Page:The Imperial Gazetteer of India - Volume 2 (2nd edition).pdf/47

 BALUCHISTAN. a brief description of the town. stands on an elevated

site

6783

37

Kheldt, the capital of Baliichistdn,

feet

above the

sea,

on the western side

of a well-cultivated plain or valley, about 8 miles long and 2 or 3 broad, a great part of which is laid out in gardens and other enclosures. The

town

is

mud

wall,

built in

an oblong form, and on three sides

is

defended by a

18 or 20 feet high, flanked at intervals of 250 yards by

bastions, which, as well as the wall

loopholes for matchlock-men.

itself,

are pierced with

The defence

numerous

of the fourth side of the

been formed by cutting away perpendicularly the western face on which it is partly built. On the summit of this eminence stands the palace, commanding a distinct view of the town and That quarter of the hill on which the Khan’s adjacent country. residence is erected has been enclosed by a mud wall, with bastions the entrance to it is on the south-western side; and here, as well as at the city gates, which are three in number, there is constantly a guard Both town and citadel are, however, completely of matchlock-men. commanded by the surrounding hills, and are incapable of offering any Within the walls there are upwards of resistance against artillery. city has

of the

hill



2500 houses, and the number of those one-half of that amount. brick

or w’ooden

frames,

in the

The houses plastered

suburbs probably exceeds

are mostly built of half-burnt

over with

mud

or mortar.

In

and most foot-passengers, and

general, the streets are broader than those of native towns,

of them have a raised pathway on each side for

uncovered kennel in the centre, which is a nuisance, from the filth thrown into it and the stagnant rain-water that lodges The upper storeys of the houses frequently project across the there. street, and thereby render the part beneath them gloomy and damp. This seems a rude attempt to imitate the bazars of Persia and Kabul. The bazar of Khelat is extensive, well furnished with every kind of goods ; all the necessaries of life may be purchased there at a moderate The town is supplied with delicious water from a spring in the price. face of a hill on the opposite side of a plain, whence it meanders nearly through its centre, having the town and suburbs on one side, also an

quantity of

and on the other the gardens. the waters, at their immediate

It

may be remarked

of this spring that

from the smaller channels, possess a considerable degree of tepidity until after sunrise, when they suddenly become exceedingly cold, and remain so during the day. We have no data from which to form an accurate Fopulation computation of the population of Baluchistan, but it may be estimated The two great races of Baluch and Brahui, each at about 400,000. .

issue

—

sub-divided into an infinite

number of

tribes, are clearly distinguished

from each other by their language and appearance. The Baluch, or Baluchki, language partakes considerably of the idiom of the modern Persian, although greatly disguised under a singularly corrupt pronun-