and it was also looted, but no English officer being there, the native
Commissariat Establishment had very wisely bolted to safety, and so
no one was killed. I should say that this station was, of course,
more favorably situated than Dubbrai, as it was within 12 miles of
a military post of ours, while Dubbrai was at least 25 miles away
from any help. I forgot to mention an amusing little incident at
Gatai. There also the Commissariat agent, a Parsee, had run away when
the place was attacked. When he returned and came to me to report
his arrival, I said to him in chaff, "oh, you are the gentleman who
ran away!" to which he replied quite as if he was much pleased with
himself, "yes, sir, I ran away, and thereby I have saved my life,"
which was certainly true. At Gatai I had much trouble in getting water,
the neighbouring chiefs having cut off the stream which supplied the
Fort. After exhausting all gentle means to bring them to reason, I
tried the _moral_ force of some cavalry who I sent with orders to bring
the chief man before me. The officer did his work capitally, bringing
back a leading native chief, whose seizure had the best effect, as
the water flowed into our camp sharp enough as soon as they knew I
had their head man in my power. I kept my friend as a kind of a state
prisoner till the next morning, when, with the usual formalities of
Eastern life, I gave him an interview. He was a singularly handsome
fine old man, with (like all true Afghans) a very Jewish type of
countenance and a good manner. He was humble enough, and tried to make
all sorts of excuses, none of which I informed him I thought at all
good, but as the water had been turned on, and he had apologised for
the delay, I dismissed him with a warning for the future. Several of
the other chiefs came in to make their salaam to me, and to promise all
sorts of things for the future. An Afghan is, however, so natural a
liar that no one thinks of believing them, and among themselves they
are never weak enough to put any trust one in the other, and in this
they are quite wise, as a more treacherous lying set of beings do not,
I suppose, exist on the face of the world. We marched from Mel Kharez
at 2 p.m., a beautiful afternoon, to Abdool Rahmon, which is 12½
miles off. The road lay through an undulating valley, on the edges of
which there were some signs of cultivation. Four miles from Mel Kharez
is a range of hills called the Ghlo Kotal, at which we had hoped and
expected the enemy would have made a stand, but they had bolted on
the first sign of our troops approaching. After crossing the Kotal we
descended into the Takt-i-Pul plain, and reached Abdool Rahmon about
6 o'clock. There is the usual Fort at this place, and it is well and
sufficiently garrisoned, and its defences are quite good enough for the
requirements. Abdool Rahmon is 26 miles from Kandahar, so I determined
I would ride in there ahead of my party next morning, leaving them with
the baggage to do the distance in the usual 2 marches. I got the native
chief of the place, a certain Gholām Jan, to lend me a trotting
camel on which to send my bag and bedding into Kandahar, and arranged
to ride Rufus the first stage and a cavalry horse the last one into
Kandahar. An order from Kandahar prohibits officers attempting to go
alone, so I took an escort of a non-commissioned officer and 4 cavalry
soldiers with me, the escort being relieved at the next stage.
THURSDAY, 22nd APRIL.--Left Abdool Rahmon at 6.30 a.m., with an escort
of 5 sowars (native cavalry), and cantered to Mandi Hissar, the next
and last stage on the road to Kandahar. The country is a dead plain,
with some little cultivation, and intersected by watercourses. There
are numerous fortified villages dotted about, from which the passers
by are very often fired upon. At Mandi Hissar I was to change my horse
for a trooper from the cavalry detachment there, and also to relieve
my escort. While the horse and escort were being prepared I had a talk
with the old Soubadar (native captain) commanding the detachment of
the 19th Native infantry quartered there, who, with all his men, were
most anxious to hear all I could tell them about Major Waudby, who was
beloved by all in the regiment. The old Soubadar told me that they all
knew what a _big heart_ (_i.e._, how brave) he had, and he added "if
we can only meet the Afghan scoundrels, we will avenge Waudby Sahib's
death right well;" and so I feel sure they will. To show the feeling
of this regiment I may mention that when the news of Major Waudby's
death was received, a detachment of 150 men were ordered to march at
once to join me. The men were told off in the usual manner, but when
the detachment paraded it was found that 170 were present, 20 men
having fallen in in the hopes that they would not be discovered, and
would succeed in getting to the front. After leaving Mandi Hissar, the
country is the usual stony, dusty desert for 3 or 4 miles, when a low
range of hills are crossed,
[Sidenote: First glimpse of Kandahar.]
