The Persians are a nation of horsemen still, and most of them can ride well.  All the migratory tribes breed horses, and such is the habit of observation of horses in the country, that, as a rule, a man is known by his horse, just as in some parts of England a man is known by his dog.  Owing to the notice thus taken of a man’s horse, a party of nomad brigands who carried off all my baggage-train in 1890 were discovered and hunted down.  There is a road guard service for all the King’s highways in Persia, and an annual fixed sum is allowed for its maintenance.  Officials with influence among the neighbouring nomads farm this service on the main roads, and entertain a certain number of ‘black-mail’ men for each stage from the various tribal sections to keep watch and ward.  The official who farms the road guard service is held liable to pay compensation for losses by robbery, and this stimulates the energies of all to recover stolen property and to keep the highways safe and secure.  Incidents of robbery occasionally happen, but, all things considered, the system may be said to work fairly well, as instanced in the recovery of my baggage.

I had taken a short-cut over the hills to avoid some miles of circuit by the highroad, and on the way I met the relieved Governor of Luristan returning to Tehran, with a long train of well-guarded laden mules.  Some little distance behind them came three mounted nomads, armed with Martini-Henry rifles (the common arm now in Persia), and showing well-filled cartridge belts.  They rode up to me and my party, consisting of a gholam courier and two servants, all mounted.  One of the nomads, riding a chestnut mare, while examining me intently, dropped a short stick which he carried, alongside of me, and on dismounting to pick it up, his mare wheeled round towards me, and I saw that she had lost her right eye.  We passed on, and shortly rejoined the highroad, and when close to the next halting stage, a post-boy, driving three loose post-horses before him, galloped up to say that he had seen my baggage mules driven off the highroad by five armed nomads.  The road guards were called, and on hearing my description of the three men we had met, and that one of them was riding a one-eyed chestnut mare, they at once said, ‘Kara Beg and his sons are in this,’ and rode off to follow the trail.  Almost all my luggage was recovered that night, and Kara Beg was hunted hard, and disappeared.  He had been suspected of several robberies carefully carried out, so that detection was difficult; but in my case it appeared that he had hung on to the rear of the Luristan Governor’s baggage without being able to steal anything, and when disappointment had made his men sore and reckless, they followed up my mules, which had no guard, and carried them off.  The tribal road guards knew where to find him and his men, and soon had most of the plundered property back.  The recovery was due to identification of his mare.