Cases of Ghaziism—Ghazis killed.
May20th.—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 realizedwhat 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.
May21st 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.
May26th.—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 broughtin 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.
May26th, 27th, and 28th.—Nothing of interest occurred.
May29th.—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,
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|Feu de joie—"Akhbar" admired.|had each our own Brigades. One of the performances on the Queen's birthday parade is firing afeu de joiewith 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 gotthe 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. Thefeu 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.
May30th and 31st.—Nothing new.
June1st and 2nd.—Do. do.
June3rd.—I had been for some time meditating an exploring trip up a valley which had not been previously visited, and about which I wanted toknow 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, makingus 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|Into the Argandab river valley.|of all kinds. At this village we came on the Argandab River, from which the water, which turns the country along its banks and round Kandahar into a garden, is brought by a wonderful system of canals which carry it in all directions. These canals leave the river just below Mansurabad, and the way they are planned and engineered show great cleverness on the part of the people who made them many hundred years ago. Leaving Mansurabad behind, we struck down the valley of the Argandab, and set to work to find a good place for our halt for breakfast. This was not quite so easy to do, as we wanted such a lot of things. First and foremost, rememberingthe Prince Imperial's fate (though I don'tthinkwe had a Captain Carey in our party), we wanted a place which could not be approached suddenly by the wiley Afghan, and a place that if attacked we could have defended ourselves in. Then we wanted shade for ourselves and horses, and water at hand for the horses and for drinking and cooking. Eventually we got rather a good spot though we had to sacrifice shade somewhat to the other more material points. Having set our horses to work at their corn, we turned out the contents of our wallets (my campaigning saddle carries 2 side bags and a pair of holster wallets) and found we had the makings of a capital breakfast. My contribution was first and most important, a small kettle to boil water in, a tin of chocolate and milk, 2 tins of potted beef and ham, a loaf of bread, 6 hard-boiled eggs, salt, pepper, &c. Among the others there were more eggs and more bread, a Bologna sausage, and a heap of sandwiches. We soon collected some sticks and had a fire burning (I had brought matches and some old newspapers), and quickly had hot water ready and chocolate made, and made an excellent breakfast, finished off by a heap of apricots brought to us by a friendly Afghan. His idea of our powers of disposing of apricots was magnificent, as, after we and our two soldiers had eaten all we possibly could (and we did our best), we fed our horses on them, and still left a good pile behind us. In this part of the world apricots are in millions, and our friend brought us afew for breakfastin a sack thrown over his shoulder. The reason why apricots are cultivated up here is that there is great demand for them in India in a dried state, and tons of them are dried in the sun and sent down to India, and can be purchased in the smallest and most remote village in that country, and you (the children) used to eat them stewed very often when you were in India, and, if I don't mistake, liked them very much. They are often called in IndiaAlubokaras, which, however, is not their proper name. We lounged about for a couple of hours, and then continued our ride down the Argandab Valley, and for ten miles rode along a charming rapidly flowing stream of clear water, well|Various fruits of Kandahar.|shaded on both sides by trees covered with apricots, plums, and mulberries, a most enjoyable ride, as, though the sun was hot, there was a very cool breeze, and the trees kept the great power of the sun from us. We saw many vineyards with a great promise of grapes, but none are ripe yet, and also lots of figs, apples, pears and pomegranates, all, however, some weeks from being eatable. The people we met, though not actually glad to see us, were not uncivil, and many of them offered us fruit as we rode along. No doubt our being well armed helped to make them civil. We got home at ¼ past 1 o'clock, having been 9¼ hours away, and having had a most enjoyable excursion. The distance was, I think, between 33 and 35 miles, and my old friend Rufus carried me like a bird, although with my saddle bags, big saddle andall, I am afraid I made up a good 15 stone for him to carry.
June4th, 5th, 6th, 7th.—Nothing important occurred on the 4th, but on each of the next three days there were attempts by Ghazis to kill some of our people. In the two first cases the men attacked were native servants, in the third case it was a soldier of the 66th. Both the natives were seriously wounded, but the soldier having some suspicions was on his guard, and escaped with a slight scratch, and bayonetted his assailant. The last idea the Ghazis have taken up, which is rather a mean one, is to send quite young boys to make the attack, as naturally people neither notice the approach of, nor try to avoid a small boy, and besides men hesitate to deal out summary justice, even in self defence, on a child. One boy who tried to stab one of our native servants is really quite a child, but as savage untamed a little viper as I ever saw. It is very hard to know how to deal with the young rascal, but I think a good whipping in a public place every other day for a month would be the best punishment. The first well authenticated account of a Ghazi that I know of will be found in the 3rd chapter of Judges, verses 14-22, as the motives and actions there described are exactly those of the Ghazis of to-day. However, this last device of sending children to do the work of men is so mean, that any little respect one might have for the motives which make men Ghazis is entirely destroyed.
