UNDER THE ABSOLUTE AMIR
[Illustration: AMIR HABIBULLAH KHAN.
[_Frontispiece._]
UNDER
THE ABSOLUTE AMIR
BY
FRANK A. MARTIN
FOR EIGHT YEARS ENGINEER-IN-CHIEF SUCCESSIVELY TO THE AMIRS ABDUR
RAHMAN AND HABIBULLAH, AND FOR THE GREATER PART OF THAT
PERIOD THE ONLY ENGLISHMAN IN KABUL
_Illustrated by the Author’s Drawings and Photographs,
and by other Photographs_
[Illustration]
LONDON AND NEW YORK
HARPER & BROTHERS
45 ALBEMARLE STREET, W.
1907
CONTENTS
PAGE
CHAPTER I
ON THE ROAD
Order of march—Soldiers and guards—Method of carrying goods
by pack animals—Description of camps—Marches—Welcome given to
Sirdar Nasrullah at villages and cities—Description of country
passed through—Kandahar—Amir and the moullah who took refuge in
the Kandahar Sanctuary 1
CHAPTER II
ON THE ROAD—_continued_
Method of fishing in the rivers—Route through Khilat and
Mukur to Ghazni and distance from Kandahar—Cold and snow on
journey—Ghazni—Robberies and murders on roads before Amir Abdur
Rahman’s time—Villages and cultivation _en route_—Arrival in
Kabul and reception of Sirdar Nasrullah by Amir 16
CHAPTER III
KABUL
The Mihman khana or Guest-house—Description of hamams
(Turkish baths)—Description of people met with on roads
and streets—Amir Abdur Rahman—Description of palace and
audience chamber, and his reception of me—Situation of Kabul
and description of country around—Kabul city, its bazars,
streets, and filth—Water-supply and drainage systems—Sanitary
arrangements—Pariah dogs and crows scavenging city 33
CHAPTER IV
KABUL—_continued_
How streets are governed—City magistrate—Robberies and
murders—Bazar shops—Style of palaces and better-class
houses—Climate of Kabul 47
CHAPTER V
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS
Belief in the supernatural—Dress of men—Complexion—Character
of people—Description of various tribes—Languages and
schools—Feuds between families—How holidays are spent by the
people—Singing and musical instruments—Games and amusements 58
CHAPTER VI
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS—_continued_
Superstitions, fairies, and devils—A curious
legend—Astrologers—Children singing prayers on roofs to avert
calamity—Different foods in use—Smoking and tobacco—The Amir’s
chief physician—Snuff—Method of keeping warm in winter—How time
is kept—Weddings of different classes—Funerals 78
CHAPTER VII
AMIR ABDUR RAHMAN
Form of government—Abuse of authority—Amir’s food and drinking
water and taster—Soldiers and horses always ready for
flight—Amir’s habits—Amir’s amusements, attendants, etc.—Amir’s
feelings towards England—Amir’s views on Afridi rising and Boer
War—Amir’s stratagem 98
CHAPTER VIII
AMIR ABDUR RAHMAN—_continued_
Amir’s sons and his treatment of them—Princes and their duties
and durbars—Food supplied by Government to members of royal
family—How officials are paid—Civil and Military titles—Court
life and officials—Law courts—Amir’s lingering illness,
death, and burial—Rumours of rising—Fears of populace—Burial
of household treasures—Plots to get body—Coronation of Amir
Habibullah—New Amir’s promises of Reform—Amusements 120
CHAPTER IX
PRISONS AND PRISONERS
Kotwal and Kotwali (magistrate and police court)—Policemen as
thieves—Description of prisons—Description of how prisoners
are treated and their irons—The old well in Bala Hisar—The spy
system—Cutting a man’s throat—False reporting—Fanah (wedge)
