On the 24th September I started on another excursion, though under
very different circumstances; our party on this occasion consisting of
Her Majesty's 13th Light Infantry, two companies of the 37th Native
Infantry, two squadrons of the Bengal 2nd Cavalry, a small body of
Affgh[=a]n horsemen under Prince Timour Shah, three nine-pounders, two
24-inch howitzers, and two 8 1/2-inch mortars, the whole under the
command of Sir Robert Sale, the object of the expedition being to
quell some refractory chiefs inhabiting the northern and some hilly
parts of the Kohist[=a]n.
It would be beyond the sphere of this little book to enter into a
detailed account of our operations in the field, nor do I pretend
to have sufficient materials by me for such a delicate task, in the
execution of which I might by erroneous statements expose myself to
just animadversion.
I had not, I regret to say, the means of ascertaining with precision
the different causes which had driven these hill chiefs into
rebellion. The footing which Dost Mahomed had lately acquired in the
north-west encouraged them to persist, and it will be seen in the
sequel, that at the disgraceful scene of Purwun Durrah the Dost was
almost a _prisoner_ in the hands of those who were considered, by the
unversed in the intricacies of Affgh[=a]n policy, to be only in arms
for the restoration of their favourite to the throne of C[=a]bul.
Were it in my power to give an accurate description of the different
positions assumed by the enemy, and provided I had the leisure to
survey the ground, then I am well aware that I might have claimed
additional interest for my pages, as I should have elucidated the mode
of warfare peculiar to the Affgh[=a]ns; but such an attempt would
perhaps carry me out of my depth. I must therefore be content with
remarking, that though in action the Affgh[=a]ns acknowledge some
guiding chieftain, yet the details of position are left to each tribe.
They have no confidence in each other; it follows, therefore, that the
wisest plan is to turn either or both flanks, as this manoeuvre is
almost sure to require a change in the original disposition of their
force, which they, for want of good communications between their
detached parties, are unable to effect. Hence confusion arises, and
the uncertainty of support generally causes the whole to retreat. The
Affgh[=a]ns have great dread of their flanks being turned, and will
sometimes abandon an almost impregnable position in consequence of a
demonstration being made to that effect, which after all could never
have been carried out.
On the third day after our departure from C[=a]bul, the force encamped
at a place called Vaugh opposite the beautiful Ist[=a]lif, whose
luxuriant vineyards and magnificent orchards have before excited the
admiration of the traveller. But we had still some marches to get over
before reaching the territories of the refractory chiefs, and it
was not till the 29th that we came to Toottum Durrah, or valley of
mulberries. Here we found the enemy posted in force, but it was merely
an affair of detachments, two companies of the 13th and two of the
37th being ordered to make a detour to the right and left, so as to
threaten the enemy's flanks. The main column closing up continued to
advance; the enemy did not make a very determined resistance, yet a
chance shot killed poor Edward Conolly, brother to the victim of the
ruffian king of Bokhara. His--poor fellow!--was a soldier's death;
though we deplore his loss, we know that he died in honorable warfare;
but we have no such consolation for the fate of his poor brother, and
it is with difficulty that his indignant countrymen can refrain from
imprecating the vengeance of God upon the cowardly destroyer of so
much talent and virtue.
The enemy made no further stand this day, and we proceeded about
fifteen miles down the valley to Julghur, destroying before our
departure the mud forts of Toottum Durrah. At Julghur the enemy shewed
more resistance; they trusted in the strength of their fort, and we
perhaps too much to its weakness. The result was, that a wing of the
13th, not more than one hundred and twenty strong, suffered a loss
of fourteen men killed and seventeen wounded, and the enemy were
eventually shelled out by the batteries under the direction of Capt.
Abbott.
The following morning we buried our gallant companions, amongst them
our respected serjeant-major (Airey), in one deep grave; but a report
was current, that shortly after our departure, the bodies had been
disinterred and exposed in front of the grave, that every Affgh[=a]n
might witness and exult in the disgrace to which they had subjected
the corpses of the Feringhis.
