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.
After several years spent in Kabul, one experiences a sense of elation
when the time comes for leaving it. The thought of being back soon in
civilization, among one’s friends and the people of one’s own country,
produces so keen a desire to be with them again at once that the time
occupied in making ready to start, and that spent on the journey, seems
interminable. When in Kabul there is a remoteness in the thought of home
and England so great that the memory seems to deal with the land and
people of another planet, and if one were a Buddhist it might easily be
conceived that the memory dealt with a former incarnation, for one is so
cut off from the outer world, and all things are so different, that it
appears like a separate existence.
Afghanistan is a difficult country to get into, for not only is the
Amir’s written permission necessary, but the Indian Government must
consent also, for no European is allowed to go through the Khyber Pass
and cross the frontier without a permit, and that is only granted on
producing the Amir’s firman; and even then one is not allowed to start
until the Afghans across the frontier have been communicated with and
the escort arranged to meet the traveller on a certain day. It is also
difficult to leave it, for the Amir is chary of giving leave to those who
have spent some time in the country. I was there for over eight years
without a break, and although I repeatedly asked for leave I was always
put off on one pretext or another. When permission to leave has been
given there always occurs another two or three weeks’ delay in getting
together the pack-horses required for carrying luggage, and the escort of
sowars (cavalry) necessary for protection on the journey, and the tents
and carpets, etc. With a desire to start as soon as ever possible, the
casual to-morrow-or-next-day habit of the people, to which one has got
accustomed more or less, becomes of a sudden a prominent characteristic,
and proportionately irritating. But as all things come to those who
wait, provided they wait long enough, everything is at last ready, and
one morning all the boxes and packages are fastened on the backs of the
pack-animals, the servants are seated on those horses which carry the
lightest loads, and the baggage is got off, and an hour or two later one
mounts and starts off one’s self.
It is an eight days’ journey from Kabul to Peshawar if long marches are
undertaken each day, but the people who travel up and down that way
usually take eleven or twelve days. I have done it in six days, but to
do it in this time all the riding and pack-horses must be of the best,
for the mountainous country traversed, and rough stony character of the
tracks (there are no roads excepting round Kabul itself), make it very
trying for the horses, and on a very long day’s march some will drop from
fatigue, and cases of horses dying on the road are not at all uncommon.
When the valley of Kabul has been left behind the country appears very
desolate, for there is nothing but mountains, rocks, and sand to be seen.
The second day’s journey takes one over the Latabund Pass which lies at
a considerable altitude above Kabul, which is itself seven thousand feet
above sea-level, and the rest of the journey until Jelalabad is reached
is all over mountains. Camp for the night is pitched near small villages
set in valleys where a little water makes the cultivation of a few
patches of sandy soil possible. It is the very small amount of rainfall
which makes the country so barren generally for the disintegrated rock
which collects in the valleys, and the foot of the mountains forms a
prolific soil when it can be irrigated, and it is also the want of
verdure and trees on the mountains, and absence of clouds with their
accompanying haze of moisture, which is the cause of the monotonous
colouring of the landscape, for there are many fine mountain scenes
which would be magnificent, but for the dryness of the atmosphere which
makes the hills and mountains, far and near, shades of one dirty looking
colour. At the beginning of a day’s march, the sameness of the prospect
makes one almost sigh at the dreary stretch of country to be ridden over,
for it offers nothing of interest to lessen the sense of fatigue, and the
only desire while riding is to get it done with, and look forward to the
camping-place.
The usual stopping-places between Kabul and Jelalabad, which is about
halfway to Peshawar, are Budkhark, twelve miles; Barikab, thirty-two
miles; Jagdalak, sixteen miles; Gandamak, twenty-eight miles; Fatehabad,
eighteen miles; and Jelalabad, nineteen miles. These distances are only
approximate, for they are estimated from the time occupied in riding
from one to the other. There are other places at which one may camp for
the night if necessary, according to the number of days in which it is
desired to make the journey; but the above are best if one wishes to make
each day’s journey equal in fatigue for the horses and pack-animals. The
shorter marches are over bad mountain tracts, which tire the horses quite
as much as a longer journey over fairly level country. The sixth day’s
journey to Jelalabad is over ground which slopes down gradually from
the foot hills, but almost the whole of it is through sand mixed with
small stones in which the horses’ feet sink deeply, and makes the going
hard and tiring. Those who have walked any distance in dry sand by the
seashore will appreciate the fatigue of the horses in getting over such
country.