tortures 142
CHAPTER X
TORTURES AND METHODS OF EXECUTION
Amir’s iron rule—Hanging by hair and skinning alive—Beating
to death with sticks—Cutting men in pieces—Throwing down
mountain-side—Starving to death in cages—Boiling woman to soup
and man drinking it before execution—Punishment by exposure and
starvation—Scaffold scenes—Burying alive—Throwing into soap
boilers—Cutting off hands—Blinding—Tying to bent trees and
disrupting—Blowing from guns—Hanging, etc. 157
CHAPTER XI
LIFE OF EUROPEANS IN KABUL
Life in Kabul—Houses and gardens—Guards and danger from
“Ghazis”— Allowances given wives—Servants and swindling 173
CHAPTER XII
LIFE OF EUROPEANS IN KABUL—_continued_
Lawlessness—Food: Raising cattle, sheep, fowls, etc.—Presents
from princes and others—Famines in Kabul—Cholera—Moullah’s
pilgrimage and preaching—Use of roofs of houses—Work and
working hours—Amusements—Hindu dealers and old curios—Festival
visits to Amir and princes—Europeans tried by jury—Letters,
cost of postage—Interpreters 192
CHAPTER XIII
SOLDIERS AND ARMS
Clothing—Reviews—Drill—Uniforms of Amir’s
bodyguard—Arms—Pay—Medals—Length of
service—Substitutes—Barracks—Mode of life—Gambling among
soldiers—Different tribes forming regiments—Thief tribe
and regiment—Officers and promotion—Bands—Afghan anecdotes
of incidents during war, 1879-81—Afghan army as a fighting
machine—Condition of country for warfare—Illustration of one
side of Afghan character 213
CHAPTER XIV
TRADES AND COMMERCE
Amir’s interest in mechanical tools, guns,
etc.—Workshops—Consumption of fuel—Ustads and workmen—Pay
of men—Trades, shopkeepers, and merchants—Produce of
country—Exports and imports—Irrigation of crops and fights
about water—Caravans and methods of carrying freight—Weights
and measures—Mirzas and offices—Debt collecting—Hindoos and
Hindoo money-lenders—Mint and coinage of country 229
CHAPTER XV
GEOLOGICAL CONDITIONS OF THE COUNTRY
Kabul valley once crater of volcano—Earthquakes—Kabul once
a large lake—Mines outcropping, gold, lead, copper, coal,
etc.—Rivers, and gold in them—Existence of kept secret for
fear of trouble—Turkestan mines—The question of fuel for Kabul
workshops—Local supply exhausted—Coal under the valley of Kabul 254
CHAPTER XVI
RELIGION
Suni and Shiah—Moullahs and their influence on the
people—Jihads or holy wars—The Koran—Late Amir’s distrust
of Moullahs—Holy men, fakirs, and holy graves—Madmen
and reverence paid them as God-stricken—Sayid and
Hafiz—Beggars and alms—Stoning to death for religious
offences—Prayers—Punishments for not knowing
prayers—Musjids—Ramazan and fastings—Haj—Afghan colony in
Australia—Lawful and unlawful food—Plurality of wives 266
CHAPTER XVII
POLITICAL SITUATION
Amir’s policy in killing off leading men of country to ensure
his son’s reign—Dwindling revenue—Why Amir could not meet
Lord Curzon in India—Russian encroachment on frontier—Russian
influence in Kabul—Afghanistan a menace to Russian approach
towards India—Afghan rule cheapest means of keeping unruly
tribes in order—Policy to keep the Afghans well armed—Sympathy
with English justice and government—Influence of British Agent
on the people—Why railways are not wanted in Afghanistan—Reason
rich mines are left unworked—Seaboard wanted by Amir on
Beloochistan coast—Internal policy of Amir Abdur Rahman 289
CHAPTER XVIII
ROAD FROM KABUL TO PESHAWAR
Difficulty of getting permission to enter Afghanistan and to
