To the south of the Christian cantons of Tkhuma and Salabekan, and separated from them by a series of high rocky ridges, lies the long trough-like valley of Amadia, which is here known alternatively as the Sapna. At its eastern end, as already related, dwell the Sheikhs of Barzan and Neri; but the western portion is divided among a group of petty Kurdish Aghas, who are of course _ashiret_ in status like their neighbours, and who occupy both the main Sapna valley itself, the Ghara ranges which form the counterscarp separating it from Mosul plain, and the Berwar valley which lies parallel with it to the northward. These chiefs, of whom the Mira of Berwar and the Agha of Châl are the principal, are "small men." None of them can claim a personal following of more than a few hundred at most; though one or other may figure prominently at times as the head of a confederacy. Their chronic condition is that of outlawry for proved acts of violence; and in the land of Ghara in particular there does not seem to be a single gentleman of name who is not in that enviable condition--or if there is, we never heard of him in the course of three years' residence. This fact, however, does not in the least affect anyone's comfort, or even the friendliness of his relations with the officials of the Government. It is rather a _cachet_ of gentility than otherwise. Bigger men live to east and west of them; namely our old acquaintance the Sheikh of Barzan, and the Agha of the Sindigul Kurds, whose name is Abdi. When these men have a disagreement with the Government, it is not a case of mere outlawry, but of open war; and the Government does not always, by any means, get the better of them. Abdi Agha of the Sindigulis is perhaps the better off; for he has a stronghold of the most magnificent description, to which no Government troops have ever penetrated, and which is a fair set-off against the religious prestige of his neighbour. This stronghold is the lofty tableland of Tanina; a great plateau among the mountains where there are wood and water for the whole tribe, and pasture in abundance for all their sheep the whole summer through. It can only be approached, the tale goes (for no foreigner has ever been allowed to visit its summit), by three easily guarded ascents; and when once the tribe are on the top, they can afford to laugh at any force the Government of the district can send against them. A large force set to blockade the place could not be fed in the district, while small detachments guarding the "ports" could be overwhelmed in detail. No doubt resolute troops could storm it; but the cost would be heavy. The only weakness of the sanctuary appears to lie in this; that neither man nor beast can live on the top of it during the winter. When the autumn gales and early snows begin, come down they must; and in this fact would lie the opportunity of a Government that really cared about the enforcement of order.