of the crops and the extraordinary abundance and variety of the fruits
in the Argandab valley. Every field has rows of mulberry trees round,
which were covered with fruit, of which the passers by (we among them)
eat apparently as much as they like without payment. The other fruits
were not ripe, but the apricots were just beginning to get soft, as
were the plums, especially one very like the greengage in appearance
and taste. Besides these there were vines everywhere, climbing over
the walls and up the mulberry and other trees, all covered with a
magnificent promise of grapes. There were also in abundance--peaches,
nectarines, figs, pears, apples, quinces, and pomegranates, the latter
being only in flower, but in that way adding greatly to the general
appearance of the orchards, as they bear a very dark red flower which
is most effective among the dark green of their leaves. Each field
or orchard has a rapidly flowing stream of clear cool water running
through it, which is the cause of the extreme luxuriance of everything,
and very grateful to us who have been so long in a very "dry and
thirsty land." (The remarkable fitness of these Bible descriptions are
very clearly seen in these eastern lands). After halting in a mulberry
grove resting our horses and having a good feed of mulberries, we
struck out across country to get home, and had a delicious ride along
the banks of a big canal shaded with trees, and felt very sorry when we
emerged once again into the dust and glare of Kandahar. The apricots
are now (May 12th) just being brought into the market, and we buy them
(paying, no doubt, an extravagant price) for 1½d. for 2lbs.!! The
difficulty is to avoid eating too many. Peaches, plums, and figs, will
follow, and we shall, I believe, have grapes in June. The people are
now cutting their corn which is rapidly ripening, which we are sorry
for, as we shall miss the beautiful green they now are, and have only
fields of yellow stubble. The primitive reaping hook, almost exactly
similar to that used at home, is in use here, and the Afghan spade is
almost similar to our shovel in shape, with the exception that on the
_handle_ of the shovel a cross piece of wood is fixed as a foot piece
for the digger. I am told, but this I can hardly believe, that from
the same root of wheat, barley, and oats (that is from one sowing),
they get in this country 2 distinct crops, and certainly they appear
systematically to cut down the first crop when it is green, but after
it has eared, and in a few weeks afterwards a second crop is in ear
without any fresh sowing.
[Sidenote: Visit to old city of Kandahar.]
MAY 7th.--Rode out to visit the old city of Kandahar, which has been in
ruins since 1737 when it was besieged by the Persian King, Nadir Shah,
and after a long siege taken and destroyed. It is a curious sight to
see it now, as the walls of the city and many of the fortifications,
which must have been for those days very strong, still remain in
wonderful preservation, as do the walls of the houses covering a
considerable extent of ground, but not a living soul is to be seen, and
the whole place is a picture of desolation and loneliness. After Nadir
Shah had destroyed this city, he caused another one, also fortified, to
be built about four miles off, but this also has been deserted, and is
even more ruined than the older city. The present city of Kandahar is
the third which has been built within the last 150 years.
MAY 8th.--I made an excursion to one of the Passes over the hills near
this, but the distance was longer than I had calculated on, and as it
was getting dark I had to turn home without accomplishing my object.
[Sidenote: Officers fired at by Afghans near Kokeran.]
MAY 9th.--I started for a ride at half-past 5 p.m., accompanied by
my usual escort of 2 native cavalry soldiers, and proposed to myself
to ride to a place called Kokeran, about 7 miles off. When I got out
about two miles on the road I saw that there were threatenings of a
dust-storm from that direction, and, not caring to ride for pleasure
into a cloud of dust, I turned off to the left and took a canter for
3 or 4 miles through the fields, coming out eventually on the Kokeran
road, about 4 miles from our camp. The weather had cleared then,
and I thought I might still have time to explore a little way along
this road, but on looking at my watch I found it was 7 o'clock, and
that (as there is no twilight here) it would be quite dark before I
could get home, so I turned round and cantered back to camp. Just as
I got close to the camp of the 19th Native Infantry, I saw a party
of officers and 2 cavalry soldiers going along very slowly in front
of me, and on riding up to them and enquiring what was the matter, I
found that they, while returning along the Kokeran road from a ride,
had been fired on by a party of Afghans concealed behind a wall, and
that one officer (Captain Garrett) and one Sowar were badly wounded.
