mmunities of Parsis have been sought for outside
those regions which we have indicated. [74] About sixty years ago
a Mahomedan traveller did try to persuade others of the existence
of a Parsi colony at Khoten, a country situated to the south-east of
Kaschgar; but Sir Alexander Burnes, in a communication to Mr. Naoroji
Fardunji, dissipated this illusion. [75]

We cannot attach any more importance to an assertion recently put
forward, and according to which the members of the tribe of the
Shiaposch Kafirs, inhabiting the country to the north-east of Cabul,
are descendants of the same race, because certain of their usages,
as for example their manner of exposing their dead, are similar to
those of the Zoroastrians. Sir Alexander Burnes [76] in narrating
his travels in Cabul in 1836-37-38, relates that the most curious
of all the visitors to the country of the Kafirs [77] was a man
who came from Cabul towards the year 1829. He gave himself out as
a Guebre (fire-worshipper), and an Ibrahumi (follower of Abraham),
who had quitted Persia to find some traces of his ancestors. During
his sojourn in Cabul he willingly mixed with the Armenians and
used to get himself called Sheryar, a name common enough among the
modern Parsis. They tried, but in vain, to dissuade him from risking
himself amongst the Kafirs; he went to Jalalabad and Lughman, where
he left his baggage, and as a simple beggar entered Kafristan by
way of Nujjeet. He was absent several months, and on his return was
assassinated by the Huzaras of the tribe of Ali-Purast. Malik-Usman,
furious at the conduct of his countrymen, exacted a fine of Rs. 2,000
as compensation for the blood shed by them. All these details were
given by the Armenians of Cabul to Sir Alexander Burnes, but he could
not discover whether the unfortunate Sheryar was a Parsi of Bombay
or a Guebre of Kirman. However, a document found in the possession
of the traveller, and coming from the Shah of Persia, leads us to
believe that the latter hypothesis is the true one.

The Census of 1881 enables us to state some interesting facts, which
give us an idea of the occupations of the Parsis of Bombay, and of
the kind of life led by them. Thus there were at that time 855 priests
and persons devoted to religion, 141 teachers, 34 school-mistresses,
33 engineers, 1,384 clerks, and 115 employees. Naval construction
seemed to be one of their favourite occupations, for out of 46
ship-builders 26 were Parsis. As fo