The New Student's Reference Work/Kafiristan

Kafiristan (kä-fē-rē-stän ' ), a country of southern Asia, on the southern declivity of the Hindu-Kush Mountains. The area is about 5,000 square miles, and the inhabitants differ from surrounding tribes both in language and religion, all efforts to convert them to the Mohammedan faith having been in vain. They number about 200,000, and are divided into various tribes, which often war with one another, but are united in their love of independence and their hatred of Mohammedanism. Kafiristan, whose native tribes were subdued by the emir of Afghanistan in 1895, has been of late included in the countries under Afghan control, and has been garrisoned partially by the emir's troops. The soil is fertile, yielding sufficient fruit and grain for the inhabitants and furnishing subsistence for large herds of cattle, sheep and goats.