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Show j KHATTAKS ON BRITISH FRONT Dandies of Indian Army Reckless, Reck-less, Generous and Full of Queer Kinks. ARE EASILY EXCITED Land, Women and Gold Are at the Bottom of All Outrage. British Headquarters in Mesopotamia, Mesopota-mia, Feb. 15 (British eyewitness) (Correspondence of the Associated 'Press) The Khattaks are dandles of the Indian army. They are like the Celts of tho British army, reckless, generous, improvident, mercurial, altogether al-together a friendly and responsive sort of people, but with the queer' kink that one finds in all Pathans, that primitive sensitive point of honor or shame which puzzles the psychologist. psycholo-gist. Tho Khattaks are as responsive to the boe as the Highlanders to the bag pipe, but they are more demonstrative. demonstra-tive. It is a good thing to be near when the Khattak rifles leave camp. At the first sound of the drum and oboe they break into a wild treble shriek, tailing off, perhaps, with the balbala, the Pathan imitation of the gurgling of tho camel. These tribesmen are easily excited, o.-.lsl.-.r.'. : n : i . . j i i. . uojuuiu uispu neu, iiuu il su, ouiy ior a short time. Their eagerness is some ; times a positive danger during an at- tack. At Sheik Saad it was difficult to hold tho Khattak company back while the regiment on their left was j coming up; they were all going ahead land breaking the line; and in the end I It was a premature sortie of the Khattaks Khat-taks that precipitated the assault. Old Shero Khan, a typical Khattak, ! the other day killed right inside the j regimental lines a rival for his wife's ; affections, and he could not have done anything else. The man's offense carried car-ried its own sentence in the minds of all decent-thinking Khattaks. Before the deed the subadar-major begged the adjutant to got the rival, Sher Gul, well away before the night: otherwise, he said, there would be trouble, but the adjutant could not look into the case until the next morning. In the meantlmo, to safeguard SHfer Gul. he told the subador to see that twenty stout men slept around his bed. Tho aubadar made it fifty, bat to no avail. At one in the morning the adjutant was called out quietly to see the remains of Sher Gul. His head was lying on the edge of the bed. a hatchet Imbeded in the skull. He had been killed with fifty men slopping round him. They had all slept like the dead and nobody had heard the blov . There was no evidence against Shere Khan I whatever; public opinion was on his! side. "Zam. Zan and Zar" land, women and gold according to the Persian proverb, are at the bottom of all outrage, out-rage, and -vith nine Khattaks out of, ten. it is Zan. The Khattak thinks no end of his personal appearance. He addresses to kill, and loves to go and parade in the bazaar In his gala kiL He will spend hours over his toilet, peering at himself in the glass all the while without with-out a trace of self-consciousness, though his neighbors may be almost as interested in the performance as he. Then, with his hair neatly oiled and tr iim to the level of the lobe of his ear, he will stride forth in his flowery waistcoat of plum color or maroon ma-roon velvet with golden braid, spotless white baggy trousers, a flower behind his ear, a red handkerchief in his pocket, pock-et, a cane in his hand, and for headgear head-gear a high Kohat lungiplack with yellow and crimson ends, and a kula covered with gold. Every Khattak Is a bit of a blood. In his country a showy exterior betokens betok-ens the gallant in both senses of the word. A woman of parts will not look at a man unless he has served in the army or is at least something of a bucaneer. oo |