leave it—Description of country passed through—Camping-places
on way down and distances—Description of Jelalabad City—Usbeg
horseback game of Buz-bazee—Kabul river at Jelalabad and
beyond—The musak—Summer heat—The last day’s journey 308
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
TO FACE PAGE
AMIR HABIBULLAH KHAN _Frontispiece_
THE SHAHZADA ON THE MARCH FROM KANDAHAR TO KABUL 8
(_From a drawing by the Author_)
SIRDAR MAHOMED OMAR KHAN AND STAFF 24
AMIR ABDUR RAHMAN IN EVERYDAY DURBAR. SIRDAR HABIBULLAH
(PRESENT AMIR) SITTING WITH HIM 40
(_From a drawing by the Author_)
THE MIHMAN KHANA (GUEST-HOUSE), KABUL 48
PORTION OF GARDEN ATTACHED TO MY HOUSE—SAINT’S GRAVE IN THE
CORNER OF GARDEN 48
GROUP OF AFGHAN GUARDS AND SERVANTS—TAKEN IN COMPOUND OF MY
HOUSE—KITCHEN AT THE BACK 80
MARRIAGE PARTY OF THE “UPPER TEN.” BRIDE AND WAITING-WOMEN
CARRIED IN LITTERS 88
(_From a drawing by the Author_)
MARRIAGE PARTY OF POORER CLASS—BRIDEGROOM AND BRIDE FOLLOWED
BY GIRL CARRYING THE BRIDE’S CLOTHES 96
(_From a drawing by the Author_)
AMIR ABDUR RAHMAN AND OFFICIALS AT DINNER 104
(_From a drawing by the Author_)
PRINCE INIATULLAH—ELDEST SON OF AMIR HABIBULLAH KHAN—AND STAFF 120
AMIR ABDUR RAHMAN KHAN 128
KABULI WOMAN’S INDOOR DRESS 200
NEW PORTION OF KABUL WORKSHOPS, WITH THE SIRDAR’S BUNGALOW AND
OFFICE IN CENTRE 232
SOLDIERS ON GUARD IN GARDEN OUTSIDE THE KABUL WORKSHOPS EATING
FOOD 240
(_From a drawing by the Author_)
GROUP OF KABUL MIRZAS (WRITERS, OR CLERKS) 248
THE SERAI AT JAGDALAK, ON THE ROAD FROM KABUL TO PESHAWAR 312
Transcriber’s Note: The final illustration was originally described as
“The Serai at Ingdalak”, a place which does not exist. A few other minor
typographical errors were also corrected.
UNDER THE ABSOLUTE AMIR
CHAPTER I
ON THE ROAD
Order of march—Soldiers and guards—Method of carrying goods
by pack animals—Description of camps—Marches—Welcome given to
Sirdar Nasrullah at villages and cities—Description of country
passed through—Kandahar—Amir and the moullah who took refuge in
the Kandahar Sanctuary.
In the summer of 1895 the Afghan prince, Shahzada Nasrullah Khan, was
the guest of the English Government for three or four months, and he had
been entertained and _fêted_ and generally made much of while his visit
lasted, and his return journey had been made pleasant by a stay in Paris,
Rome, and Naples before going on by sea to Karachi and thence by rail to
Chaman, the railway terminus close to the Afghan frontier on the Quetta
side of Beloochistan.
The Shahzada was met and entertained at the railway terminus by General
Sir J. Brown, commanding the Quetta district, with other officers and
officials, and afterwards rode on to his camp across the border, where he
was joined by a multitude of troops and followers, who had been sent by
the Amir to accompany him on his further journey.
I had accompanied the Shahzada, as he was commonly called in England, on
his return from London, and rode with him through Kandahar to Kabul, and
when he set out from his camp early the following day I formed one of his
retinue. It was near the end of October and late in the season, but the
day we started was a very hot one, and grew hotter as we went on, and the
multitude of horsemen who accompanied the prince caused clouds of dust to
rise as they rode along and made it still more sultry and oppressive.