Serious loss of warm clothing.
June8th.—Shortly after I left Bombay I found I should want some clothes I had left packed up, ready to follow, so I telegraphed to Alfred Christopher, and asked him to send my portmanteau to me, and I took all sorts of precautions by writing to the various transport officers along the road, and asking them to expedite its movements. It left Bombay on the 8th April, and exactly 2 months later it made its appearance here, so it had travelled very leisurely, and worse still, had been cut open and nearly everything in it abstracted. All the things I most wanted were stolen, and nothing was left except my Ulster and a few pair of old drawers. When the weather gets cold I shall be very glad to have the Ulster, of course, but the loss of a first-class pair of corduroy breeches and all my warm clothing is very tiresome. This misfortune, and the destruction of my things in the Bolan River leaves me rather short of clothes, and I shall not find it easy to keep up a very respectable appearance much longer.
June9th, 10th, 11th.—Nothing new. The heat is very much greater the last few days, and even the nights now begin to be hot.
June11th to 18th.—Nothing of any interest occurred, except that day by day the weather became hotter, and we lost our cool nights which had, up to this time, quite compensated for the heat of the days. A careful record of the heat during the month ofJune showed that the thermometer on one occasion rose in the shade to 124°, but that the average maximum for the month was 114°, and the average minimum 65°. Although the heat has, no doubt, been very great, it has not equalled in oppressiveness and debilitating effect the heat one gets at Cawnpore and Allahabad, and stations in the Punjab. Daily the grapes and fruit have been getting riper, and we have had a sort of compensation for the heat in the variety and goodness of the fruit. A great number of officers have been ailing more or less, the result, I am sure, of the sedentary lazy lives they lead. Great heat is, of course, enervating, and it takes some determination after a long hot night to start off for a good ride, and it is even worse in the evening. I am glad to say I have steadily stuck to my exercise, and have frequently, in the morning before breakfast, done 20 to 25 miles, and then 8 or 10 in the evening. Whatever has been the cause, I have certainly been wonderfully well, and, beyond the inconveniences of the heat, have not felt the slightest bad effects. I have now visited every inch of country within 12 to 15 miles of Kandahar, and know every part of it thoroughly.
March to Kelat-i-Ghilzi countermanded.
June19th.—It was decided to send the 30th Native Infantry to Kelat-i-Ghilzi to relieve the 29th N. I., and both regiments being in my Brigade, General Primrose allowed me to march up to Kelat-i-Ghilzi with one regiment and come back with theother, going up the Argandab Valley and returning by the valley of the Tarnak. As very little was known of the Argandab route, I was very glad to have the opportunity of seeing it and also visiting Kelat-i-Ghilzi. Captain Leckie, my Brigade Major, was to accompany me, and Major Leach, of the Engineers, on surveying duty, and Mr. Gordon, a Missionary who is here, also asked to join my party. The first there was no difficulty about, but the advisability of the latter going was more doubtful. However, as he wanted to make the trip only with the view to holding services, &c., for the English troops at Kelat-i-Ghilzi, he was allowed to come, and we all made our preparations for a start on the 25th, but between the 20th and that date the heat increased so greatly that it was considered unwise for us to move until a change in the weather set in, and so, to my great disgust, our trip was postponed.
25th, 26th, 27th, 28th.—Heat very great.
29th.—We got further, and apparently more certain information that Ayoub Khan with his army was actually on the march from Herat towards Kandahar, and preparations were at once put in hands to equip a force for despatch to Girishk to prevent his entrance into the Province of Kandahar. The distance from Herat to Girishk is 280 miles, and the road is, like all roads in this country, extremely bad, and very little water to be found along it once theValley of the Helmund is left. About half way between Herat and Girishk is the town of Farrah, and to this place it was said Ayoub Khan's advance guard had arrived. The Wāli of Kandahar was at Girishk, with part of his forces across the Helmund in Zamindawur, and on hearing of Ayoub Khan's movements he wrote and asked us to come to his help. Reference, of course, had to be made to the Viceroy and Commander-in-Chief at Simla, and in the meantime our preparations for a move went on. The force to go out was a Brigade of Cavalry under General Nuttall, and a Brigade of Infantry under General Burrows, who, being senior, would command the force. A Battery of Horse Artillery was also ordered to be in readiness. Generals Burrows and Nuttall being senior to me, it was natural and right that they should have the commands, and indeed in any case, of course, the Cavalry General must have gone with his own Brigade, but, all the same, I cannot help being envious of their luck, though I shall have most responsible and interesting work here, as on me devolves the command of the Kandahar garrison, and the task of guarding, with a force reduced much below what is desirable, the whole position here. I shall only have for this purpose 2 of the Infantry regiments of my Brigade, one of which is weak, having detachments at the posts on the Quetta road, 2 Batteries of Artillery, and about 300 Cavalry. We expect two more Infantry regiments up in about a fortnight, but till then we are certainly much below our proper strength.