and the road descends into the valley in which Kandahar lies, which
was green with corn fields and orchards, and was the pleasantest sight
I had seen since I left Bombay. In the distance the grey mud walls of
the city of Kandahar were visible, but making no imposing appearance,
and differing really in no way from the villages we had passed, except
the extent was greater, and that in many places the line of the walls
was hidden by the orchards which lie all round the city. Unlike most
Mahomedan cities, no domes or minarets of mosques were visible, and I
believe there is in the whole place but one mosque of any importance,
and it would be hardly noticed in any Mahomedan town in India. Passing
round the wall of the city I was conducted by an orderly who had been
sent out to meet me to the charming house in which General Primrose and
his staff live, where I found a very friendly welcome, and a very good
breakfast ready for me. Including a quarter of an hour's halt at Mandi
Hissar, I had accomplished my ride of 25 miles in 3½ hours, which
was sufficiently fast, as I did not want to over-ride my horses. The
house occupied by the General is a regular native building, composed of
small and oddly shaped rooms, very thick walls, and a flat roof. Many
of the rooms are highly ornamented with painting and gilding, and it
is a quaint and cool place to live in, especially as it stands in a
delightful garden full of roses, mulberries, peach, pear, plum trees,
and vines, through which flow narrow canals of water with a rapid
stream, and forms altogether a most delightfully quiet and refreshing
sight after the wretched deserts we had been passing through. In this
garden, but in another house, also lives the chief political officer,
Colonel St. John, and his assistant. The garden has a wall 12 feet high
round it, and the entrances are guarded by English native troops, as
it is, of course, important to avoid any risks to the chief military
officer. Outside the garden lie the very regiments of the force, for
the greater number of whom a certain degree of shelter from the sun
is provided in the shape of mud huts or buildings of Afghan pattern.
Some of the regiments are quartered in regular Afghan villages, out of
which the inhabitants have been turned, but some of the buildings now
occupied by troops are actually those which we built ourselves for our
men when we occupied Kandahar in 1839, and which were found in fairly
good condition when we returned here
[Sidenote: Description of quarters.]
forty years later, in 1879. Quarters of a not very luxurious
description are provided for the officers, that is to say, they are
given a room without doors or windows, and with a mud floor, and any
improvements they wish to make they are required to do themselves.
There is, of course, no furniture, and any luxuries one wants in that
way we have to get for ourselves. The room I have got is at one end of
a long low line of mud huts, the whole of which, except the 4 rooms at
one end, which are allotted to me and my staff, and the four rooms at
the other end which will be given to General Burrows and his staff, are
occupied by artillery officers. My set of quarters are in this shape,
[Illustration]
so I have one room to sleep, sit, and write in, and a room where we
dine and breakfast, and which is, of course, public property. I have,
as a special indulgence, a bath-room all to myself, but no one else
has one. The room when I came into it was horrid; the floor was six
inches deep in dust; there were no doors or windows, and altogether it
was most unpromising. I have, however, had a floor made for it, the
passage and dining-room, of a wonderful kind of stuff like Plaster of
Paris which abounds here, and which hardens in the most wonderful way.
I have had windows put in, and hope to have a door soon; and having
bought a few pieces of a rough native carpeting in the city, and a
couple of tables and chairs, my room begins to look very fair indeed.
The mud walls are appropriately covered with yards of maps, which look
very business-like, and in the small recesses I have had a few wooden
shelves put up which quite do to hold my very scanty wardrobe. I find
my room very hot and close at night, so I have pitched my little tent
outside my door and sleep in it, watched over by a sentry whose sole
duty is to guard his sleeping General, who can, therefore, slumber in
the most perfect security. It would be rather monotonous to live with
my Brigade Major and orderly officer only, as I am afraid we should
get very tired of each other during the hot weather, so I am trying
to get up a sort of mess between General Burrows and me, taking in
our staff, and a couple of outsiders who have no special place to go
to--viz., our Chaplain, Mr. Cane, and the Judge Advocate, Colonel
Beville. The latter has agreed to manage the affair, so I have nothing
to do with housekeeping, which is a blessing, and as Colonel Beville
quite understands management and likes good things, I hope the affair
will be a success, and that General Burrows will agree to join. The
parson begged me to take him in, and I did not like to refuse, though
I cannot say I care much about him (though perhaps he will improve
on acquaintance), as he has the reputation of being rather inclined
to quarrel and be difficult to manage. We will hope he is maligned
and will prove not to have so unclerical a failing. A mess on service
is a very rough affair, as we have no plate, crockery or linen, and
live what is called camp fashion, that is, all the mess provides is
tables and food, and each person's servant brings his plates, knives,
forks, and spoons, and chairs, and when dinner or breakfast is over
removes them. We shall, I daresay, in time get a few luxuries such as
chairs, dishes, and perhaps a few table-cloths (I have 2 of my own for
great occasions), and we have already made our dining-room look fairly
comfortable (I am writing on 4th May), by putting down some carpets,
and I have no doubt between Colonel Beville and me that we will get rid
of as much unnecessary
[Sidenote: Annoyances from flies and sand-flies.]