The country looked very desolate and inhospitable, for on all sides
stretched a large undulating sandy plain, bare of vegetation, save a few
tufts of coarse grass here and there, and rocks jutting out of the plain
in places, while in the distance were bare foot-hills and barren rocky
mountains, and over all the sun threw its burning rays until the sand and
rocks seemed to give out as much heat as the sun itself. There is no made
road from Chaman to Kandahar, nothing but a track worn into the earth by
the passing of caravans from time immemorial, and at places on the side
of the track were the bones of horses and camels whitening where they
had fallen. The prince and his retinue, however, rode along cheerfully,
for they had returned safely through all the dangers of foreign travel
and had many tales of strange lands and stranger customs to tell their
relations and friends when they got to Kabul, and had brought with them
finely wrought produce of these lands to make presents of and to trade
with and reap much profit.
In front of the Shahzada were two long lines, wide apart, of Usbeg
Lancers. At an interval on either side of him, and following the Usbegs,
were two other lines of the bodyguard, the Rissalah Shahi, armed with
sword and carbine, and better uniformed than the others, and following
these were troops of sowars who were roughly dressed and wild-looking,
though not so wild-looking as the Usbegs with their sheepskin busbies,
the hair of which falls about their faces and makes them look wilder than
nature made them. The sowars’ mode of keeping line would, perhaps, have
offended a military eye, but they nevertheless looked very serviceable in
case of need.
Before all rode a man with a native drum strapped to the saddle in
front of him, which he kept continuously tapping in time to his horse’s
hoof beats; this is the custom used to signify the approach of a royal
personage when travelling.
Beside the prince ran a man carrying a huge gold embroidered umbrella,
as a protection from the scorching rays of the sun, and around him were
syces and foot guards, while a little in front were other syces leading
spare horses. Behind rode attendants and the Khans and chiefs who were
accompanying him, and I rode with these and knew what it was like to ride
in a cloud of dust which caked the perspiration on one’s face and was so
dense that the horses stumbled over stones in the road they were unable
to see.
Along the track, and stretching away into the distance, both before
and behind, were strings of camels and pack-horses, each with its own
dust-cloud and accompanied by their drivers, who were on foot. These
carried the tents and baggage of this small army, and with each string of
animals was a sowar, or trooper, whose duty it was to see that there was
no undue delay on the road and to ensure the full load reaching the next
camp, for most of the pack animals were the property of men who make a
trade of carrying goods, and these men are not averse to making a little
extra profit when opportunity offers.
It was with a feeling of thankfulness that I heard the prince order a
halt for tea soon after midday, for my mouth was parched with heat and
dust. We all dismounted by the side of a hillock, and seated ourselves on
the stones and rocks round about while tea was prepared; excepting, of
course, attendants and soldiers, who are not supposed to feel fatigue.
After drinking tea the prince offered me a cigarette, and I may mention
that he showed me many courtesies and kindnesses on the journey and
ordered fur-lined overcoats to be made for me by his tailors, saying that
English coats were unsuitable for the extreme cold we should afterwards
experience, and I appreciated his thoughtfulness in this very thoroughly
afterwards. The Shahzada was a different being in his own country, not
at all like the Afghan Prince in London.
After a short rest the march was resumed and continued until camp was
reached. The afternoon’s ride was more pleasant, for the heat was less,
and, the track running over harder ground, the dust was not quite so much
in evidence.
At all of the villages we passed the inhabitants were crowded outside
the walls to see the Shahzada and his people, while the head men of
the village stood in front of the others, and, as the prince came up,
took off their turbans with both hands, and prayed for him and his safe
journey. Outside most of the villages long poles were fixed in the ground
on either side of the track, with a string stretching across from top to
top, and from the centre of the string the Koran was suspended, wrapped
in cloths. The prince and his followers, when passing under the Koran,
stretched up their right hands and touched it, and then with that hand
touched each of their eyes, their mouths, and hearts, saying a short
prayer the while. After this the Shahzada would stop for a time and talk
with the head men of the village, and then ride on. Two or three bands
accompanied the party, and on the prince’s arrival at each camping-ground
they played the royal salute as he rode in (this was also done when
leaving). At each camp also a large shamiana was ready, and there he
would hold durbar, which all the chief men of the country round about
attended, either to salaam the prince or to receive payment for the
provisions and forage supplied to the men sent on in advance to prepare
everything against his coming.