Captain Garrett was nearly fainting and falling off his horse, as he
had to ride about 5 miles after being wounded, so I got him off on to
the ground, and supported him till a doctor and a litter to carry him
in was brought, and at the same time sent off one of the officers to
report the occurrence to General Primrose. The attack had taken place
about a mile nearer to Kokeran than the spot at which I had come out
on the road, so, had I been half an hour or even less earlier arriving
there, I should certainly have gone down the road, and had a chance
of a scrimmage on my own account, and had I carried out my original
intention I should have got to the spot where the ambuscade was before
the other party, or possibly just about the same time, which would
have been more convenient altogether. My first inclination when I
heard the account was to gallop back to the place with my own 2 Sowars
and the one unwounded man of the party which had been attacked, but
on reflection for an instant I felt this would not be correct, first,
because I was bound to take General Primrose's orders, next because
the chances were, that long before I could get back the 5 miles the
attacking party would have run away, and lastly that it would certainly
be considered not the place of a General to be scampering with 3 men
over the country, like a cavalry subaltern, and so I galloped off to
General Primrose in the hopes he would give me the cavalry Brigade and
let me go off to scour the whole country. At first he was very well
inclined to do this, but eventually less forward councils prevailed
and a hundred _good?_ reasons were discovered for doing nothing till
morning. On further enquiring from the officers who were fired at, we
found that they had been out to Kokeran, and were riding quietly back,
the three officers abreast and the 2 Sowars behind, when suddenly a
volley was fired at them, and thinking there was a large body of men
concealed, they galloped off. As it turned out there were only 10 or
12 men, and after seeing the ground as I did next morning, I had no
difficulty in coming to the conclusion that they might, with good
effect, have halted some 2 or 300 yards off, and returned the fire with
good success.
MAY 10.--I went out very early with some cavalry and the Political
Officer, and scoured the country round, but of course found no traces
of the party who had fired on the officers, and all the surrounding
villages absolutely denied any complicity in the affair, so we had
to return to camp, having been unable to accomplish anything. In the
afternoon I went out again with an escort of cavalry, and accompanied
by 5 or 6 officers, and we went to Kokeran and hunted the hills all
round, but saw no one. No doubt we threw away our only chance in
deferring till to-day what ought to have been done yesterday.
[Sidenote: Installation of Shere Ali Khan as Wāli.]
MAY 11th.--I attended a great durbar (or court) at the palace of the
Governor, in the city, at which the letter appointing Shere Ali Khan,
Governor of the Province of Kandahar, on behalf of the Queen, was to
be read. Although it was very like what all such affairs in India are,
it was quite worth seeing, and I should have enjoyed it very much if I
had not been obliged to eat and drink so many nasty things as Persian
etiquette on such occasions absolutely requires one to swallow. The
proceedings commenced with small cups of tea, without milk or cream,
being handed round, then there were speeches and the presentation of
the Viceroy's letter, and of the presents sent by the Queen, and the
affair wound up by trays of Afghan sweet-meats and iced sherbet being
brought in, of which all, even the soldiers on the guard of honor, were
required to partake. Iced sherbet sounds nice, but when it is flavoured
with musk, it is apt (at least as far as I am concerned) to act very
like an emetic. The sweet-meats I dare say I should have appreciated
better about 30 or 40 years ago, and my Orderly Officer certainly
seemed to find them very much to his taste. I send a capital account of
the whole affair which appeared in the _Kandahar News_, and which can
be read by those curious in such matters at this point....