When I left Kabul snow was falling, and had been doing so for the past
two days, and the mountains and plains were covered with it, and to make
matters worse a blizzard was blowing. The coldness of a blizzard must be
experienced to be appreciated, and I heard afterwards that two or three
soldiers on night-guard had been frozen to death; but this is a common
occurrence during the severe winters experienced in Kabul, when the wind
gains in piercing intensity as the cold increases during the night.
[Illustration: THE SERAI AT JAGDALAK, ON THE ROAD FROM KABUL TO PESHAWAR.
[_To face p. 312._]
After riding through the snow for some hours, with limbs stiffened and
senses benumbed by the icy wind, it was with a feeling of thankfulness
that I saw the walls of the serai, showing through the driving snow; and
when we reached the place and dismounted, I found that the circulation
in my right hand had stopped, and it was only after having it rubbed
for some time that it got right again. The serais, which are stationed
at intervals along the route, are intended for the use of the caravans,
and they are made in the form of a square, with a high wall surrounding
it, and the rooms are built against the inner side of the wall. There is
a verandah outside the rooms, under which the packages carried by the
caravans are stored for the night in bad weather, and which also forms
a shelter for the camels and pack-animals. Over the gate of the serai,
in which we lodged for the first night, was an upper room, built for
the use of travellers of position and standing, and this was placed at
my disposal; but as regards its comforts, I can only say that it was
better than being outside. One of the lower rooms which are used by the
men of the caravans travelling up and down would have been warmer, but
they are filthy, and mostly contain a vigorous population undesirable
to those of clean habits; and the room I occupied was fairly clean, but
it was unfurnished, and had no fireplace, while the window was composed
of wooden shutters, and round the frame were cracks an inch wide, where
the wood had shrunk away from the wall and left open spaces, and in the
wall itself were large cracks, due probably to earthquakes, through which
the wind whistled; so while waiting for the baggage to come up, I had an
open fire lighted on the top of the verandah outside, and warmed myself
one side at a time. It was not until night had fallen that the baggage
animals came in, and I was able to get a cup of hot tea, and an hour or
two later I got some food, and it was rather a dreary time waiting for
it, when tired and hungry, and the thermometer below zero. To undress
and go to sleep with the blizzard blowing in at all the cracks in wall
and window was not to be thought of, so I took off my boots only and lay
down, covering myself with all the rugs I had; and in the morning when I
woke, I found that the water in the wash-basin was frozen solid, and fine
drift snow covered the floor and bed.
The morning was clear and bright, and the dazzling whiteness of the snow
in the sunlight was blinding, until the eyes became a little used to it;
but the wind continued in all its severity, and while riding over the
Latabund Pass, we found it far too cold at that altitude to sit in the
saddle with comfort, for our hands and feet became so numbed and useless
that we feared frostbite, and therefore the escort and myself dismounted
and walked, in order to keep ourselves warm, and led our horses, until
about two o’clock in the afternoon, we reached the summit. Once on the
other side of the pass, we were protected from the wind, but I thought it
still too cold to ride, and so walked on the rest of the way to Barikab,
where I reached camp at six in the evening, very tired with a long day’s
walk. The pack animals, which are too heavily laden to take the short
cuts over the mountains that the riding horses follow, did not reach
camp until nine o’clock, so that it was again very late before I got my
dinner, and by the time I got it I wanted it.
Thence to Jelalabad, as each successive range of mountains brought us
still lower down it got warmer day by day, but the warmth was comparative
only, for it was still very cold when we reached Jelalabad. Here I spent
a day, having a day extra in hand in which to reach the Khyber Pass,
which is open for travellers twice a week only, and occupied myself in
looking over the city and inspecting the Amir’s palace and gardens
there. The city is a small one, and is walled round, as usual, but the
wall is broken down in places, and everything has a most dilapidated
look, and many parts are in ruins. There is no attempt to keep the
city clean, and the inhabitants of each house make their own sanitary
arrangements, which practically means none at all, as each one throws
the refuse of the house outside to lie there and rot, if not eaten up
by the dogs and crows. The water of the place stinks, and it is not at
all surprising that when cholera visits it, being brought up from India
with the caravans, it makes a long and effective stay. One wonders that
it does not wipe off the whole of the population, but the dry climate
and frequent winds, no doubt, help towards the sanitary condition of the
city, and perhaps long-continued successive visits of cholera have made
many of the people immune.
