And it was the patrimonial right of our tribe
to take toll from all alike, from victors and vanquished, from pursuers
and pursued.
"Sometimes an army would pass through our mountains under safe conduct
from all the tribes, and the price paid in money, horses, camels, and
cattle, cloths and other goods, would be divided among the several
clans. But in this practice there had grown to be more danger for
ourselves than from forays or assaults on passing enemies, because over
the division of the spoils there would be quarrelling, followed by
fighting, among the tribes. Thus had originated many a blood feud
enduring through many generations.
"In the early days of Shir Jumla Khan it had come about that several
rich caravans had fallen exclusively into his hands. With the money thus
provided by the bountifulness of Allah, he had been enabled to build for
himself a citadel that for vastness and security surpassed those of all
his rivals among the tribal chiefs. Within its wide walls were wells and
water tanks, gardens for the growing of fruits and vegetables,
warehouses for goods, granaries stored with barley, wheat, and dal,
stables for a hundred horses, sheds for the housing of cattle, sheep,
and camels, and dwelling places for a goodly multitude of armed men,
their wives and their children.
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