File 2297/1919 ‘Persian Gulf Residency Monthly Reports. 1912-20.’ [‎294v] (593/1044)

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of the month, after some hesitation, declared himself for enteric and has been in
the Mission Hospital since, struggling not only with his malady but with a babel of
unknown languages. His French is more exiguous than his English, and his
Persian than his French. He progresses, however, favourably, though his desperate
exertions to recollect words he never knew have made the doctors nervous on the
subject of relapses. Captain de Mare, who has been holding executive charge in
spite of intermittent fever and colds, has been most creditably energetic and cheerful.
1563. He has kept the men well in hand and no complaints against them have
as yet reached His Majesty's Consul. Such results cannot of course be obtained
without exertion, and the shooting of the ringleader of a small mutiny has had a
good moral effect not only on the Gendarmes but on the townspeople The latter
are of course somewhat fluttered. Is this the sweet reasonableness and endless
patience ot the Europeans ? They are so accustomed to mere Consuls who have
r GeP u turnm g tlie otlier cheek and forgiving until seventy times seven
that such procedure appears hasty and unreasonable. Still it is a fact, and as such
has to be reckoned with. . .
a \ ^ r ^ ar( ^ s . t ^ toms itself, on its arrival it comprised only about 150
fighting men. Latterly Captain de Mare says he has been able to make consider-
able progress with recruiting. He says he is getting in men even from the Ears
tribes I he Gendarme officers suffer under so many disabilities that it will be
wise to reserve judgment for the present on the character of their work. The
nucleus of the force consists of men from the North, and Southerners will not
readily_ amalgamate_ with them, nor take kindly to the semi-European uniform
which is m favour m Tehran. Then there is the ignorance and inexperience in
regard to all things Persian of the officers, and their tendency to arbitrariness.
1565. The Swedish officers are new to the country and appear to be likelv
to waste some time before they accommodate themselves, as is necessary to its
customs. They profess a great contempt for the Persian system of formal
their „ wa 7 they addressd telegrams to
mir Mufakhkham, Hakim-i-Kerman without further compliment or title
This annoyed that dignitary more than any of the other events of the month of
October The Swedes are logical and observe the same curtness among them
selves. An orderly is told Bigu ba captan de Mare bi-ayad (Somethin^
on the same grade as Viens done.”) Major Glimstedt is most laudibly applying
himself to learn to talk and write the language. But he explained that he wished
to learn the script because he wanted to wirte his own Persian letters. There are
'perhaps (at the most) two Europeans who are capable of writing, with pains, ‘ Persian ,
letters as they should be written, and are written by good professional Mirzas, but
for these or any Europeans to do so would be a mere waste of their time It is
another belief of the Swedes that in travelling in Persia it is necessary to support
life entirely on tinned European stores, and to carry wines. This perhaps
accounts for why they all arrived here in a state of physical dilapidation. Major
CuTbono^? 18 n ° W getting ° Ut a Swedlsh servant from Europeat great expense-
1566. These remarks are not made in a carping orgossfoincr Qm'rit kni ^ i
as illustrating the difficulties which must face Europfans Suddenly rntroduced into
Perm with no previous experience of the East. Of course having force behind
them the Gendarmes will bear down much opposition which would prove an
obstacle to a man who had to rely solely on his “ savoir faire ” and his brainT
The Penuan will always cringe to force when it is superior, but he will intrimie
m a hundred petty ways-and complain to the nearest Consulate. Intrl g«e
v„ T z;S» s,d M sy c “ ui ois "” i "'
b. y .rh. T t&.fri?^rs^L h 'j£. n hS”S’n
to maintain order in the districts and that th»ro ttt n —^ with which
guards His Majesty’s Consul discussed the situation “fcL^offw ^Itwas
agreed to recommend the sanction of the monthly expenditure of Stumal for