It was in Jelalabad that I first saw the Usbeg game of “Buz-bazee”
(literally, “goat play”). It is played on horseback, and the first thing
done is to kill a goat or sheep by cutting its throat in the usual manner
while the Usbeg horsemen gather around. When this has been done, a signal
is given, and all the riders make a dash at the carcase, which lies on
the ground. The man who gets it flings it across the saddle in front of
him, and goes off at full gallop, the others chasing him until one or
another catches him up, and then ensues a struggle, while still at full
gallop, for the possession of the body. The man who gets it is chased
in turn by the others, and when the carcase falls to the ground, as it
does at times, it is picked up as the rider gallops by, the horseman
riding with one leg and arm thrown over the horse to enable him to reach
low down to the ground. So the game goes on until the limbs are wrenched
apart and the victors ride off at last with the portion they have been
able to secure, and which the speed and agility of their horses prevents
others from taking from them.
The usual journey from Jelalabad to Peshawar occupies five days. Girdi
Kutch, the first stopping-place, is twenty miles; Basawal, eighteen
miles; Daka, the Afghan frontier post, sixteen miles; and Lundi Kotal,
the British frontier post on the far side of the Khyber Pass, twenty
miles. The last day’s journey is from Lundi Kotal through the Khyber
Pass, and past Jumrood, the fort which guards the mouth of the Khyber on
the Indian side, and on into Peshawar, where one enters once more into
civilization.
From Jelalabad to the Khyber mountains the country is a comparatively
flat one, and for the greater part of the journey the route follows the
course of the Kabul river, which is here broad and shallow, though the
current is swift, on account of the considerable fall in level between
Jelalabad and Peshawar. This portion of the river contains several
whirlpools, which render navigation a matter of difficulty and danger to
all who are not well conversant with the currents. The whirlpools are
said to be mostly situated in the narrow gorges of the Khyber mountains,
through which the river flows, and that it is here where the skill of
the raftsmen is called into play to prevent sudden disaster, for the
swiftness of the current gives little opportunity of correcting a mistake
in steering.
Jelalabad is one of the few spots in Afghanistan where there are many
trees. The forests are situated some few miles from the city, and may
be seen covering some of the hills in the distance. The timber, a
description of the pine tree, after being cut down, is roughly squared
into logs and dragged down to the river, where they are formed into rafts
and floated down into Peshawar for sale. A small amount of produce is
also carried on the rafts and sold in India.
On one of my journeys down to Peshawar the governor of Jelalabad, by
order of the Amir, sent me several large melons which are grown in the
district. The size of the melons was so great, about two feet long
and one and a half feet in diameter, that I had no means of carrying
them with me, and on this being represented to the governor, he gave
instructions for them to be carried by raft into Peshawar and handed over
to me there. The raftsmen told me that they would be in Peshawar twelve
hours after leaving Jelalabad, and as the distance between the two points
is about a hundred miles, some idea of the speed of the current may be
gained.
The water of the river is fed by the melted snow from the mountains, and
is intensely cold, and I was told that any one who attempted to swim
across the river would be carried so far down by the current before
reaching the other side that the coldness of the water would make him
numbed and powerless, and he would drown. The people of the district,
when they have to cross the river, do so on musaks distended with air,
which keep the body clear of the water, while allowing the use of the
legs and arms as a means of propulsion; but even then the limbs get so
numbed and paralyzed that only strong men can make use of the musak as
a means of crossing the river, or floating down to another village some
miles lower on the same side; and I was told that the frequent use of it
brings on rheumatism in the legs and arms—and one can quite understand
that it would do so.
The musak is the same as that used by watermen all over the East for
carrying water. It is made of a goat or sheepskin, which is treated to
make the skin soft and flexible, and afterwards sown up, so that it has
the original form of the animal, minus head and legs; the joints are made
watertight, and the whole skin when distended by air being blown into it
forms a very buoyant vessel. The villager lies face downwards on it, and
pushing off into deep water, strikes out with arms and legs, much as if
he was swimming, and those I have seen travelling down the river in this
way were going at a speed which I estimated at a good ten miles an hour.
