of Rome, her resources were infinite; | ciently impressive to secure the safety but, we do wonder at the structures of of its officers and servants, as such; but Athens; and by what means her trea- among the savages of Beloochistan, of sury stood the run upon it, we cannot the sandy deserts, or of the snowy mounwell conceive. Perhaps, the art of a tains, this protection was unavailing. statesman, in the situation of Pericles, was most conspicnous in this department; which leads us to observe, as a close to these remarks, that while costly ostentation marks the Roman edifices, the Grecian certainly produce the most striking effects, the most impressive display of art and dignity, at the smallest expense of time, labour and money: Grecian Art is, therefore, the best adapted to an Architect's purpose when economy is the order of the day, and moderation is the wish of his employer. Travels in Beloochistan and Sinde; accompanied by a Geographical and Historical Account of those Countries, with a Map. By Lieut. Henry Pottinger, of the E. I. C. Service. 4to. pp. 458. Longman & Co. London. 1816. · THIS volume forms a continuation of the History of those exertions on the part of our country to counteract the political manoeuvres of Bonaparte in India, with which our readers are already well acquainted. The Embassies of Sir John Malcolm, of Sir Harford Jones, of Mr. Elphinstone, were parts of the same whole; and these Travels of Lieut. Pottinger, and Capt. Christie, his companion, are now published for the information of the public, respecting countries which may be visited from a sense of duty, but certainly not from anticipation of delight. Not the least arduous of these undertakings fell to the lot of the Travellers before us. The country they volunteered to explore, was understood to be barbarous; its people to be rude fanatics, and its accommodations the very reverse of those to which civilized life is accustomed. Though the nature of the East India Company be an impenetrable secret to the people, yet in most parts of India, the renown of its armies or of its dealings, of its power as a state, or of its purchases as a commercial agent, is suffi We cannot but sympathize with our countrymen, when prudence impels them, in the first place, to adopt a disguise; and when instead of maintaining their true character, they assume the appearance of horse dealers, and present themselves as underlings of an eminent Hindoo merchant, whose dealings with the Company ensured his services and his fidelity. It was in this character that our adventurous travellers quitted Bombay harbour, Jan. 2, 1810, on board a small native boat, in company with several Uffghan horse-dealers, on their return to their own country. Some of these they found useful; others, detrimental, in the issue. Nor was this the only disguise that necessity imposed on these adventu rers, character of a religious devotee of the The poverty implied in the Mahommedan faith was more effectual to their safety than even its piety; for, as one of their friends well reasons"here, in Mukran, every individual is a robber by caste; and it would be an useless attempt to try to persuade the people that a merchantservant was not pos sessed of property, or, at least, of the means of obtaining it." I obeyed these instructions, says Lieut. P. and immediately assumed the religious air and mien of a Peerzaduh, or religious devotee"-traling, no doubt, towards Mecca. This character, however, had its difficulties; for the Peerzaduh was now called on officially, to say prayers, and to perform other acts of religious rites, in which, so far from leading the devotions, of others, his utmost powers of rapid imitation of the attitudes assumed by those around him, were requisite, to avoid detection; suspicion he could not avoid. sumed a very grave air, stroked down my beard with all imaginable significance, and muttered a few sentences, managing to articulate rather distinctly the words Allah (God) Rusoul (Prophet) Shookr (thanks) &c. "I as Capt. Christie, in another part of the σε assume country, was equally advised to many extraordinary stories, as a mere joke." the character of a Hadjee;"-in which he was visited by a Moollah, with a great book under his arm, who propos- They had letters of introduction, and ed questions on religion; he pleaded met with hospitality here. If Mr. P. ignorance-not of his duties, but of the was incredulous as to the feats of swiftlanguage; and was relieved by the ad-ness performed by camels, the Jam of dress of his guide; who shrewdly advised him that "one hundred negatives are better thon one affirmative, when you wish to avoid entering into an argument." Yet this guide had his sense of religion, too; aud 66 I One evening, as my guide was riding on the camel with me, he observed that the people of the country would cry out Hyyu Toubah, alas!! alas!! if I neglected my prayers. I excused myself on the plea of having no water to wash; take sand," said he ;" and at even-tide, being a little in front, he stopped to go to prayers. could not decline joining him, and therefore watching his motions, I went through the forms; however, I did not repeat this afterwards, for having come on thus far in safety, I considered that the most likely way to lose the divine protection would be