On the 13th of MAY the new Governor, or as he is called here, the
Wāli, which is the Persian word for _Governor_ of a province,
announced his intention of coming to pay a return visit of ceremony
to General Primrose, and as Government wished us to show him all
possible honor we had the whole garrison out (about 5,000 men) and
lined the streets of the town and the roads between his palace and
General Primrose's house. The troops turned out wonderfully well and
smartly, and we hear the Governor and his people were much impressed
by their appearance. After seeing all right along the line of the
procession I returned to General Primrose's house, where all the staff
were collected to assist General Primrose in receiving his guest. The
Wāli (or Governor) arrived about ¼ to 6 o'clock, accompanied by a
very ragged looking lot of followers. He sat between General Primrose
and me, and we had to carry on the usual uninteresting exchange of
compliments through an interpreter, as none of us could speak Persian,
and none of the Afghans could speak Hindustani. After a short time tea
was handed round, and to our relief the visit, which was necessarily a
very stupid affair, ended. According to Eastern etiquette, the Governor
ought to have brought return presents with him, and each of us who were
there should have had some present, but our Government do not allow
us to accept anything of value, so nothing was offered. Since then,
however, the Governor has sent us each, as a memento of the occasion,
one of the new gold coins which he has struck for general issue. It is
rather a pretty coin, of quite pure gold, and will do very well as an
ornament for a watch chain.
[Sidenote: Ride to an old gold mine--now deserted.]
MAY 14th to 19th.--Nothing of any interest occurred, except that I
daily take long rides and increase my knowledge of the country, nearly
every yard of which, for 10 or 12 miles round, I have now ridden
over. To the north and east of Kandahar there are very pleasant rides
indeed, through green fields and shady lanes, along watercourses, but
on the other two sides it is all sandy and stony deserts, with high
rocky hills, which only a sense of duty has induced me to visit at
all. Among other places I have been to is a gold mine which has been
worked for centuries, and is situated about 5 miles from Kandahar. It
is now, however, deserted, as the upper earth fell in two or three
years ago, and has choked up the place where they say the vein of gold
was. The new Governor of Kandahar is most anxious to re-open the works,
but despite the wonderful stories of the richness of the mine which
the natives tell, he has not been able to get much encouragement out
of our professional Geologist, who, after a careful examination, has
come to the conclusion that the mine will never again pay its working
expenses. The morning I rode over to see the place I found the Wāli
(governor) down in the bottom of the mine, with half a dozen natives,
carefully examining the place and collecting specimens, &c. He had
evidently come out to have a quiet look at his new property, and did
not seem particularly pleased at being caught, although he was very
friendly and civil, of course. In my wanderings through the country
I never fail to investigate the quality of the fruit, and have made
a discovery, in two places, of a very superior kind of mulberry, of
which there appears to be only half a dozen trees in the whole valley.
They are so different from the common kinds that the natives call them
Shah-toot, which means, the King mulberry, and the trees they grow on
are considered quite curiosities. It certainly is a very delicious
fruit, and I have only revealed my discoveries to a chosen few. I am
a much earlier riser than most of my friends, and therefore seldom or
never have any companion in my morning rides, except the two native
cavalry soldiers who are my escort. I generally start when I have no
parades or inspections, about half-past five in the morning, when
the air is deliciously cool, and seldom get home till 9 o'clock, by
which time the sun is very hot. The country is intersected with water
channels for irrigation purposes, and mud walls divide the fields of
corn and wheat, so there is lots of jumping, and some of the obstacles
are very awkward. The orchards and vineyards are surrounded with very
high walls, but there is also lots of fruit of all kinds growing along
the paths which anyone may eat. In this country, from one end of it to
another, there is no such thing as what we would call a road, as there
being not a single wheeled vehicle in the whole length and breadth
of the land, roads are not at all necessary. Everything is carried on
camels, ponies, bullocks and donkeys, a regular stream of which flow
into Kandahar every morning, loaded with fruit, grain and grass. The
people here must be making fortunes, and certainly ought to like us,
as we pay anything they ask for everything, and the prices, though not
very exorbitant, are at least double what
[Sidenote: Dust-storms of almost daily occurrence.]