At many of the places stopped at were men who had come to meet those
friends or relations who had been to England, but it was at Chaman that
the Afghans first got news of their relatives. When first meeting a
friend they embrace three times, first to the right, then to the left,
and then to the right again, after which streams of question and answer
follow. It was touching to see the eager questions after the triple
embrace, and to see some turn away crying, possibly at the news of the
death of a relative, or it may have been that they were overcome at
meeting with friend or relative.
While superintending the unloading of baggage from the goods train at
the Chaman terminus, before crossing the frontier, I noticed the Kotwal,
one of the prince’s staff who accompanied him on his visit to England,
sitting on some boxes and looking very glum. He knew sufficient Urdu to
carry on a conversation, and so I asked what troubled him. He sighed,
and said that he had just heard that his brother in Kabul had been made
prisoner, and now his own enemies—may their fathers be cursed!—had taken
advantage of his brother’s downfall to poison the Amir’s mind against
him, and he was told that if he returned to Kabul it was probable the
Amir would kill him. So he had thought it over, and concluded that it was
better he should go back to Karachi and stay there with some friends
until he could return with safety, and he asked me to help him in getting
away by the next train.
To help in the running away of one of the chief officials of Kabul would
have been a bad introduction for me to the Amir, and it seemed hard not
to help a man to escape death, as he said, and he knew the Amir’s ways;
so, saying I would think it over and make inquiries about the trains, I
left him, wondering how best to arrange the difficulty. I ascertained
that there would be no train before nightfall, and at that time we were
due at the Afghan camp across the frontier, so, as there was no necessity
to take immediate steps in the matter, I went on with the work in hand.
At lunch time the English-speaking native, who had charge of the catering
and other arrangements in connection with the prince’s reception at
Chaman, came to tell me that the Kotwal had also approached him about
running away, and what should he do? I recognized that there was no help
at hand, and so I impressed on him that whatever was done nothing must be
known that we were concerned in the man’s running away, pointing out the
bad impression it would make on the Amir, and that the Government would
no doubt institute inquiries and we should be blamed. So he went off, and
came back with the Kotwal, and for a long time talked to him in Persian,
of which I had little knowledge then, and, I believe, persuaded him that
it was better that he should go away that day to the Afghan camp, and
get back during the night, or the following day, and he would leave one
of his men to see him to Karachi. However, when I rode away that evening
the Kotwal rode with me, and we reached the Afghan camp together, and he
was one of the prince’s retinue when we set out next day on the road to
Kandahar.
Afterwards, although the prince received orders in Kandahar that he
should be brought back to Kabul in chains, the Kotwal made his peace with
the Amir, and continued for some time in the enjoyment of his position,
which included torturing and killing people in horrible ways, and the
acquisition of wealth by bribery and extortion, so that when he died
of cholera some eight years later he was possessed of several lakhs of
rupees. The day he died, I overheard some soldiers gloating over the fact
that that night his soul would be roasting in hell, and I fancy some few
thousand others derived consolation from the same thought, and knowing
what I did of him myself, the fate the soldiers assigned him seemed not
an improbable one.
According to the Afghan theory, the soul of a man is judged the night of
the day he is buried, hence the delight of the soldiers over what would
take place that night after the judgment had been pronounced.
[Illustration: THE SHAHZADA ON THE MARCH FROM KANDAHAR TO KABUL.
(_From a drawing by the Author_).
[_To face p. 8._]
The camp at each stopping-place looked rather imposing, and gave the
impression of an immense gathering, as, besides the prince with his
retinue and soldiers, were the men in charge of the baggage animals,
who of themselves formed a rather large company, for the camels alone
numbered half a thousand, so that the tents, horses, and camels covered
a large tract of ground. After nightfall all the fires at which the men
were cooking their food showed up clearly, and each fire had its quota of
men busily superintending the pots and cooking arrangements generally,
while others were standing or squatting round, watching and waiting the
moment when, all being ready, they might fall to.