treating devotion with levity. Having so lately reported on various works allied to the present, as they have come before us, we shall not very strictly analyze this volume. It may very properly stand on the same shelf with those we have referred to. To resume the order of events:Our Travellers directed their course for the mouth of the Indus, and the provinces west of Sinde. They arrived at a village named Sonmeany, where they received a most unfavourable account of the Belooches, whose country they intended to explore.. "The very first tribe were the Bezuujas, who care not for the King, the Khan, God, or the Prophet; but murder and plunder every person and thing they can lay hands on.' Determined to proceed, they at length found, that their way was practicable, and they proceeded to Bela, a town in the interior, in tolerable spirits. They found the people goue out to a camel race, of which says Mr. P. The swift pace at which these animals go, when urged to a gallop, and managed with dexterity; is almost incredible, and struck me with amazement on first beholding it, having been accustomed to contemplate the camel races, about which I had heard so 66 Bela was equally incredulous, when told of a vessel that carried a hundred guns, and a thousand men. "Where, said he, are the men to get food and water?-as you say it is so, I am bound to believe it, but, had the holy Prophet foretold it, the Noomrees (the people of Lus) would have demanded proof of it from him." After sustaining much suspicion that they were not what they appeared to be, farther stage of their journey; and we these strangers obtained protection to a find them in its progress, among a race of mountaineers," mild, simple, and prepossessing;" shepherds, who seemed happy to render service to their guests, and who chatted without reserve around the social fire. Kelat is the next cousiderable town; where the air was so piercing, that a large fire in the centre of the room was extremely acceptable. Says the Author, Our shivering party, including ourselves, formed a wonderful contrast to our sturdy laudlord and his brother, who set off a little after daylight in the morning to the adjacent mountains to cut fire-wood, with bringing us a present of a bag of snow, which they returned late in the evening, having heard us speak of it as novel ; it was the first I had seen, except at a distance on our route up, for nearly seven years, and brought my native green isle, if possible, more forcibly to my remembrance, with all its tender ties and dearest hopes : the feelings attach an inseparable idea of which we have been accustomed to behold home to any thing, however unimportant removed as I was from even the pleasures in our more juvenile days. At that time, of a social intercourse with the civilized world, this sentiment operated with still greater force; and I contemplated the snow with a mixed sensation of satisfaction and regret. Our landlord laughed heartily at the expression of our thanks for the treat the utmost simplicity, "should you place he had brought us : why," said he, with "such a value on a little snow? if you will accompany me one day to the mountains, 66 66 you may see a whole country covered "with it." I was, of course, silent, for it would have been useless, as well as impossible, to have explained my feelings at the moment to the person who addressed me. This picture is natural, expressive and striking. The inhabitants of Kelat may be said to be composed of four classes: Belooches or Brahooés, Hindoos, Uffghaus, and Dehwars. The contour of the people of these two classes is as unlike in most instances as their languages, provided they be the descendants of a regular succession of ancestors of either; but the frequent intermarriages which take place among them, have tended to such a degree to blend together the peculiar characteristics of both, that in many families, and even whole tribes, they have ceased to exist; and, therefore, the offspring of such unions form a third The Belooches, who form the great bulk, or perhaps, very strictly speaking, the whole of the population throughout Be-class, who may, perhaps, often differ to a a trifling extent in appearance, from their loochistan, are a people whose origin is so I conobscure, and whose history, like that of progenitors, although they are incorporated all other barbarous tribes, is so blended into one or other of the classes. with romantic fiction and tales of wonder, ceive it here necessary to state again, what I have done at the commencement of this that I have found it exceedingly difficult to chapter, in order to prevent confusion, reduce either the one or the other to any that the aggregate population is exclusively credible form. They are divided into two known by the name of Belooches, which great classes, severally known by the appellations of Belooche and Brahooé, and adheres to one of the two classes it dithese two are again subdivided into such verges into; but as they must be considered an infinite number of tribes, who take separately, I shall henceforward always their names from the most trivial circum- distinguish each as Belooches or Brahooes. stances, that it is morally impossible to account for them their chief under whom they serve, the district or country to which they belong, or