Close to Jelalabad, where the river narrows as it runs between some low
hills, the villagers have stretched a thick rope across from bank to
bank, fastening it to large iron bars fixed in the rocks at the side, and
by means of this rope they ferry a rickety-looking raft, which is built
up of frail-looking poles roughly tied together, and supported on musaks,
from one bank to the other, and carry freight, passengers, and animals
as required. The rope is a country-made one of unequal thickness, and
ragged with loose strands, and has a good deal of stress thrown on it by
the swift current which surges against the raft, and swings it from side
to side on its passage, and it struck me that a passenger addicted to
nerves would find the crossing a rather trying time. I was not surprised
to learn that the raft occasionally broke away with disastrous results to
those on it, for few of the people can swim.
The people of the district once petitioned the Amir to make a bridge over
the river, and to ensure the free communication which would benefit the
people on both sides, a bridge is badly wanted. The Amir, who was averse
to making any fixed structure which might benefit some future enemy,
decided on having a pontoon bridge made; but the men he put in charge of
the work being altogether inexperienced, their efforts were made short
work of by the river, and the idea was abandoned.
I once suggested a scheme to the Amir of taking advantage of the river
for carrying freight between the Jelalabad district and India, and
such a scheme is quite feasible; for, by cutting a deep channel in the
wider portions of the river, and blasting away the rocks which cause the
whirlpools and other dangers to navigation, the journey down to India
could be made easy, and steam tugs could be employed for drawing barges
up on the return journey. At present pack-animals are used, and the cost
of freight every year is a large item to the Government, and for several
months in the year the heat of the lower country between Jelalabad and
the Khyber, and consequent high death-rate among the pack-animals,
prohibits the carriage of anything but very necessary articles, which
must be brought up at all costs. The Amir was at first disposed to have
the scheme gone into, but eventually he let the matter drop, as he did
all schemes which did not offer immediate reimbursement.
The country between Jelalabad and the Khyber is well cultivated, and
there are many villages on both sides of the river; but a good deal of
ground is allowed to lie idle which could be made profitable, and the
reason for this is, no doubt, that there are no cheap means of carrying
produce for sale in India, and the people have no incentive to grow
more than is sufficient for their own consumption. The soil is very
productive, and most of the cereals, fruits, etc., suitable for a hot
climate, grow well. The heat during the summer months is great, though
not so much so as in the Peshawar district. It is, however, quite hot
enough to render riding over that part of the country a very trying
experience; and I remember when travelling up once in June how my mouth
became so parched that I dare not let my tongue touch the roof of the
mouth, as I was afraid it would stick there and choke me, and I was
ready to drink from any of the stinking wells we came to, to get relief.
Fortunately there was no cholera about at the time, or I might have fared
worse, for no thought of disease would have deterred me from drinking.
The temperature is made more trying than it would be because the rocks
absorb the heat of the sun and become very hot, and the heat given out
by them, together with that of the sun, makes the narrow defiles here
and there feel like ovens, and they are so stifling that breathing more
resembles gasping, until they are left behind, when the hot wind of the
plains comes as a perfect relief after what has been gone through. “Like
unto the shadow of a great rock in a dry land” has a fuller meaning to
those who travel in such places.
The route from Kabul to Peshawar is the shortest and the recognized one
for those who travel to India. There are other roads which might be
used to get there; but even if one had the opportunity of using them,
there are few who would care to prolong the time spent on the journey by
electing to travel that way.
When the last day’s journey through Afghan territory brings one at last
to the point where British territory begins, the line of demarcation
is readily defined. Up to the point where the Afghan rule extends, one
travels over the country as Nature made it, and the way is strewn with
rocks and boulders, which are allowed to lie in the path, and necessitate
the horses walking round, or in and out between them, and making them
traverse thereby a much longer distance than a clear road would give. But
from that point where British authority begins, there is a smooth graded
road, which leads one high up over the hills and mountains of the Khyber
to Lundi Kotal, and thence through the difficult mountain country of the
Pass, and on into Peshawar, with gradients so easy that one can take a
dog-cart and drive at a sharp trot the whole of the distance, and cover
ground in a few hours which, on the Afghan side of the frontier, takes a
long day’s tedious riding to get over.