Force ordered from Kandahar to the Helmund.
June30th.—The very worst dust-storm I have yet been in occurred to-day, as it blew from 12 o'clock till 3 a.m. on the 1st July, when the wind changed, and a most perceptible difference in the temperature occurred. Nothing could be more disagreeable than these 15 hours were, but the change in the heat quite repaid us for the previous discomforts. Orders were received from Simla to send the proposed force to Girishk at once, so the Cavalry Brigade will march on the 4th, and the remainder of the force on the 5th, a junction being effected on arrival, near Girishk. Girishk is about 90 miles from Kandahar, and the road is, for the most part, through dry uncultivated country, and there would not have been sufficient water at all the halting places for the combined Cavalry and Infantry Brigades. Girishk is on the River Helmund, and General Burrows has positive orders not to cross that River, and I can hardly suppose it possible that Ayoub Khan will venture to force the passage of the River against our vastly superior (in arms and discipline) force. In numbers, of course, he has, it is said, about ten times a larger force than we have, but that is not of much consequence. Putting aside as unlikely his making an attempt to cross the Helmund at Girishk, three courses are open to him. The first, and it is thought by the Political people the most probable, is, that on arriving near Girishk he will endeavour to come to terms with us, and put in his claim for the Amir-ship, and say he does not want to fight. The nextis, that instead of making for Girishk, he might cross the Helmund, at, or near, a place you will see on the map calledKala Bust, and giving General Burrows the slip, come down the Argandab to Kandahar. This, though the most unlikely, is what I should like. The third course is to pass along to the north of Girishk and cross the Helmund nearGarm-ab(hot water), and bearing away northwards, pass along the Valley of the Tirin River, and eventually strike the Ghuzni road beyond Kelat-i-Ghilzi, and so get to Kabul without coming into collision with us at all. If Ayoub Khan does not want either to fight or make terms, or does not fall back on Herat, on finding us in force at Girishk, this last course seems a very likely one for him to take. These being the various alternatives, we ought, according to my idea, to have a small force in the Argandab Valley, near the junction of that River with the Helmund, and we should have a strong Brigade in the Tirin Valley, but both these moves are impossible, as we have no men, and it will take all we have to hold our own here. Of course, all is, at present, conjecture, and it might even be, so defective is our information, that Ayoub Khan is still at Herat, or, on the other hand, that he may reach Girishk before we do, and cross the river, and either fraternize with, or fight and lick the Wāli, and the outcome of the whole affair will be known at home long before this is received. Whatever happens, the move of the two forces I have mentioned (if men were available)would, I am clear, be the right thing to do, as precautions, at any rate. As the variety of names that are mentioned in connection with the Government of this country are very puzzling, it is well to mention|Mahomedan law of succession.|that Abdul Rahman, who stands first for the throne, according to the Mahomedan law of succession, is a first cousin of the deposed Amir; that Ayoub Khan is the late Amir Yakoob Khan's full brother, and that he comes 2nd, and that the third is the little boy, Musa Jan, who is Jakoob Khan's son. If Abdul Rahman has refused our offers, Ayoub Khan has a good chance, the Political officers seem to think, and so he may be coming down here in a friendly manner. However, time will soon show now. This is, I fear, a very dry bit of geography and history, but the first part will be clear enough if read with the map, as then you will see what the moves on the board might be, and, according to my idea, should be.
July3rd.—Took over command of the Kandahar garrison, and spent the morning in trying, with as much regard to safety as possible, to reduce the guards all over the position, but doing my best the men will be very hardly worked for the present, as will be understood when it is remembered that our Infantry are reduced by a whole Brigade of 2,000 men. In addition to the two Native Infantry regiments which will possibly be here within the next fortnight, we hear that the Viceroy has ordered upanother complete Brigade from the Reserve, but it cannot be here for at least 6 weeks. I cannot myself think this addition necessary, as once we get the 4th and 28th Native Infantry from Quetta, we ought to be fit for anything.