This is but a single instance of the hatred which actuated our enemy,
and when we consider the exasperating effects of these cowardly
outrages on the minds of the soldiery, we should the more admire the
generosity and clemency of the British in the hour of victory. I
am aware that ill-informed people have accused our armies in
Affghanist[=a]n, especially after the advance of General Pollock's
force, of many acts of cruelty to the natives, but I can emphatically
deny the justice of the accusation. Some few instances of revenge for
past injuries did occur, but I am sure that an impartial soldier would
rather admire the forbearance of men who for days had been marching
over the mangled remains of the C[=a]bul army.
But to return to the Kohist[=a]n. On the 4th of October we took a
transverse direction westward, crossing the plain of Buggr[=a]m,
supposed to be the site of the "Alexandria ad Calcem Caucasi" of the
ancients; numerous coins, gems, and relics of antiquity are found
hereabouts, particularly subsequently to the melting of the snows.
Formerly they were considered useless, but when our enterprising
countrymen and the army of the Indus found their way to C[=a]bul,
these memorials of the Greek had ready purchasers amongst the
numismatologists of the British force. At the same time the
C[=a]bulese considered it great folly our exchanging the current coin
for what were in their estimation useless pieces of old silver and
copper.
Throughout the marches and countermarches which it was necessary for
us to make in the northern districts of the Kohist[=a]n, in order to
prevent the enemy from gathering together, we were much interested by
the varied beauty of the scenery; and it must candidly be admitted
that our ignorance as to the nature or amount of force we might any
day find opposed to us by no means diminished our excitement. Rather
an extraordinary phenomenon occurs in a small range of hills detached
from the parent mountains, a little to the northward of the fort of
Julghur. From top to bottom of the precipitous side of one of these
spurs extends a light golden streak, rather thicker and less highly
coloured at the bottom than at the top. I was unable to approach it
nearer than about four miles, but I was credibly informed that the
streak was in reality what its appearance first suggested to my mind,
a body of fine sand continually flowing over the side of the hill, and
depositing its volumes in a heap at the base of the mountain. I might
perhaps in a windy day have ascertained the correctness of the report,
as then the sandy cascade would appear as a cloud of dust, but the
weather was calm during the whole time we were in its vicinity. It
is called by the natives the Regrow[=a]n or flowing sand. Being no
geologist, I refrain from offering any suggestions as to its cause,
but merely state what I saw and heard.
After marching about the country for some days like the Paladins of
old in search of adventure, we turned our faces once more towards
C[=a]bul and encamped near Kara-bagh. While here, a scene occurred
which will doubtless be still in the recollection of many officers
with the force, and which I relate as illustrative of the barbarous
customs of the people. Many of the stories which I have introduced
must of course be received by the impartial or incredulous reader "cum
grano salis." I have given them as they were repeated to me, but I can
personally vouch for the following fact.
Our bugles had just sounded the first call to dinner, when a few
officers who were strolling in front of the camp observed a woman with
a black veil walking hurriedly from some dark-looking object, and
proceed in the direction of that part of the camp occupied by the
Affghan force under Prince Timour Shah, the Shah Zada, heir apparent
to the throne of C[=a]bul. On approaching the object, it was
discovered to be a man lying on the ground with his hands tied behind
him, his throat half severed, with three stabs in his breast, and two
gashes across the stomach. The mangled wretch was still breathing,
and a medical man being at hand, measures were instantly taken most
calculated to save his life, but without success, and in a quarter of
an hour he was a corpse. Familiar as we were with scenes which in our
own happy land would have excited the horror and disgust of every man
possessed of the common feelings of humanity, there was something in
this strange murder which caused us to make enquiries, and the reader
will hardly believe me when I tell him that the victim met his fate
with the knowledge and consent of Timour Shah. The woman whom we first
observed was the legal murderess. She had that morning been to the
Shah Zada and sworn on the Kor[=a]n that the deceased many years back
had murdered her husband and ran away with his other wife; she had
demanded redress according to the Mahommedan law--blood for blood. The
Shah Zada offered the woman a considerable sum of money if she would
waive her claim to right of personally inflicting the punishment on
the delinquent, and allow the man to be delivered over to his officers
of justice, promising a punishment commensurate with the crime he had
committed. But the woman persisted in her demand for the law of the
Kor[=a]n. Her victim was bound and delivered into her hands; she had
him conducted in front of the prince's camp about three hundred yards
off, and effected her inhuman revenge with an Affgh[=a]n knife, a fit
instrument for such a purpose.