INDEX
A
Abdur Rahman, Amir—
Admiration for Gladstone, Bismarck, McMahon, and General White,
118-119
Afghans in Australia, and, 284
Amusements, 105-108
Anecdote of, when at war with his family, 117-118
Anecdote of, when in Russia, 116
Attendants (slave boys), 108-110
Attitude towards moullahs, 269
Attitude towards working mines, 261, 305
Aversion to railways, 305
Burial, 130
Character, 117, 118
Conduct at festivals, 207
Customs, 105, 106
Death, 126
Deserted during earthquake, 256
Doctor and medicine, 104
Drinking-water, 104
Favourites, 124
Fled from cholera to Paghman, 162, 200
Fond of flowers, 107
Food, 103
Government, 98 _seq._, 102
Guard, 105
Hat with diamond star, 133
Imported Russian spy system, 151
Interest in trade and mechanics, 229, 233
Method of putting down robbery, 28
Offence of writing reports concerning him to the Indian Government,
152
On Afridi rising, 110-112
On English Parliament, 114
Palaces, 51-52, 102
Personal appearance, 37
Petitions to, 138
Plans for his country, 113, 117, 304
Policy of getting rid of influential men, 289 _seq._
Policy towards England, 110, 113 _seq._, 123, 208
Preparations for fighting or travelling, 104
Punishments, 157 _seq._, 162 _seq._, 170, 300
Reads letter from spy in Russia to author, 303
Reception of author, 38
Reception of Nasrullah Khan, 32
Sons, his treatment of them, 120, 121, 293
Stays at Nasrullah’s house, 121
Story of Moullah and, 15
Subjugated the Hazaras and Kafris, 63
Sufferings from gout, 108, 125
Title, “Light of Religion and Faith,” 123, 133
Tomb prepared at Kila Asham Khan, 129
Views on Boer War, 115
Afghanistan—
As a buffer state, 298
Condition of country for warfare, 226
Difficult to enter, 308
Afghans—
Admire fat men, 89
Characteristics, 61, 62, 65 _seq._, 78, 92, 100, 138, 227, 276
Colony in Australia, 283, 284
Complexion, 61
Discontented, 298
Family feuds, 66
Fond of children, 184
Lost tribes of Israel and, 62
Mode of meeting friends, 6
Policy of arming, 300
Religious fanatics, 288
Sympathy with English justice and government, 301
Workman, 235
Afridi rising, 110
Aminoolah, Sirdar, 110, 120
Amirs—
Internal policy, 307
Powers and duties, 98
Amusements, 68, 205
Animals, clean and unclean, 284
Apricots, 239
Arabic, children taught to read, 65
Arak fortified palace, 36
Abdur Rahman’s body taken to, 128
Described, 51, 52
Army, 299
As a fighting machine, 225-227
Generals have no knowledge of modern warfare, 225
Asman Heights, 162, 164
Water-marked, 259
Astrologers, 84
Author—
Accompanies Shahzada to Kabul, 2
Appointment and work as engineer, 231-233
Assaying and reporting on minerals, 262
Attacked by Ghazis, 181
Exhibition of cinematograph, 141
First visit to Kabul, 1889, 166
Hindustani servant, 187
House and garden in Kabul, 177
Illness at Kandahar, 19
Inspects powder-shop, 183
Journey from Kabul to Peshawar, 308 _seq._
On jury, 208
Presents from princes, 196
Quarters at Kabul, 33, 41
Quarters at Kandahar, 14
Received by Amir, 35, 36 _seq._
Ride from Kabul to Peshawar, 11, 309 _seq._
Riding and cycling, 176
Shooting on chamans, 175
Story of servants’ superstition, 78
Ayoob Khan, 112, 293
B
Baber, summer palace at, 52
Baghibala palace, 52, 107
Abdur Rahman dies in, 127
Bala Hisar, Kabul, rased to the ground, 303
Bala Hisar, well in, 149
Barikab, 311, 314
Barracks, 219
Basawal, 316
Bazars, buying in, 190, 192 _seq._
Bazars, lawlessness in, 192
Beating with sticks, 160
Blizzard, 312
Blue pigeon, 174, 176
Boer war, 115
Boistan serai palace, 36, 52
