ii. _RECENT EVENTS IN CHILAS AND CHITRAL._
iii. _FABLES, SONGS, AND LEGENDS OF CHITRAL._
iv. _RACES AND LANGUAGES OF THE HINDUKUSH._
v. _ANTHROPOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS AND MEASUREMENTS._
vi. _ROUGH ITINERARIES IN THE HINDUKUSH._
vii. _A SECRET RELIGION IN THE HINDUKUSH._
viii. _THE SCIENCES OF LANGUAGE AND OF ETHNOLOGY AS ILLUSTRATED BY THE LANGUAGE AND CUSTOMS OF HUNZA (A SEPARATE PAMPHLET)._
[Illustration: SPECIMENS OF THE BURISHKI RACE OF HUNZA (ON A SLOPE OF THE PAMIR), OF NAGYR, AND OF YASIN.
MATAVALLI, the first Hunza man who came to Europe.
SOME BURISHKIS FROM YASIN separating the Hunza and Nagyri Warriors.
HUNZA, NAGYR, AND THE PAMIR REGIONS.[106]
I wish to record how from small beginnings, owing to carelessness, exclusiveness, and official desire for promotion, Northern India may be lost and British interests in Europe and Asia become subordinate, as they have often been, to Russian guidance; how statesmanship has laboriously invited dangers which physical barriers had almost rendered impossible; and how it may still be practicable to maintain as independent States the numerous mountain strongholds which Nature has interposed between encroachment and intrigue from either the Russian or the English sphere of action in Asia, much to the benefit of these two Powers and of the peace of mankind.
When, after an enormous expenditure of men and money and during campaigns which lasted over thirty-six years, Russia had conquered independent Circassia—a task in which she was largely aided by our preventing provisions and ammunitions from reaching by sea the so-called rebels, although we ourselves were fighting against her in 1856, _quorum pars parva fui_, it was easy to foresee that our conduct, which some called chivalry, others loyalty, and some duplicity or folly, would give her the present command of the Black Sea and lead to the subjugation of Circassia. The same conduct was repeated at Panjdeh, and may be repeated on the Pamir, much to the personal advantage of the discreet officers concerned. We have also recently discovered that the holding of Constantinople by a neutral Power is not essential to British interests, as we had long ago found out that neither Merv nor Herat were keys to India. Indeed, as we give up position after position, a crop of honours falls to those who bring about our losses and, like charity, covers a multitude of political sins of ignorance or treason.