the tradition whence they derive their descent, are the most common I here speak alone of the sound, as I am equally unacquainted with either of the languages I venture to compare. One of their principal tribes is called Nharooés; and may be taken as a fair specimen of the people; we therefore insert Mr. P's. description of this tribe. The Nharooés are commonly a tall, handsome, active race of men, not possessing great physical strength, but adapted and inured to changes of climate and season; and accustomed to undergo every species of fatigue. They are fearless of death, and, in battle, said to fight with great gallantry, only requiring a leader to direct them to the proper point for a display of their impetuous valour. Bound by no laws, and restrained by no feelings of humanity, the Nharooés are the most savage and predatory class of Belooches; and, while they deem private theft disho nourable and disgraceful in the extreme, they contemplate the plunder and devas tation of a country with such opposite sentiments, that they consider it an exploit deserving of the highest commendation; and, steeled by that feeling, they will individually recount the assistance they have rendered on such occasions, the numbers of men, women and children they have made captives and carried away or murdered, the villages they have burned and plundered, and the flocks they have slaughtered when unable to drive them off. The lawless incursions, during which these outrages and cruelties are committed, are here called Chupaos; and as they are almost always conducted under the immediate superintendance and orders of the chiefs, they form a very considerable source pees, a large sum in the estimation of a savage. Yet, amidst all this rapacity, "The hospitality of a Belooche is proverbial." Strange inconsistency, surely! Predatory, yet hospitable! Nay, they even pique themselves on this character: as an incident recorded by our traveller sufficiently demonstrates. An event occurred this morning, which will shew how inherent the spirit of hospitality is in these people. One of our Hindoostanee servants had begun to bake the Belooches, who called out, “What! some cakes, when he was discovered by of profit to them. The depredators are usually mounted on camels, and furnished, according to the distance they have to go, with food, consisting of dates, sour cheese, and bread; they also carry water in a small leathern bag, if requisite, which is often the case amidst their deserts. When all is prepared they set off, and march incessantly till within a few miles of the point whence the Chupao is to commence, and then halt in a jungul or some unfrequented spot, in order to give their camels rest. On the approach of night, they mount again; and, as soon as the inhabitants have retired to repose, they begin their attack by burning, destroying, and carrying off whatever comes in their way. are you going to disgrace our Toomun ? They never think of resting for one mo"Cannot Eidel Khan find food for his ment during the Chupao, but ride on, over the territory on which it is made, at the it was his mistake from not knowing their guests?" The man explained to them, that rate of eighty or ninety miles a day, until customs, on which they were quite pleased, they have loaded their camels with as much but told him, that though they lived in a pillage as they can possibly remove; and, desert and were a poor set, they had once as they are very expert in the management entertained Nusseer Khan and his army of those animals, each man, on an average, for five days so profusely, that he ever afterwill have charge of ten or twelve: if prac-wards called them the Dil Kooshas, or ticable, they make a circuit, which enables open-hearted i. e. generous. them to return by a different route from the one they came: this is attended with the advantage of affording a double prospect of plunder, and also misleads those who pursue the robbers, a step generally taken, though with little effect, when a sufficient body of men can be collected for that purpose. 66 This people can also be polite; and though it must be confessed that certain instances of their politeness are not conformable to European notions, yet the intention is equally laudable. Can a stronger evidence of the power of custom be adduced, than that which converts an assafoetida plant in full fra is remarkable. From this description of Chupaos, which was given me by several different Belooches who had been upon them, they are evi-grance, into a luxurious dainty, as food? dently services of great peril and danger. The story Many of the marauders, who are separated We had now been five days at Nooshky, from their companions in the night and and were most anxiously awaiting our left behind, are seized, mutilated, and mur- Kasid's arrival, hoping to set off imme dered in the most cruel manner by the ex-diately after. Our host's hospitality did asperated inhabitants; others are killed in the skirmishes which take place, and some die from fatigue and want of rest. It might, therefore, be supposed to require a certainty of great gain, as an inducement to the Belooches to risk their lives in such desperate undertakings; but so entirely is this reversed, that the Chupaos are often unsuccessful, from the natives of the devoted districts