The noises of the camp at night were numerous, though there was never
any rowdiness, for an Afghan crowd is the most orderly and quiet of any
country, but there were the voices of officers giving orders, the squeals
of horses fighting with one that had got loose (and there always seemed a
loose horse about at night), the gurgling of the camels, the challenges
of soldiers on guard in guttural Afghani, and the striking of gongs to
announce the hour.
I remember one night, or rather early morning, when the guard over the
gong had evidently been asleep and waked up suddenly, hearing sixteen
strokes of the gong in rapid succession, although it was only half-past
one. Whether this was the result of nightmare, or whether the man thought
a little extra activity would better demonstrate his extreme wakefulness,
I cannot say.
We were four days reaching Kandahar, for only on one day was the march
at all a long one, the rest being what they term “King’s marches,” in
contradistinction to “Caravan marches.” King’s marches being short ones
on account of the number of men, etc., to move. The distance from one
camp to another is usually expressed as so many hours’ journey. The
horses on a journey go at a uniform pace, something between a quick walk
and a jog-trot to which they are trained, and at which pace they can,
when in condition, cover fifty to sixty miles in a day, though it is
not customary to push them to that extent except in cases of necessity.
Taking into consideration the mountainous description of country usually
met with, the absence of proper roads, and the size of the horses (which
average thirteen to fourteen hands), this is a fair distance.
They have a unit of distance in Afghanistan called a “kro,” which is said
by some to be equivalent to one and a half English miles, but as there
are no recognized number of “guz” (yards) to the “kro” it assumes varying
dimensions, according to individual taste. I once received a firman from
the Amir, through the prince, to make a perambulating instrument for
measuring roads which was to show distances on the index in guz and kro,
and I wrote the prince to let me know the number of guz in a kro that
I might arrange the necessary clockwork. He replied that he had made
inquiries, and the number given by different persons so varied that he
had written the Amir to fix a standard; but the Amir fell ill just then,
and the matter remained in abeyance, and the same indefiniteness still
exists. The present Amir has distances measured in yards and miles.
Once when travelling from Kabul to Peshawar, and after being seven or
eight hours in the saddle, I asked the sowars with me how far it was
to the village by which we intended camping. One usually is rather
interested in knowing how much farther one has to go after several hours’
riding. He told me that it was between one to two kro ahead, but we did
not get to camp until after three hours’ further riding. So I henceforth
made it a custom to inquire the distance in hours, and found it less
disappointing.
On arriving within a few miles of Kandahar, the prince was met by
the General commanding that district and the principal officers, who
dismounted at a distance from him, and came up with heads uncovered. When
they reached him they kissed his foot, and then, taking his hand between
both of theirs, placed it on each eye in turn, and kissed it also; this
being the Afghan custom when acknowledging their chief or swearing
allegiance. Near the city the troops of the garrison were drawn up,
together with the artillery, and the latter fired the royal salute as the
prince rode up. The prince then inspected the troops, and addressed a few
words to them, after which, followed by all the officers and officials,
he repaired to the musjid for prayers, while I rode on to the city to
find the quarters which had been allotted to me.
The road _viâ_ Kandahar is not one which is often used when travelling
from India to Kabul, the road from Peshawar through the Khyber Pass being
the direct route, and the journey by that road occupies about eight days
when travelling with little luggage and doing forced marches, while the
route _viâ_ Kandahar and Ghazni takes three or four weeks. There are
no roads for wheeled traffic, nor are there any railways, and one must
either ride or be carried in a sort of sedan chair, suspended from the
backs of two horses. The Afghan rulers are greatly prejudiced against
railways, and if one but mentions such a scheme ulterior designs are at
once suspected. Yet a proper scheme of railways to open up the country
would make it rich and prosperous, and do away with the present universal
poverty and misery.