they used to be. It is getting very hot now in the day-time, and we
have constant dust-storms, which are, of all things, the most horrid
and the greatest trial to one's temper. Imagine the delights of an
immense cloud of dust a mile square, or more, driven along by a red
hot wind, and forcing its way into every hole and corner. While it
is passing it is quite dark, even in mid-day, and when it is gone
everything one possesses, every table, chair and book is covered with
an inch of dust, and one's hair and beard turned into a whitey brown
color, and stiff with dirt. Here we sometimes have a dust-storm which
is continuous for an hour, but generally they come up in regular
succession, each lasting 3 or 4 minutes, and a shorter or longer
interval between each. Towards 8 o'clock in the evening the wind goes
down and it becomes quite cool, and we generally have our dinner table
placed outside our quarters, and so brilliant has the moon been, that
for the last four days we have dined quite comfortably by the light
of it without any candles or lamps at all. Our mess now consists of
General Burrows and his Brigade-Major, Captain Heath; General Brooke,
his Brigade-Major, Captain Leckie, and his Orderly Officer, Lieut.
Fox; Colonel Beville, Deputy Judge Advocate, who manages the mess for
us, Captain Harris, the Deputy Assistant Quarter Master General, and
Mr. Cane, the Chaplain. The mess is managed on what is called the
"camp fashion" principles--that is, every one has to provide their own
plates, cups, knives, forks, and spoons, and chair; then wine, beer,
and tea at breakfast are supplied by each person for himself, according
to his own taste, the mess merely providing the eatables. It is a very
good plan, as then no large supplies of crockery, glass, stores, or
wine are necessary, and each one is able at a moment's notice to go off
on a march, with all his things complete, without interfering with the
comfort of the remainder of the party.
[Sidenote: Cases of Ghaziism--Ghazis killed.]
MAY 20th.--A Ghazi attempted to kill a soldier of the 66th Foot to-day,
but only succeeded in wounding him, and was himself instantly killed by
the soldiers who happened to be near, who bayonetted him promptly. It
seems that the man who was wounded was walking with a comrade down one
of the streets of Kandahar, looking at the things in the shops, when
an Afghan armed with a bayonet rushed out of a side street, shouted
out he was a Ghazi, and made straight at the two men, and succeeded in
inflicting two wounds (not serious) on the man nearest to him before
his comrade fully realized what was happening, when he immediately
bayonetted the Ghazi. When I first arrived here the men used to go
into the city with loose ammunition, and often, I make no doubt, with
loaded rifles, and when attacked by Ghazis used to fire wildly and, as
a rule, missed the Ghazi, and killed unoffending passers by. I took the
loose ammunition from them (leaving them, of course, ammunition in the
usual bundles in their pouches), and told them in such cases to use
their bayonets first, and then, if pressed, they might open ammunition
and use it. The change was not altogether liked, but this affair
(the first in which a Ghazi has had prompt justice meted to him) has
satisfactorily proved the propriety of the arrangement.
MAY 21st to 25th.--Nothing new has occurred. We had lots of
dust-storms, but, alas, there is nothing new about them, as they come
with a painful degree of regularity every afternoon.
MAY 26th.--There was another attempt by a Ghazi to day to earn
martyrdom, but this time it was one of the Hindustani camp followers
who was attacked. He, however, had a sort of sickle in his hand, with
which he was cutting some grass, and when attacked by the Ghazi, who
had a sword, he returned the compliment so smartly that the capture of
the Ghazi by a couple of native soldiers who came up at the moment was
very easy. He was brought in a prisoner, and when his case was being
investigated, and he was asked for his defence, he said simply "that he
was a Ghazi, that he had sold his cow to buy a sword, and he was very
sorry he had not killed the infidel." He was handed over to the Provost
Marshal for immediate execution, and he accepted his fate with the most
perfect coolness and indifference.
MAY 26th, 27th, and 28th.--Nothing of interest occurred.
