Page:History of India Vol 8.djvu/490

434 Baluchistan, the country of the Baluch clans, lies along the western border of the Pan jab and Sind, extending down to the Arabian Sea; it is under the nominal authority or hegemony of a chief, whose headquarters are at Kelat; but his power was insufficient to restrain the turbulent leaders of the rival clans, who were in constant rebellion against him, and the British border was continually troubled by their brigandage. In 1876, when Lord Lytton was Viceroy, Major Sandeman was deputed to mediate between the Khan and the chiefs, and to arrange for the freedom of trade routes and the general pacification of the border. He succeeded in negotiating a treaty by which the Khan acknowledged the influence and paramount overlordship of the British government in Baluchistan, in exchange for protection and support. The subordinate chiefs willingly accepted a settlement that put an end to incessant civil war, faction fighting, and misrule; and from that time the country has rapidly quieted down, until at the present moment the authority of the British representative is virtually exercised in Baluchistan up to the confines of Persia on the west, and the administration is conducted under his direction and guidance. The passes leading up from India were opened and guarded, and a garrison of native troops was posted at Quetta, not far from the frontier that divides the Baluch territory from southern Afghanistan, on the road toward Kandahar. The importance of this advanced position and of opening the communication in its rear through the Bolan Pass into India, was almost immediately demonstrated.