Show CHOOSING 1 BROPHET The Way the Kahn of Baluchistan Selects a Soothsayer Early last spring the sovereign of I Baluchistan lost his court astrologer Mir AH Khan This worthy who had prophesied like Joseph before the throne for many years was fortunate enough to die a natural death Professor Ashley H Gray of the woods and forests department of India recently a visitor to this country in connection with the ornithological congress gives the following entertaining account of this examination I It was my luck said Professor Gray to be in Khelat the capital of Baluch istan when the gathering of astrologers and soothsayers began They poured Into the town from every corner of southern south-ern Asia Baluchistan as you probably 1 know is a wild country lying between I I Persia and British India and between I the Arabian sea and Afghanistan The I khan of Khelat rules It with the advice of Brftish agents but civilization has so far made little progress and in the ln tenor the provincial governors care very little for the khan or for Great Britain either The people are nominal Mahome 7 + tans but their religion is so mixed up with idolatry fire worship and four or five superstitious beliafs that the pure Mahometans look ori them as outandout heretics Proclamation for an astrologer was made by heralds and courlsrs Queer looking sheepskinclad warlocks came from Thibet and Asia lon robed dervishes der-vishes from Persia and Arabia turbaned priests from across nedt mountains I whiskered and weaponed fanatics from Afghanistan The tribes now at war with I Great Britain sent many candidates Every Ev-ery caravan Sari in Khelat was choke full At last on April 11 there was a grand parade and the wouldbe prophets I marched in imposing though dirtv array past the khan and his vizier The British agents among whom was your informant occupied scats bcbide his majesty It was a sight the like of which I never expect to see again A young Englishman present pres-ent said that he bad never imagined that there was sx > much unkempt human hair in the world Indeed the beards and whiskers of these applicants wsre simply appalling In their luxuriance As each astrologer strode by ho recited re-cited In a loud voice his Qualifications religious beliefs and place of birth To such as pleased him tIle khan bowed with great dignity and at this signal the vizier jVTahinud deftly flung a pebble from one of the sheepskin bags which his attendants held in readiness You should have seen how the lucky prophets caught those pebbles Our cricket fielders or your American baseball base-ball players mitcht have copied their catching with advantage Oncq or twice was a scramble when two or more as 5 T 5 ii i iJ j t I I I 1A A 4u s S z S S 5 ic7 AS EACH ASTROLOGER STRODE BY HE RECITED Il A LOUD VOICE QUALIFICATIONS trologers quarreled over the question of to whom the pebble had been cast But the khans guards leaped into the thick of the fight and quickly settled all dis puLse The candidates thus weeded outnumbered out-numbered only 100 Next day there was a second parade this time In the grand court of the khanat As each prophet passed the khan he exhibited his talismanic pebble and recited a brief vers composed by himself in which the glories of Balu chistans sovereign were dwelt upon When a verse pleased his majesty he exercised ex-ercised his nodding prerogative and a I pomegranate was thrown by the vizier to the successful blarneymaker Only 21 poets managed to satisfy the khans bump of selfesteem These fvere the persons per-sons permitted to enter for the examinations examina-tions proper Every candidate of the 21 had assigned to him a cell or small room in a building abutting on the principal mosque This building was to become his own place were he the chosen astrologer By day he Was guarded and at night he was taken to the flat roof arid bidden to examine ex-amine the stars At the birth of a new moon h > was expected ex-pected to prophesy We tried hard to obtain from the vizier some of the prophecies but the utmost secrecy was observed All W3 could learn was that 1 if the prediction thus made did not come true before the waning ofthe third moon I thereafter the erring candidate was unceremoniously un-ceremoniously dismissed after having been subjectea to a sound thrashing Fifteen Fif-teen were thus seht about their business in the first three months Evidently the six remaining were good prophets for they held their own and a banquet was given in their honor by the vizier Mahmud But a new trial came wIth the new moon I left Balu I chistan before than but I heard that four of the prophets had turned out badly A letter from Darjeeling now informs I me that the two still left are running a neck Pond neck race for supremacy Every I Ev-ery forecast is carefully entered in a book and before Christmas we may expect I ex-pect to learn the name of the winner It is rumored that one astrologer has prophesied the defeat of the British in the Himalayas while the other has announced an-nounced a British victory The probabilities probabili-ties are that the war may last into the new year thus putting both in the wrong Whether or Jiot an entirely new examination I examina-tion will then be held I cannot say It seems hard that after predicting correctly for almost a year the labors of the two candidates should go for naught The post of court astrologer of Balu histan Is one I should not care to own concluded Professor Gray it is too exCiting ex-Citing The bastinado Is Inflicted for any remissness In prophesying and if ones prophesies turn out false the executioner I execu-tioner is almost certain to be called In |