Before returning to C[=a]bul it was deemed requisite to punish the
rebellious owner of the fort of Babboo-koosh-Ghur. On the approach of
our force he decamped with all his vassals, and as it was advisable to
leave some permanent mark of our displeasure, the bastions were blown
down with gunpowder. It seems that the enemy imagined we were very
negligent in camp, for they honored us the same evening with one of
their night attacks, for which they are famous, the object in general
being rather to harass their adversary by keeping him on the alert
than to penetrate to his tents.
On the present occasion they commenced a distant fusillade upon the
left of our line, extending it gradually along nearly the whole face;
a few rounds of grape from the artillery soon cleared _their_ front,
but the enemy continued for above three hours a random fire upon the
left, and, strange to say, they kept aloof from the European troops,
who were encamped as usual on the right of the line. The artillery
horses being picketted in soft ground soon drew their iron pegs, and
having thus obtained their liberty, scampered up and down in rear of
the troops and amongst the tents, thereby considerably adding to the
confusion and uproar. On the alarm first sounding every light was
extinguished in the camp, and well was it that these precautionary
measures were adopted, for a great portion of the standing tents were
riddled. The enemy fired without aim, and we were fortunate enough to
lose only one sepoy; we could not ascertain the amount of casualty
amongst them, but from the sudden cessation of any attack upon that
part of the line where the artillery was stationed, we concluded that
the rounds of grape must have told with considerable effect.
After midnight the enemy withdrew, and when at a distance of about
half a mile from our outposts gave a shout of defiance, perhaps to
draw a party from the camp to pursue them, which, however, was not
done, or rejoicing at the havoc they imagined to have made in our
ranks. We heard afterwards that the Affgh[=a]ns with their usual
superstition had remembered that many years ago a large army had been
attacked on the same ground we then occupied and annihilated, and
that probably a like success would crown their efforts in the present
instance.
This night attack rendered some further demonstration of our powers of
retaliation necessary, particularly as a portion of our adversaries
were from the fort of Kardurrah, to which we proceeded the next day
and easily captured, the enemy retiring to the hills on our advance,
abandoning a strong and easily defended position, for their flank
could not have been turned without incurring considerable loss, if
the fort of Kardurrah had been held in a determined manner. It was
generally remarked as being a particularly strong place, the approach
leading through orchards surrounded by mud walls six or seven feet
high and loopholed, the lanes intersecting them being barricadoed as
if to be held to the last extremity.
Probably such was their valiant intention, but it seems they were
bewildered by our attacking them from different points, and not
trusting to each other for support, all took to their heels. The
undulating ground was strewn with masses of detached rocks, and they
had also built up several small but substantial stone breast-works,
so that altogether we had reason to congratulate ourselves on their
unexpected retreat.
The women had been previously conveyed away with the heavy baggage,
and we found the houses empty, but fruit of every description was
lying about the streets, prepared and packed for the winter supply of
the C[=a]bul market. Melons, peaches, pears, walnuts were either in
heaps against the walls or placed in baskets for transportation; but
the most curious arrangement was exhibited in the mode in which they
preserved their brobdignag grapes for winter consumption. About thirty
berries, each of enormous size and separately enveloped in cotton,
were hermetically enclosed between a couple of rudely shaped clay
saucers, so that we were obliged to crack the saucers to get at
the fruit inside, and great was the scrambling amongst the thirsty
soldiers for their luscious contents as they rolled out upon the
ground.