Abdul Rahman, buried in, 130
Audience chamber in, 38
Bribery, 100
British Agent in Kabul, 301
Brown, General Sir J., meets Shahzada at Chaman, 1
Budkhark, 311
Burial of household treasure, 129
Buying in bazar, 190, 192 _seq._
C
Camel meat, 88
Camels, ill-adapted for travelling over snow, 24
Camps, description of, 8
Caravans, 242
Carpets, 240
Carriers for hire, 195
Cattle-breeding, 240
Cavagnari massacred, 303
Chaman railway terminus near Afghan frontier, 1
Chamans, 174
Character of people, 64 _seq._
Children, method of naming, 286
Children singing prayers on roof to avert calamity, 86
Chillum described, 89
Cholera epidemics, 45, 55, 87, 137, 162, 199, 200
Climate of Kabul, 53 _seq._
Cloth manufactured, 240
Coal, 260, 263-264
Coinage and mint, 251
Cold and snow, 23, 25, 54
Copper ores, 260
Court jester, 108, 207
Courtship and marriage, 92 _seq._
Cows, 194
Curios, Hindoo dealers and, 206
Curzon, Lord, requests Amir to visit him in Peshawar, 296
D
Daka, Afghan frontier post, 316
Daly, Mrs., lady doctor, 130, 182, 185
Not allowed to visit the Queen Sultana, 295
Treating cholera cases, 200
Dances, 72
Dancing-girls, 71
Darwaza Ghazni pass, 29
Death penalty, 98
Debt collecting, 250
Deh Afghanan, 35, 177
Dogs, 27, 46, 285
Donkeys, small size of, 14
Dress of men, 58
Drills, 214
Duck-shooting, 108, 175
Durbars, 99, 100, 105, 123
On festivals, 206
Durrah-i-Yusef, coal at, 263
Dust storms, 54
E
Earthquakes, 255 _seq._
Elephant, story of mad, 139
Englishmen dining with Amir, 103
Europeans in Kabul, 123, 130, 173 _seq._
Attend durbar on festivals, 206
Laws and, 208
Women and children, 184
Evil eye, the, 86
Execution, methods of, 168
Exports, 239
F
Fairies, 80
Fakirs, 271, 273
False reporting, 153
Famine of 1903, 197
“Fanah” (wedge) torture, 153-155, 248
Fanatics (ghazis), 181
Fat men, 89
Fatehabad, 311
Festivals, 279-281
_Firman_, 185
Fish in Kabul river, 175
Fishing in rivers, method of, 17
Fleischer family, 130
Fleischer, Mr., murdered, 175
Fleischer, Mrs., her German nurse, 185
Flour, price of, 194
Food, 87-89, 194-195
Lawful and unlawful, 284
Fowls, duck, geese, etc., raising, 194
Freight-carrying, 242
Fruit, dried, 239
Fuel in Government workshops, 230, 234, 263, 264
Funerals, 96-97
G
Games, 76
Gandamak, 311
Geology of country, 254 _seq._
Ghazni, 23, 29;
described, 24
Ghulam Hyder, 289
Girdi Kutch, 316
Girls become “purdah” about eight, 77
Gold, 260
Gold mine, an abandoned, 20
Government, 98, 101
Government stores, 102
Governors of Kandahar, 13
Grapes, 239
Gravestones, 96-97
Guards given to European servants of Government, 181
Gulistan serai, Queen Sultana’s palace, 36, 52, 128
H
Habibullah Khan, Amir, 30, 31, 120
Acknowledged Amir, 127
Amusements, 139-141
Attendants, 109
Attitude towards fakirs, 273
Attitude towards moullahs, 270
Characteristics, 141, 207
Conduct on Abdur Rahman’s death, 127 _seq._, 294
Coronation, 132-134
Desires seaboard, 306
Disallowed petitions, 138
Forms a parliament, 124
In Arak, 137, 294
Interest in machinery, 230
Nominal head of army, 121
Position difficult, 298
Precautions regarding his food and drink, 104
Promises of reform, 137
Remains in Arak during cholera epidemic, 201
Speech at coronation, 133-134
Story of his cruelty, 161
Haddah moullah, 110-112
Hafiz, 273
Haj, pilgrimages to Mecca, 281
Hamams (Turkish baths) described, 34
Hamilton, Lieutenant, 225
Hazaras, 63
Coolies, 186
Mulberry diet, 87
Servants, 190
Heat during summer months, 320
Hindeki, summer palace at, 52
Amir Habibullah at, 297