having previous information, and taking means to repel them; and again, some that succeed in a partial manner, barely repay them for the camels that die during or after it from over-work. At times, however, the robbers reap the reward of their intrepidity, and Mihrab Khan Rukhshanee told me that he himself once shared, from a Chupao into the Persian province of Laristau, slaves and other spoil to the amount of six thousand ru not diminish in the least; every morning, more bread, sour milk, and cheese were sent than our whole party could consume: his slaves attended with water to wash, and the same routine was observed again in the evening: twice we purchased and killed small goats, sending a leg to the Sirdar, and a part of the remainder to the different Hindoos; but we discovered that this would not answer, as they accounted it profuse extravagance, although they cost but one rupee each. In return for our present of a slice of meat Boodhoo brought us, one évening at dinner time, what he prized as a much greater delicacy, and on which he expatiated with all the zest and rapture of a professed epicure; this was â tender young asafoetida plant stewed in rancid butter, and our polite friend could hardly be persuaded that we were serious, when we declared that we could not relish the gout of the dainty he had prepared for us; indeed the smell was not tolerable, for the green plant is even more rank and nauseous than the drug itself; a fact our olfactories attested, as they were abundantly regaled for two or three days subsequent to the supply being brought from the Brahooe, of which every soul in the Toomun had a share, so that the people were not only offensively strong, but the very air was impregnated with the ef fluvia. weight, they most expertly dropped on their knees, and in that posture gently slid down with the sand, which was luckily so unconnected, that the leading camel usually caused a sufficient breach for the others to follow, on foot." This desart extended forty or fifty miles.. But not always could our traveller's disguise conceal him. He was detected by natives who had seen Europeans for a mission of Europeans had been on the coast the year before; and it is pleasing to observe the reputation our countrymen had left behind them. Mr. P. describes the dresses, the manners, the amusements, the funeral and marriage ceremonies, &c. of these people; on funeral occasions they practise the wakes of our country; when The Sirdar made a great number of "between gossipping and eating, re- inquiries respecting Captain Graut, of velry and joviality, although there is no whom he spoke in terms of unqualified adintoxication, yet the meeting seems to be miration and praise. One anecdote will any thing else than a mournful ceremony that regretted officer. When I had been evince the high opinion he cherished of for the dead." What was the common there half an hour, he ordered all the finest origin of this practice? Several cushorses in his stud, which contains seventy toms, analogous to those of the ancient or eighty, exclusive of brood mares, to be Hebrews, are popular among the Be-led out for me to see, and pointed, out two looches; but they are not sufficient to prove a descent, or even a consanguinity it is most likely that these, too, had a common origin, though remote. Much valuable and amusing information is included in Lieut. P.'s account of this people, and it is not merely the best we have, but it is almost the only one on which we can place reliance. After a variety of adventures, and considerable hazards, as well to their patients (for they were dubbed learned physicians, as well as pious devotees) as to themselves, Messrs. C. and P. were forwarded by these Belooches on their way towards Persia, by different routes; Capt. Christie proceeded to Herat, and his fellow traveller to Kirman: by this separation they saw more of the country. The waves of red sand which distin-. guished a desart over which Lieut. P. had to force his way, are known to our readers:* they are from ten to twenty feet high; perpendicular on that side from which the prevailing wind blows, and so light, that the camels sunk deep into them" the instant they found the top of the wave giving way, from their Compare LIT. PAN, Vol. XIII. pp. 842, 344, et seq. very handsome colts that he proposed I We have seen these gentlemen shivering with cold amidst frost and snow: we shall now see Mr. P. melting with heat, and dying with thirst. M. Lichtenstein, and Dr. Clarke, furnished us with their accounts of that optical deception in the desert which, tantalizes the traveller, the disappointment it produces in strongbut we recollect none who has expressed should be compared with theirs. er terms than Lieut. P. His description The heat was greater and more oppres sive than I had hitherto experienced since leaving India, and I, and my people also I was fearful of expending the little that underwent more, from a want of water, as remained of our Basman supply, to which I trusted as a dernier resort. The Subrab, or water of the desert, floated all around us, as though it were mocking our distress by its delusive representation of what we so eagerly thirsted for, the absence of which I can affirm with perfect confidence, from my individual experience, to be the most |