The Shahzada on leaving Kabul for England had been sent _viâ_ Peshawar
by the late Amir, and arrangements had been made for him to return _viâ_
Kandahar, in order that he might see as much as possible of the country.
Since he came from Russia, a little boy of nine, he had never been more
than a few miles out of Kabul, for the Amir did not encourage the members
of his family to travel unless of necessity. The Amir also wished him to
stop in Kandahar on his return journey to inquire into matters concerning
its government, because for many years there had been complaints from the
people of the oppression of the governors and absence of justice.
I was told, while in Kandahar, that the Amir made the previous governors,
when accepting office, sign a paper providing that, should they rob or
oppress either rich or poor, they consented to be hanged, and it was
significant that the last three or four governors had been hanged. The
man who was governor when the prince arrived suddenly fell ill, and died
a few days afterwards, and there were not wanting those who suggested
self-destruction in order to escape worse happening.
Kandahar is situated in the middle of a fertile plain, or rather the
plain would be fertile if irrigated and cultivated as it could be; but
when I was there, there was little cultivation or signs of it, although
the rivers carry plenty of water. On account of the small amount of
rainfall in Afghanistan irrigation is necessary in order to make the
land yield crops; and in some cases, to provide water for land which
cannot be irrigated direct from the river, the people have sunk a
series of wells leading from water-bearing strata to the land requiring
irrigation, connecting the wells by underground ducts; the water from
the last well being raised to the surface by means of a Persian wheel.
This is a laborious process, and as the connecting ducts are not arched
or protected in any way, the supply is frequently stopped by the earth
falling in, and crops are ruined before the supply can be set going again.
I was asked to propose an irrigation scheme by which the whole of the
surrounding land could be put under cultivation, and gave my opinion;
but, although the work was feasible, it involved too great an outlay for
the exchequer, and the matter was dropped.
The city is not a large one, and is surrounded by a high wall, which,
together with most of the buildings, is built of mud and stone, or mud
and sun-dried brick. The whole place is in a most tumble-down condition,
having been partially destroyed several times during the wars of the past
twenty years and not rebuilt. It gave one the idea that the inhabitants
were in the utmost poverty, and although some of the better houses and
musjids are built of small burnt bricks and lime, yet in all is the same
appearance of dilapidation which made one think that the people were
humbled and lacked the heart to put their city to rights. Some of the
streets in the bazars are raised above the surrounding land, so that one
looks down into the tumble-down shops, where copper, tin, leather, and
other trades are carried on in a small way.
One thing that struck me particularly when riding through the bazars
was the small size of the donkeys, which are little bigger than a large
mastiff. They are employed in carrying loads, and I saw many with such
huge piles of grass on them that only the donkey’s hoofs and a small
portion of his head was visible. Ripe cases for the intervention of the
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
I was lodged in a small house, built in the form of a cross, and
consisting of one room only, branching out on four sides, this form
being, I believe, copied from Russia. It was situated in the garden
adjoining the house occupied by the prince, and as the weather was
getting cold at night it was a decided improvement on a tent, although
the architect had forgotten to include a fireplace. From the roof of the
house I got a good view over most of the city, and could also see the
minarets of the musjid in which is a sanctuary where any man, whatsoever
his crime, is safe when once inside. There used to be similar sanctuaries
in some old English churches.
The late Amir once told me a story of a moullah in Kandahar who had
dubbed him a “Kafir” (infidel) when inciting the people to rise against
him. They had to make him out a “Kafir,” as otherwise it is against
the religious law for the people to rise against the King, who is also
their spiritual head. When the ensuing rebellion had been put down the
Amir was told that this man had taken refuge in the sanctuary. Then the
Amir, turning the tables on the man, said that the sanctuary was for
Mussulmans only, not for such infidels as men who rose against their
king; and, taking his sword, he went to the musjid and killed the man in
the very place. It was little that stopped Abdur Rahman in the pursuit of
vengeance.