roughness as we can. The great drawback of the whole place is the
flies, which are most exasperating and pertinaceous. I am preparing a
complete set of fortifications against them for my own room, by having
net (which I have been fortunate to get in the city), such as musquito
curtains are made of, nailed over the windows, and a door covered with
net for the one entrance, so that I hope in time to be fairly free from
them. They retire for the night, I am glad to say, about 7 o'clock,
but as soon as they leave the sand-flies begin, and I think they are
almost as bad, as they buzz and bite just like musquitos. They are a
kind of very small gnat, and their bite is most irritating to some
people, but they don't hurt me. The regiments are necessarily scattered
over a large extent of ground, and the work is consequently very
heavy on the men, as we have to post sentries very closely together
to prevent the Afghans coming within our lines. The great proportion
of the force is outside the city where I am living, but we hold the
citadel, which is inside the city, where also we keep our arsenal
and commissariat stores. A native infantry regiment and a detachment
of a British infantry regiment hold the citadel, and the quarters
occupied by both the officers and men there are much preferable to
ours in the cantonments, as they are all regular native houses, many
of which have gardens, and all some trees near and about them, and in
this desert land a bit of green or a little shade have a value which
no one who has not seen the country can understand. There is nothing
striking about the actual city of Kandahar to anyone who has visited
or seen an ordinary Indian town of the 5th or 6th rank. There are the
usual bazaars with the occupants of the shops at work at their various
trades in the front of their shops, and in many shops coarse English
earthenware and cheap Birmingham and Manchester goods are exposed for
sale, as is the case in even small villages in India. Raisins of all
sorts and description, from the little sultanas up to dark purple ones,
are sold in quantities, and seem to be a regular portion of the food
of the poorest people. So far I have seen nothing curious or unusual
which I would be tempted to buy, but then we cannot here wander about
and go into the shops and ransack them for curiosities, as the people
have a nasty trick of watching till a person is busy looking at things
in a shop, and then coming up quietly and stabbing one in the back. It
is consequently necessary, when we go shopping, to go in parties of
2 or 3, or take an escort, so as to always have some one on the watch
against treachery, and as long as one takes this precaution they are
too cowardly to attack in the open. The people in the streets are very
picturesque, and most of them fine handsome men. No women are ever seen
except very old ones, and even they generally wear the Turkish yashmak
or veil which covers
[Sidenote: Kandaharis--the Charsoo.]
them from head to foot. In the centre of the city the 4 main streets
meet under a curious large-domed building, around which are shops, and
which is always crowded with a very mixed gathering of villains of all
sorts. This place is called the _Charsoo_ (or four waters), and it was
in it that Lieutenant Willis, of the artillery, was murdered in broad
day light by a Ghazi (N.B.--Next week I will explain who and what
Ghazis are), who, however, was himself immediately killed. Any native
attempting the life of any officer or soldier is now always hung in the
Charsoo, which has had a very good effect.
THURSDAY, 22nd APRIL, continued.--The newspapers have had a good deal
of late about Ghazis, both here and at Cabul, and I dare say it will
be well to explain who and what they are, as even here people have an
idea that every Afghan who fights against us is a Ghazi, and there is
some reason for this idea, as the primary meaning of the Persian word
is "a warrior." The Ghazis, however, with whom we have had to deal, are
fanatical Mahomedans who bind themselves by vows to kill one or more
of the infidels (that is of us), and thereby earn a positive certainty
of going straight to heaven. So convinced are they that if they can
only kill an infidel their future happiness is secured, that they are
perfectly indifferent as to whether they lose their own life in the
attempt or not, in fact I believe they rather desire to be killed,
and so enter at once on all the delights of a Mahomedan Paradise,
the principal charm of which is, that they are there to have as many
wives as ever they like, all, we will hope, warranted free from vice
or temper, and requiring no management, but living as a happy family,
without any jealousy or inclination to scratch out each others' eyes,
as I fear would be the case in a similar establishment on earth. It
will be easily understood that a gentleman with these ideas in his head
is a very awkward customer, as, caring absolutely nothing as to what
happens to himself, he has a very great pull over the man he attacks,
who is extremely unwilling to be either wounded or killed.
