The Times of Tuesday gives a very interesting account of
the Hazaras, the tribes who are just now engaged in a very serious revolt against the authority of the Ameer of Aghani- stan. They occupy the mountains between Herat and Cabal, a district the inhabited parts of which range from 5,000 ft. to 7,000 ft. in altitude. By race, these mountaineers are Tartars, being descendants of the soldiers who followed Timoor into India ; and though they have intermarried largely with non- Mongolian tribes, their smooth faces and flat noses still attest their origin. They number, it is believed, six hundred and sixty thousand, and during our occupation of Candahar, our military officers came into close contact with them. At the disaster of Maiwand, they formed the irregular cavalry of Ayoub Khan. Their fighting-men are almost all mounted on small but very hardy and sure-footed horses, and they make without doubt very formidable troops. Their country is barren, but is believed to contain valuable minerals, and there are lead-mines actually worked. Practically, the Hazaras have remained independent since the days of Timoor, and the Ameer is, therefore, engaged in a very difficult task. His troops may be better armed, but they are by no means so numerous as the Hasaras. The Hazaras of the country between Herat and Cabal, though of a similar origin, must not be confused with the inhabitants of the Hazara district near Rawul Pindi, which is within the limits of British India.
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