali Klmn into whose district no official had
entered for some years except by special permission. None of tho Kermania

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