[Sidenote: Murderous assaults by Ghazis.]
Moreover, although the Ghazis are undoubtedly brave to fool-hardiness,
they don't at all disdain stratagem or treachery, and much prefer to
stab their first victim quietly in the back, as the more men they
kill before they are themselves killed, by so much the more is their
position in Paradise improved. They, however (that is the real Ghazis),
never use fire-arms, only swords or long Afghan knives, and always
try for a personal hand-to-hand encounter. There have been many
cases of attacks by Ghazis here, and though in every case the Ghazi
was immediately himself killed, nothing seemed to stop the practice.
There has, however, been no attempt of the kind for a month, but of
course none of the necessary precautions are relaxed. The last case
was that of a lad, who was a sworn Ghazi, attacking an officer with no
other weapon than a shoemaker's awl, with which, however, he inflicted
a couple of disagreeable wounds in the back before he was seen and
seized. On Christmas day 5 men walked out of the city, and came into
the barracks of the 59th, and (in open day) produced long knives from
under their clothes, called out that they were Ghazis, and had come to
kill anyone they could get at. Of course they were shot down, but so
wild was the shooting that 4 of the men of the regiment were killed
by the bullets from their comrades' rifles! The incident, however,
shows what plucky fellows they are, as of course when they entered the
barracks of the 59th, and openly declared their purpose, they must
have known their lives were forfeited. In consequence of the number
of Ghazis here, and the generally hostile feelings of the people to
us, we are all required to go armed at all times, even when riding out
or walking for exercise. It is a great worry, and I hate it, being
a little sceptical as to the necessity for the extreme measure of
precaution required, and am disposed to think a neat little bludgeon of
a walking stick I possess would prove a much more serviceable defence
to me than my regulation sword. Everyone carries loaded revolvers,
especially when in the city, and I dare say the fact that we all do so
being known, prevents many attempted attacks being made. The soldiers
have to carry their rifles, and when they go into the town have to fix
their bayonets, and altogether we live in a regular state of siege,
which I would myself like to see ended by the application of some good
strong remedies, and immediate and severe punishment for murderous
attacks. Still, even then I fear we could not hope to change the nature
of an Afghan, who is born a treacherous, lying, murdering scoundrel.
Strong words, I know, but nothing more than they deserve, as even their
admirers can say nothing in favor of their moral qualities.
FRIDAY, 23rd APRIL.--Being, for the present, the next senior officer to
General Primrose, I exercise the command of all the troops at Kandahar,
and all local arrangements and details are in my hands, as General
Primrose commands the whole force, the senior officer at each place
having the local command. When General Burrows arrives the command
here devolves, by virtue of his seniority, on him, and I fall back on
my brigade command, which I hold now in conjunction with the large
command. The troops here form a nice little force, and consist of--
3 Batteries of artillery.
2 Native cavalry regiments.
2 British infantry regiments.
3 Native infantry regiments.
And sappers and miners.
And though the command entails plenty of work and responsibility, I
like it, and wish I could keep it while I am here. The first thing,
of course, was to ascertain the positions held by various regiments,
their weak points, &c., and so I spent the afternoon in riding round
and making myself acquainted with everything as far as I could, so
that in case of a row at night, I should be ready to decide on what
might be necessary to do. I moved into my quarters in the cantonments,
and obtained permission for Capt. Law, of the artillery, to act as
my Brigade-Major, as the officer who is to hold the appointment
permanently has not yet arrived. Capt. Law is a smart good officer, and
I am very glad to have him as my staff officer.
[Sidenote: Force ordered into the Arghesan valley.]