Hindu dealers and curios, 206
Money-lenders in Kabul, 251
Hindustani servants and swindling, 187 _seq._
Holidays, how spent, 69
Horse raising, 240
Houses of Kabul described, 50
I
Ignorance of numbers and telling the time, 92
Imports, 244
Insurrection expected on death of Abdur Rahman, 128, 131, 135, 295
Interpreters, 211
Irrigation, 13, 42, 241
J
Jagdalak, 311
Jelalabad, 311—
Described, 315, 317
District, tropical fruits in, 239
Governor of, 112
To Khyber, country between, 320
To Peshawar, five days’ journey, 316
Jidrani knife-dancers, 72
Jihad (religious war), 112, 203, 226, 267, 269, 299
“Jubah,” account of, 73 _seq._
Jumrood fort, 316
K
Kabob, 88, 103
Kabul—
Bazar shops, 49
British agent in, 301
Climate, 53 _seq._
Adapted for fruit-growing, 239
Description of city and country round, 42 _seq._
Houses described, 50
Kotwali and soldier guards, 145
Kotwali office, 143
Mihman Khana, or guest-house, 33
Palaces, 51
People met in streets, 36
Prisons in, 146 _seq._
Robberies in, 47, 144
Russian influence in, 297
To Peshawar, eight days’ journey, 309
“Wardi” sounded, 49
Workshops, 234
Kabul river, 42
At Jelalabad, 316, 319
Kabul valley, crater of ancient volcano, 254
Once a lake, 258
Kabulis, characteristics, 61, 62, 66, 78
Kabulis, consume large quantities of tea, 89
Kafris, 63
Boys punished for deserting, 167
Kandahar—
Described, 13, 14
District tropical fruits in, 239
Nasrullah Khan’s stay at, 12 _seq._
Kandaharis, characteristics, 63
Khilat, 22, 29
“Khilat,” robes of honour, 134
Khuskh, Russian railway to, 114
Khyber Pass closed, 196
Khyber Pass, opened twice a week for travellers, 314
Kila Durani, 29
Kila Asham Khan, summer palace of Queen Sultana at, 52
Abdur Rahman’s tomb prepared at, 129
Kila Kazee, 30
Knife-dancers, 72
Kohistan, earthquakes in, 257
Koochee people, 88
As carriers, 242
Women, 243
Koran, account of, 268
Kotwal (magistrate), 138, 142 _seq._
At Chaman terminus, story of, 6
Duties of, 47
Kotwali sepoys (policemen), 48, 143 _seq._
Thieving propensities, 178-180
Kotwali stations, 145
“Kro,” the unit of distance, 10, 245
Kuzilbash people, 266
L
Ladysmith, defence of, 119
Languages of Afghanistan, 63-64
Latabund Pass, 310, 314
Letter-writers in bazars, 50
Letters, 209
How carried, 210
Postage, 211
Loneliness of life in Kabul, 173
Lunatics, 271
Lundi Kotal, British frontier post, 316, 322
M
Mahomed Ali, Sirdar, 120
Mahomed Omar, Sirdar, 30, 110, 120, 126, 133, 294
Acknowledges Habibullah as Amir, 127
Mahomedzai family, allowance from Government, 122
Mohammedan belief on true religions, 202
Marches, length of, 10, 25
Marriage customs, 94-95
Maulavi Najmudeen Aghondzada, Haddah moullah, 110-112
Melons, 317
Mills for grinding corn, 241
Mines, not worked, 261, 305
Mines, outcropping, 260
Mirzas (clerks), 245 _seq._
Moullahs—
Influence and practices, 135, 267, 274
Preaching a new religion, 202
Story of Amir and, 15
Mukur, 22, 23
Mulberry diet, 87
Munzil Bagh, 19
Musak, for carrying water and crossing rivers described, 318
Musical instruments, 70
At Kandahar, 22
Musjids, 277
Mussulman year, how reckoned, 279
N
Nasrullah Khan, Shahzada, 40, 120
Builds house like Dorchester House, 121
Conduct on Abdur Rahman’s death, 126, 128, 133
Entry into Kabul, 31
Favourite wife dies of cholera, 201
Head of offices and mirzas, 121
Inspecting troops, 136
Journey from Chaman to Kabul, 2 _seq._
Knowledge of his religion, 203
Mission to England, its object, 110
Routes from and to Kabul, 12
Stay in Kandahar, 12, 21