July4th.—The Cavalry Brigade, with the Battery of Horse Artillery and company of Sappers, marched before daybreak, and starting about an hour after them, and taking a line across country on the excellent Akhbar, who carried me like a bird, I arrived at the first camping ground before the Brigade got in. It was a most lovely morning, as we have suddenly gone into quite cool weather, indeed it was quite cold when I started, and the ride was very enjoyable. This change in the weather is extremely pleasant, but of course no one expects it to last, and no doubt before the end of the week we shall have it as hot as ever. Still, every cool day is a gain. This sudden change in the aspect of affairs here is remarkable, as ten days ago the idea all over India was, that we should all be on our way back to India in a couple of months, and, instead of that, we are being heavily reinforced, and this would hardly be done if an early retirement was intended. Still so many foolish things have been, and are continually being done, in connection with our campaigns in Afghanistan, that the present moves may mean nothing important after all.
Cavalry & infantry brigades left Kandahar.
July5th.—The Infantry Brigade under General Burrows marched this morning, halting for the day at Kokaran. They did not get off quite so easily and well as the Cavalry Brigade, as they were hampered by having with them a large quantity of extra ammunition for both rifles and horse artillery guns, and as in this country there is no such thing as a road, and wheeled vehicles of any kind are impossible, everything has to be carried on pack animals, and the trouble and worry of loading and starting has to be seen to be understood. Here we use five animals for carrying packs—viz., camels, mules, ponies, bullocks, and donkeys, and I should be afraid to say the numbers of each which has accompanied this column. For the extra ammunition alone there were 250 ponies and bullocks, and as in that number there were a certain proportion of bad tempered brutes who at first refused to carry anything at all, delay was inevitable. However, the great comfort in marching is that the first march is always the most tiresome, as each day the men and animals fall more easily into the routine, and in a short time the machine works quite easily. I went out with the Brigade to their first halting ground, and having seen them all settled down, rode back to Kandahar, and spent the most of the day in perfecting my arrangements, as far as the means and force at my disposal would permit, for the safety and protection of our painfully straggling and badly laid out position at Kandahar. Certainly General Stewarthas not left behind him any marks of a long-seeing and provident General. On the contrary, he seems to have trusted to good fortune, and fortune seems to have stuck to him in a remarkable manner. I consider the position here, from a military point of view, bad in all respects, and that even all the advantage which might have been taken of it has not been availed of. I have urged my view of the case, and can do more. As far as one can judge from the appearance of things, and the reports we get, it is extremely unlikely we should ever be attacked here, but I don't think that is any reason why we should not take every precaution. At the same time I must confess that the weakness of the position has one great advantage, and that is, we should operate in the open, a much better place for our soldiers than behind walls. I only wish the enemy would be so badly advised as to attack us, as, with all disadvantages, I have no doubt of the results.
Rode out to General Burrows' brigade.
July6th.—I was up at 4 a.m. and out at ½ past 4, and set off across country to catch up the Brigade and ride a few miles with them, and then come home. They, however, had started at 4 o'clock also, and so I did not come up with them till they were 12 miles from Kandahar, which was not to be wondered at, as they had 6 miles start of me, and got off half an hour earlier than I did. I could not, therefore (as I had to be back for breakfast and work), go verymuch further with them, so, after seeing them on their way a mile or so further, I struck off through new country and went straight for Camp, which I reached at nine o'clock. I rode Rufus, who did his 27 miles in first-class style, and could have done half as many more without any trouble. The morning was cool, almost cold, and a good deal of the country very pretty. The climate just now, and the excellent forage we get, suits the horses very well, and they are all, both public and private, in first-class order.
July7th.—Nothing of interest, except that we had news from Kelat-i-Ghilzi that they had a small skirmish there on the 1st July. The news made me more than ever disappointed that I did not get off to visit that place as was originally intended, as I should then have been in for this affair.
