File 948/1909 'Persia: Situation in the South; Condition of the Roads. Attack on Mr Bill. Road Guard Scheme.' [‎16r] (36/744)

that I was a little madder than other Firanghis they had had dealings with
At Dili Noh, where it is even more essential than elsewhere to obtain guards in
order to get through the famous Tang-i-Bulak, I could only raise three Koor-
shoolis, notorious robbers. On my enquiring whether three of them were suffi
cient to see me througli such a dangerous place they replied quite candidly
<£ Sahib, our own people are the robbers of this district, one of us is sufficient
to see a caravan through if we wish. ” Why they should have wished to see
me safely through rather than loot my caravan is a mystery. As it was they
would have exacted a very large sum from the small caravan which accom
panied mine if I had’nt intervened and beaten down their demands. lam
certain that if I had not been present, and the charvadars had not been able
to stump up the amount demanded, the caravan would have been looted par
tially at least. The fact is as I learned on the road—that charvadars are
almost as alarmed at the sight of a so-called road guard as of an undisguised
robber.
In Abadeh I learned that the visit of the Soulet-ed-Douleh to that place
last summer had been very unwelcome. The Kashgais got out of hand and appa
rently looted the people almost as badly as the KuhgeJus and Boir Ahmedis did
later in the year. The only local headman who appeared to be making any
serious attempt to keep his district in order was Ibrahim Khan of Surmeh, and
one is forced to conjecture that this was the pogeon which led Soulet to summon
him to Abadeh and keep him in chains there until he had jaid some thousands
of tomans 10,000 Persian dinars, or a gold coin of that value. .
. conclusion I would say that I found not the slightest trace of any steps ‘
having been taken by the Persian Government to restore and maintain order on
the road. The road will no doubt be temporarily secure for a month or so owing
to the severe weather and the presence of Fath-u-Mulk’s troops. But when these
troops reach Shiraz (I cannot learn that they are to be distributed among vari
ous stations on the road) and the tribes commence trekking to their Sarhad
quarters there is not the slightest reason to hope that the road will be in any ft
better condition than last year. In my opinion, the only method to maintain
order and to keep the road open is to have sowars patrolling the road and to
have small bodies of efficient, well armed and disciplined men posted at each
stage on the road. By “ disciplined ” I mean more particularly men who will
be content with their pay and will not harass charvadars in the manner of the
old type of road guard. That such men can be found in Persia or that the
Persian Government—even given the necessary money—would pay them well
and regularly are aims which appear to have little prospect of attainment.
Shiraz ;
The 2nd February 1911.
ION MOIR.