Show noa u nao i A r r rr e t 1 M 45 M A 0 vr block house in prepared by the national society washington 1 D C CI the disturbed condl alons of the past year along tile the afghan border of india a short distance to the south another potential trouble zone for great britain lias has been relatively quiet only on one or two occasions were there minor disturbances tur bances in this western frontier province tile the customs of are vastly II Terent from those of the west and many a strange compromise has to be made by the british political agent in dispensing jus tace among the natives the british do not own quetta though they conquered a small region north of it they hold it under a perpetual lease from the khan of kalat formerly the ferocious tribes of these barren mountains and beyond use used to depend largely for their existence upon raids into india and for a time they lived sumptuously upon the spoils of dellia horde after horde of these savage ge warriors established tempo sovereignties sovereign ties over the rich cities of the central plains only to be overwhelmed in turn when they became soft under the influence of luxury it Is to prevent this sort of thing that the british occupy and the north west frontier province to the northeast they do not nol depend altogether on armed forces but attach great import importance ance to their political agents in these agents are combined the functions of executive judge and despot rut but they do not aftem attempt pt to impose western notions of lin law and justice on the wild oham madans under their jurisdiction on wives cause much trouble much of the trouble among the natives in concerns wives girls are not of as much consequence as boys and their parents give the warm coats and be besa t food to the sons so that the death rate among daughters Is much higher with the result that there are not of enough wives to go around especially ally as some of the richer men avail themselves of the prophets permission and tiey baly more than one helpmeet wives like camels tire are bought at high prices and like camels are often stolen the girls preference Is not consulted and as her betrothal in many cases has taken place before her birth she not in frequently prefers another to her husband woe to her however if her unfaithfulness Is discovered or suspected for it then becomes the duty of her husband her son her fattier or her brother to kill her without mercy and to kill her lover too if he can be found adam was sixteen years of old d one night he wits with wakened ened and went to the tent door hut found no one it happened a second time hut but even the camels were quiet 0 0 so o he lay and listened and the third time le he saw a man whispering to his mother alinn abadam As adam roused fit his father post drist mohammed Io hammed the lover nasho escaped dost loved his wife and shrank from killing her nay he even tried to protect her against the of her son so it happened that when adim adam tried to shoot his mother it was his fattier father who first fell afterward After site she too ton was slain then while it was yet dark adam it hid in a gully cully n near e a r th the P home of tier her lover with his lils gun pointed and rocked cocked the loler loer however had become too crafty to return home hime and when adam adrain 1 kann ann shot the first arsi man who came out of the hut in the gray twilight it was wag the lovers father karlin who fell fr 11 groo groaning ning As ho he was desperately wounded the old man of his own accord rolled raised its his fiend bond flint another bullet might end his suffering when ilay flay was advanced and the an fn english political agent had find fin fished his breakfast adam khan kann sought him an ind demanded justice you would think justice would begin hy by banging adam far from it I 1 that would have started a fend which would have lastel lasted perhaps per hops fo forcer reer and many yet un horn born would kill each other because bc canse the balance of justice find in this tri instance blance kicked the benm belim the anglish political agent wise fron from long experience simm summoned nned the all lage inge elders and lot laid the hie case before them decision in complicated case well versed in the cur customs torris ol of their forefathers from time ilme tin memorial tte elders easily arrived at their decision flad the case been simple both the unfaithful mother and her lover would gnp hn been slain and tile the case ended in 1 lieu fen of the lover however bic the lat batters lat lerg father had fallen and so tar far all was well but the boy adam in accomplish log id the necessary killing wl of his bis mother had suffered the loss of his father also for this lie deserved compensation the blood recompense for plain murder la is rupees but as the case was complicated by the fact that the mans son and heir not his enemy had done not a murder but a manslaughter the heir ought ou bt not receive as much hence th the elders decreed that the lover should pay adam khan rupees and besides provide him with two girls as wives the english agent confirmed this Solomon like decision the lover paid the rupees gave one niece to adam and promised a daughter yet unborn when she should be of marriageable age all was a acceptable to both parties and they have lived in love and harmony after tills this happy union of their families ever since not always however does the english political agent comply exactly with the judgment of the elders in the case of miriam for instance ln stace the political agent found he her r with her nose slashed off and bound up with a dirty ra rag he asked n ho to hall had done this my husband said she so the agent sent for the hus bus band hallm and asked why he be had luti mutilated his loving wife oil oh because I 1 thought I 1 saw her be r speaking to sharbat kahn said he but did site she do sol so inquired the agent gent W who ilo knows perhaps not said rollin well but I 1 really cannot let I 1 you cut off your cifes nose for nothing at all said the political agent you must go to jail for one year hallm preferred the jail the elders came to the agent and remonstrated against such severity perhaps it would not have been amiss said they to put hallm in jail for three months yet a mans wife Is his own she Is bought with a great price why should he be not cut off IT her nose if he ha pleases it is after all his own loss surely sahib S gilb you von will let hallm halim out of jail tomorrow said the agent 1 I will give my decision the next day he pronounced this jud judgment ment 1 I will release hallm on either of two conditions either he must restore his cifes nose safe and sound or he be must cut off his own nose in exactly the same fashion of hers the elders were amused greatly by this alternative they withdrew their protest hallm served his term in jail and was released without retaining rancor agal against a st so just a sentence in another instance the mohammedan mahamid Mahi mid instead of contenting himself with the girl chosen by his mother and sisters to he be his wife and first to be seen by him after the marriage ceremony found for himself a pretty hindu girl find and persuaded her to be his bride but he could not make up his mind to marry her unless she should first I 1 profess his religion so mahmud consulted the mullah of his village as t tc how she might become the mullah made no difficulty of it all that was ner necessary essary so he said was that tile the lovely hindu girl should say before him there Is no god C nd but nd god tind mohammed Is the prophet of god rut put stay added the priest you mutt pay for your bride of course As it would be sinful to t give a great sum for her to the worthless wor hindu her father you may give it to me my son the young man easily perceived the of the first part of the priests proposal hut but he could by no indans see why iby hit his wife dowry should he given to the priest in his perplexity he con suited the chiefs of the the priest said they Is quite right in telling you not to give the dowry to tile the hindus but it should come to us not to him we e are the authorities billiard table instead of feud put but before this was done one the eld ers of the mali suds heard of the transaction while approving like the the withholding of the money from the hindus they let it he be known that being the su superiors of nf the the elders of the maksud were the proper recipients in this instance all parties appealed tile the question quest lon to tile hie british political agent after mature consideration lie he readily foresaw that bellber fit her of the dispositions proposed would must probably lend lead to a fend hence in the in terest of pence peace and as represent ing the benl at sup superior prior pow er of the whole region he very reasonably decided that the lie dowry should be paid over to him As there was no appeal possible tills this was readily roii dlly enin filled with and the aig ent not knowing a better made it over to the dun as a contribution for the new bl billiard illard table |