Show the most sensitive nerve in the british empire terminates in afghan bistan and the ghost of the czar s al ways dancing abent the khyber pass through which caravans laden with merchandise find their way across the mountains between india and the countries of central asia every time there is a stir in a clump of bushee every time a board creaks in the floor every time a footstep is heard tinder the window the goose flech asea on john bull a back and he imagines that the great white bear is smelling around the back door of his empire in india Pesha is the jump ingoff of the northwest the limit of british authority the us of the railway system of india and abe great gateway between that cm spire and the outer world through which everything must pass it Is to abe interior of aada what the straits or gibraltar are to the mediterranean it is novel and the arndis carry out every detail conscientiously abe pass is open only two da s is the week on tuesdays and fridays no one Is per to cross or een enter it from either sida except on those days and even then travelers tourists and oth ers actuated by curl are not al lowed to go through without permits the caravans going both ways are required to camp under well formed reg ions at either entrance until day light of tuesday or friday when they are escorted through by armed b ales ot horsemen there ie not the slightest danger of any bort to an one but it is just as well to go through the ceremony for it le pa ane out of mischief and ie minde them of their great responsibilities these caravans are interesting they are of long strings of loaded load ed camels ox carts melee and lilai ui Lai ahr ne 0 t ave tempi sea and the dardanelles Darda nelles to the black and the caspian seas while here paths over the mountains in other directions nd it might be pos bible to cross them aa it has near acted and wound ove dangers expense anat delays which no nation would take the khyber pase has been the great and only route for ages boeth er for war or commerce the mas of central asia whether persians greeks macedonians or assyrians have held it alexander the great crossed it with his army gimour the tartar whom v e know better ariane came through pon his att conquering expedition when he aub dued india and found the mogul em pire and it the russians Kus ever enter india by land they will come this way the pass is reached by crossing a stony plain ten miles from and winds through gorges and creal ces in the mountains for thirty three miles at an altitude averaging 7 feet above the sea at one poin the mountains close in to about icet apart and the rocks rise in sheer pre on either side in other places the gorge widens to a mile or more nd will average perhaps three quart ers of a mile the entire distance it is a remarkable gateway a natural carrier between hereditary enemies and easily defended from either side kabul the capital ot afghanistan la miles from the western entrance to the defile donkeys vehicles of all and thousands of people tra veima foot who come sometimes from as far west as ehg urel mountains and banu et he volga river they come from persia all parts pj siberia and from the mysterious va gion in central asia knows aa root 0 the yc rt the camel drivers the traders are fierce looking ao and extremely dirty they a traveled a long way fid roads that are very dusty bud crater is scarce the entire dis u they took as if they had never washed their face or cut their hair and their shaggy greasy black locks hang down upon their shoulders beneath enormous turbans bach the costume of his own country but they are so aggedy grimy and filthy that the romance ol 01 it is the afghans are in th majority they are stalwart big bearded men with large features long noses and cun ning ees and claim that their an cretors were one of the lost tribes of israel their traditions customs physiognomy and dialects support thia theory although they are mohammed dane the american missionaries who hae schools and churches among them are continually running up against customs and traditions which remind them forcibly of the mosaic teachings they have considerable literature poetry history biography philosophy and ecclesiastical works and some of their priests have large libraries of native books which the mausoleum the british fortifications are at jam rod nine miles from Pesha and the terminus ot the railways where a strong garrison Is always kept the pass itself Is controlled by a powerful aemi independent native tribe called the estimated at 20 strong who receive subsidies from the brit ish government and from the ameer of afghanistan to keep them good natured on the pretext that they are to do police work and keep order in the pass it is blackmail and bribery tut accomplishes its purpose and the pass itself with a strip of highlands and foothills on the afghanistan bide is thus occupied by a neutral party prevents friction between the nations on either side of the border the arndis are fearless fighters naif civilized half savage and almost en irely supported by the subsidies they receive nearly all of the able bodied men are under arms A few who are too old 0 too young to fight remain at home and look after the cattle and the scraggy gardens upon the gravel ly hillsides the women are as hardy and as enduring as the men and are taught to handle the rifle the british authorities are conal dent of e loyalty of the arndis and believe that the present arrangements would be safe in time of war as it ia in time of peace that they would permit no armed bouy whether russians or afghans to cross the pass without the consent ot both sides as la provided by treaty stipulation the arrangement is as effective as missionaries say are full ot buggee eions ot the old testament |