Visit to England, 1895, 1
Welcomed at villages and cities, 5, 11, 24
O
Officers, titles, and promotion, 223
Officials, 99, 101, 103, 109
Power over Abdur Rahman, 125
Princes and, 121
Salaries, 122
Titles, 123
Treatment of English residents, 123
Workmen and, 236
Old uniforms, 60
ʾOud Khels, thief tribe, 221-223
Oxus river, gold in, 260
P
Pack animals, 4, 242, 320
Paghman, summer palace at, 52
Abdur Rahman at, 162
Palaces in Kabul, 51
Parliament, 124
Persian, the Court language, 64
Petitions to Amir, 138
Pilau, 88, 103
Plots to get Abdur Rahman’s body, 129
Political situation, 289 _seq._
Postage on letters and magazines, 211
Powder-making, accidents in, 237
Prayers, 276
Princes, Royal, their position and treatment, 120-122
Prisons, 302
In Kabul, 146 _seq._
Well in Bala Hisar, 149
Prisoners: food and treatment, 148-150
Prisoners, revolt of, 147
Provisions from India, 194
Pul-i-Bagrami, Amir’s shooting-box at, 139
Punishments, 149 _seq._, 157 _seq._
Pushtoo, 63
Q
Quail-shooting, 174, 176
Queen Sultana, 30
Influence, 126
Lived at Gulistan serai, 294
R
Racing, 75
Rafts for crossing river, 317
Railways, why not wanted, 305
Railways would be easy to make in Afghanistan, 29
Ramazan fast, 277
Regimental bands, 223, 224
Regiments, how named, 220
Religion, 266 _seq._
Crimes and offences, 274
Revenue of country, 296
Road from Chaman to Kandahar, 29
Robberies—
And murders on roads, 27
By collectors of revenue, 123
In Kabul, 47, 144
Roberts, Lord, march to Kandahar, 113, 114
Roberts, Lord, rased Bala Hisar, 303
Roofs of houses used for exercise and sleeping, 205
Route to Kabul through Khilat, Mukur, and Ghazni, 22
Routes from India to Afghanistan, 12
Rupees, 252
Russian encroachments on frontier, 297
Russian influence in Kabul, 297
Russian railway to Khuskh, 114
S
“Sandalee,” for warming rooms, described, 90
Sayids, 272
Schools, 64
Seaboard desired, 306
Serais, 312
Servants in Kabul, 186
Shahrara palace, 52
Shaitans (demons), stories of, 81 _seq._
Sheep raising, 194
Shere Ali, Amir, story of chief of ʾOud Khels and, 221
Shiah sect, 266
Shinwari tribe, 112
Shooting near Kabul, 174
Silk, where produced, 240
Singing, 70
Sirdar, title conferred only on Amir’s sons, 30
Smoking, 89
Snipe-shooting, 175
Snuff-taking, 90
Soldiers—
And arms, 213 _seq._
Dress, 59, 213
Field-cooking utensils, 219
Guards, 3, 145
Length of service, 219
Medals, 218
Mode of life, 220
Pay, 218,
increased, 136
Qualities, 225
Ready to revolt on Abdur Rahman’s death, 131, 135-137, 295
Uniforms, 216
Spies, favourite accusation of, 152
Spies in foreign countries, 303, 306
Sponges, legend about, 84
Spy system, 99, 151
Abolished, 134
Stealing, punishment for, 166
Story-tellers, 75
Sundials, 91
Suni sect, 266
Superstition, stories of, 78 _seq._
Swordstick combats, 73
T
Tea imported, 244
Timber, 240, 317
Time, how kept, 91-92
Tirah campaign, 300
Its effect on traffic, 196
Tobacco, 89
Tortures, 153 _seq._, 302
Trade and commerce, 229 _seq._
Treasury, public and private, 101
Turkestanis, 63
U
Usbeg game of “Buz-bazee,” 315
Usbeg Lancers, 3
Usbegs, 63
W
Warming rooms, method of, 90
Weddings of different classes, 94-95
Weights and measures, 245
White, General, defence of Ladysmith, 119
Wives, plurality of, 287
Working hours, 205
Workmen, foreman and, 236
Pay of, 238
Workshops, 229 _seq._, 234
Women, laws of “purdah” suspended in time of war, 227
Women, not valued in Kabul, 198
Wrestling matches, 74
Y
Yakoob Khan, 112, 293
THE END
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