[Sidenote: Feu de joie--"Akhbar" admired.]
MAY 29th.--We had a great parade for the Queen's birthday, all the
troops at Kandahar being on the ground, making a very effective show,
as we had
Three Batteries of Artillery,
Three Regiments of Cavalry,
Five Regiments of Infantry,
and the line was of good extent. General Primrose commanded the
parade, and General Burrows and I had each our own Brigades. One of
the performances on the Queen's birthday parade is firing a _feu de
joie_ with blank ammunition, when the fire is run down the whole of
the front rank, and then back up the rear rank, and this is done three
times, and is, as may be imagined, most trying to horses, especially
those who have to stand with their backs to the line as those of the
Generals and Staff have to do on this occasion. Prudence suggested to
me to ride my old and tried charger Rufus, but vanity got the better
of prudence, and being anxious to show off Akhbar, and also to make the
best turn-out on my own account that I could, I made up my mind to ride
the Arab, who is really a picture when got up for parade. He is young
and inexperienced, and had never been on parade before, or never heard
a shot fired, but Arabs very often don't mind anything of that kind,
and I hoped for the best and thought it all right when he stood like a
post while the Artillery were firing their salute. The _feu de joie_,
and the consternation it produced among all the other horses, was too
much for his nerves, and he gave me all I knew to sit on him, though
I don't blame him a bit, as this particular kind of firing is most
trying to all horses. On this occasion not one of them really stood it
steadily, and General Burrows' horse was so objectionable as to succeed
in throwing him, although he is a first-rate rider. I was, however,
quite repaid for the little bother I had by the admiration Mr. Akhbar's
appearance called forth as he went past the saluting flag at the head
of the Brigade.
MAY 30th and 31st.--Nothing new.
JUNE 1st and 2nd.--Do. do.
JUNE 3rd.--I had been for some time meditating an exploring trip up a
valley which had not been previously visited, and about which I wanted
to know something, but had put it off from day to day on account of
the heat, as the distance made it necessary to be out all the forenoon.
Tired, however, of the monotony of the previous week, I determined to
carry out my intention and have an outing and a good ride. I made up a
party, but at the last moment all, except Captain Law and Captain Slade
of the Artillery, both of whom are enterprising fellows, and always
ready for anything, cried off on one excuse or other, the real truth,
however, being that they were too lazy and did not like the idea of a
35-mile ride. At the last moment a young subaltern of the Artillery
asked me to let him go also, so we started a party of 4 officers
and my 2 Native Cavalry soldiers. We took a feed for our horses and
materials for a pic-nic breakfast with us, as we intended to halt for
a couple of hours or so about 8 o'clock. We left our quarters at 4
a.m., and it was really quite chilly when we started, and continued so
till ¼ past 6 o'clock, when the sun got up and quickly made himself
felt. Our road lay through a narrow valley, with high hills on either
side, and very stony rough going it was, as, in accordance with the
customs of this country, there was nothing that one could call a road
or even a pathway, and consequently we had to go slowly except when
now and then we got out on a bit of grassy ground where we could have
a canter. We saw a good number of deer who seemed much astonished
to see a white face, and moved away from us very leisurely, making
us wish we had brought a gun or rifle with us. We thought of trying
our pistols on them, but did not care to throw away our ammunition
unnecessarily. We also saw, though at some little distance from us,
the finest eagle I have ever seen. Indeed I have never seen such an
enormous bird anywhere. Our destination was a fortified village called
Mansurabad, which is about 15 miles in a straight line from Kandahar,
but the turnings of the road added at least a couple of miles to that.
We hit it off all right, and went all through it, the people seeming
civil enough, but very anxious for us to move on. The most of the
inhabitants were out in their fields cutting a most magnificent crop of
barley, wheat, and oats, and they were evidently a well-to-do lot, as
there were great flocks of cattle and sheep grazing all round, and the
orchards were stocked with fruit
[Sidenote: Into the Argandab river valley.]