Tooro Baz, a Kookie Khel Afreedi.]


These feuds are a system of petty warfare, carried on by long shots,
stealing cattle, and burning crops. Samson, burning his neighbor's
corn, acted just like an Afghan. When the harvest is nearly ripe,
neither party dare sleep. The remedy is sometimes for both to fight
until an equal number are killed on each side, when the neighbors
step in and effect a reconciliation; another method is to pay
forfeit of a feast and some sheep or cloth; in exceptional cases, a
few Afghan virgins are substituted for the sheep, but they are given
in marriage, and are well treated.

Our space does not permit an extended reference to the manners and
customs of this primitive people but a few characteristics may be
briefly noted. The love of war is felt much more among Afghans than
by other Eastern peoples, although but little effort has been made
by them to augment the means of resistance and aggression. Pillage,
fighting, and disturbances are at times necessary to their very
existence, and are followed by long days of idleness, during which
they live on the fruits of their depredations. There is no shade of
difference between the character of the nomad and the citizen; a
town life does not soften their habits; they live there as they live
in a tent, armed to the teeth and ready for the onslaught. Though
full of duplicity, one is nevertheless liable to be taken in by
their apparent frankness. They are hospitable to strangers, but only
because this is an ancient custom which has the force of law and is
not a virtue which springs from the heart. The pride of the Afghans
is a marked feature of their national character. They boast of their
descent, their prowess in arms, their independence; and cap all by