SATURDAY, 24th APRIL.--This afternoon I was greatly delighted to
receive orders to hold in readiness a small force to proceed into the
Arghesan valley, to disperse a considerable gathering of the enemy who
were reported to be there. I was to go in command, so I had a double
interest in the matter, and lost no time in seeing that everything was
prepared, and that we should be fully supplied with all the necessary
appliances for entrenching, road and bridge making, blowing up the
enemy's forts, &c. We were not to start till Monday, and then only if
the enemy did not agree to disperse and submit to the Governor of
Kandahar, which they had been called on to do. I am sorry to say that
hearing of our preparations they gave in at once, and eventually my
little expedition was countermanded, which was a great disappointment
to everyone. During the evening we had a little excitement, as an
Afghan tried to steal and run away with the rifle of one of the native
soldiers, which he had put down on the ground for a minute. The soldier
gave the alarm, and 4 men of the nearest guard turned out and, after an
exciting chase of about 3 miles, they came up within 400 yards of the
thief, who immediately fired at them, but they returned his fire with
good effect, and killed him at the 2nd shot, recovering the rifle and
the remainder of the ammunition.
SUNDAY, 25th APRIL.--We had (as we have each Sunday) service for the
troops in the open. The men are formed up on 3 sides of a square, and
a pile of drums on the fourth side acts as reading desk and pulpit. Of
course the men come with their rifles, and everyone is fully armed,
ready for business at a moment's notice. There is a room in one of the
barracks where evening service is held, but it is too small for the
whole of the men in the morning, and there is also a temporary church
in the citadel, where there is service morning and evening performed by
a missionary.
[Sidenote: Inspected quarters of various regiments.]
APRIL 26th to 30th.--I was engaged morning and afternoon visiting
all the regiments, camps and hospitals, and making myself thoroughly
acquainted with the various positions, and carrying out such changes
and alterations as seemed to me necessary, first, for the safety of the
place, and next for the comfort of the men. I also managed to take a
few gallops out along the main roads which lead to Herat and Ghuzni,
so as to have some idea of the country, in case of necessity. I hope
shortly to know every inch of the country for 10 or 15 miles round, but
this will take a little time. I am required by General Primrose never
to move about with less than 2 native cavalry soldiers, and of course
if I go more than 4 or 5 miles from camp I would take 4. Sometimes I
take my Brigade-Major or Orderly Officer, or both, but I like best
wandering about alone, as then I feel more independent (that is without
any other officer). Frequently, however, parties of 6 or 7 officers are
got up, and we have a scamper across country, earnestly hoping we may
meet some one who would like to try conclusions with us.
SATURDAY, MAY 1.--Received letters from home, dated 1st April, a most
welcome arrival and a great pleasure. People who get letters every day
in the week cannot understand what the pleasure of getting letters is
when you can only hear once a week, and then only provided the Afghans
have been behaving themselves along the road.
SUNDAY, MAY 2.--I had just settled myself down to a quiet day after
service and breakfast when a report was brought to me that there had
been a row in the city between the Afghans and some soldiers of the
Artillery, and that 2 soldiers had been shot and one wounded. There was
a good deal of excitement, as every one at once made up their minds
that it was the beginning of an organized attack. The accounts which
I succeeded in getting out of the soldiers who had rushed up out of
the city were most conflicting, excepting in one remarkable point on
which all agreed, and that was that only _one_ shot had been heard,
although it was acknowledged that one of our men fired off his carbine
down the street. This was curious, and made me doubtful about the whole
affair, so I sent the Brigade-Major off to the city at once to discover
the facts for me, and went over to General Primrose, who sent the
Political Officer also into the city to make enquiries, and eventually
we ascertained, almost without a doubt, that the men had been killed
by the accidental discharge of a carbine by one of their comrades who
had been fiddling with his loaded carbine, which had gone off, and the
bullet passing through 2 men killed them instantaneously. Since then
the man has confessed and explained the whole matter, and there is now
no doubt that there was no shot fired by the Afghans at all. The affair
caused some excitement, and might have led to very serious results.
[Sidenote: Inspections--Ride into Argandab River valley.]
MAY 3rd, 4th, & 5th.--More inspections and visits to the troops morning
and evening which fully occupied my time.
MAY 6.--A party of officers, among whom was William French, accompanied
me to visit the valley of the Argandab River, which lies N.E. and N.W.,
and about 4 miles from Kandahar. To get to this valley a range of hills
rising to 4,500 feet (that is 1,000 feet higher than our camp) has
to be crossed, there being only 2 practicable passes, and these very
rough, steep, and bad. The change from the dusty stone plain round
Kandahar to the valley, which lies on the other side of these hills, is
extraordinary, as nothing can be more wretched than the one and nothing
more charming than the other. The whole valley is a series of fields
of the most magnificent crops of wheat and barley, meadows full of
clover, and orchards of every imaginable description of fruit. (To be
continued).