July8th.—Rode a long way up the Argandab Valley this morning in hopes of picking up some information, or ascertaining if there were any signs of movement or excitement. Everything seemed very quiet, and the people in the numerous villages I rode through were very busy thrashing their corn. An absurd accident happened to me as I was riding home, which at one time threatened, though quite free from any danger to myself, to effect the destruction of my one pair of long riding boots, which would have been an irreparable disaster. I had to ford a small water channel about 6 or 7 yards wide, thewater of which was muddy, but looked quite shallow, so I rode in very carelessly, but had not gone 2 yards when Mr. Akhbar went right down over his saddle, plunging violently. He managed to get his chest on the bank, and I lost no time in springing on to hard ground and hauling him, with some difficulty, out of the hole, nothing the worse, I am glad to say. It appears that the people had dug a well about 10 feet deep in the bed of the water-course, and it was into this we had got. Of course I was wet through, and so was the saddle, but the sun was warm, and I was an hour and a half from home, and long before I arrived there everything was dry. I had to take my poor boots off most gingerly, and have been nursing them greatly, and I think they are nothing the worse. I was much more anxious about them than anything else, as nothing of the kind is to be got here, and parcels take 2 and 3 months coming up from Bombay. I am beginning to get rather short of clothes, as it was a great loss having all the contents of my portmanteau, which were principally strong warm clothes, looted on the way up here. The orchards of peaches and nectarines in the Argandab Valley are just now quite beautiful to look at. The trees are loaded with most splendid looking fruit, which, however, are rather disappointing when picked, as they don't seem to ripen thoroughly.
July9th.—We had an unofficial rumour thatthe advance guard of the Wāli's army had been met at Washir by the Cavalry of Ayoub Khan's army and defeated, but as no confirmation of the rumour has come from General Burrows, we are not inclined to credit it, though it is received as quite true by the people in the city, who are only too glad to believe anything to the detriment of the Wāli. Of course we must expect all sorts of rumours now, and I am, for curiosity, writing them all down as we get them to see how many eventually prove true, and how many are incorrect.
Chief of Kokaran deserted the Wāli.
July10th.—To-day it was reported that considerable disaffection exists among the Wāli's Chiefs and Officers, and that the most important man of the lot, the Chief of Kokaran, a place about 6 miles from this, has deserted, and this—July 11th—was so far confirmed that we received official news that he had, with 80 followers, withdrawn himself from the Wāli's force, although it does not appear, so far, that he has joined Ayoub Khan. In accordance with Afghan customs, the Wāli's representatives here at once took reprisals by seizing the son of the Chief of Kokaran (a small boy in a bad state of health) and putting him in prison, and taking possession of the house and property of the deserter at Kokaran.
July12th.—Employed during the morning in endeavouring to make arrangements for making the Citadel safer and more in accordance with the rulesof war, but the task is hopeless, as the place is radically bad in a military point of view, and surrounded with houses on 3 sides. Strictly speaking these houses should have been knocked down for at least 300 yards all round the wall of the Citadel, but General Stewart appears to have set his face against any military precautions, insisting that they were quite unnecessary, "as the people were friendly to us." The consequence is that the whole position here is, strictly speaking, untenable—that is, if an enemy with either organization or means were to come against it. As, however, there is no possibility of any scientific attack being made on us, we feel that, bad as the position is, we can quite engage to hold it, and lick the enemy outside into the bargain. The City of Kandahar is a parallelogram about 1¼ miles long, and ¾ of a mile wide, something like this—
citadelThe Citadel is close to the north end, and the outer wall of the City forms then a sort of double wall to the Citadel.
There are 6 gates in the wall of the City, which is fully 20 to 30 feet high, and very thick and strong. At each of the city gates there is a guard of Native Infantry, and we hold the keys of the gates which we lock every night at sunset, after which hour neither entrance nor exit is permitted to anyone. The guards are stationed on the ramparts, and their posts should, from the first, according to the most ordinary rules of war, have been put in a state of defence, but nothing was done to them, and General Primrose has been unwilling to make a change in the matter. Now, however, he has allowed me to take measures to make them safe in the event of any outbreak.
Rumoured advance of Ayoub Khan.
July13.—A welcome addition to our force reached us to-day, in the shape of the Head Qrs. Wing of the 4th N.I., which marched in from Quetta. The remainder of the regiment will follow shortly. There was a report that Ayoub Khan, with his army, had actually left Furrah, and that his advance guard was at Washir, but there is no confirmation of the collision between his and the Wāli's forces there, which has probably never occurred. There is much excitement in the city, and the merchants, jewellers, &c., are hiding and burying their property, which means, I assume, that they don't believe in our power to defend the city against Ayoub Khan. A gathering of the enemy is reported as being at Karkrez, about 30 miles off, and there is much excitement among the tribes in the Arghastan Valley. There is no doubt it is very desirable that our forceat Girishk should have an opportunity of administering a lesson to some one, or we shall probably have to do something in that way ourselves here.
July14th.—Information received that one of the Wāli's regiments, composed of men from Kabul, is mutinous. They are in the fort of Girishk with the Wāli. Ayoub Khan is said to have with him 1,800 cavalry and 4,000 infantry, and 30 guns. So General Burrows' force of 2,500 men and 6 guns have not much to fear. I visited all the guards on the city gates in the evening, and walked round the whole city on the ramparts, and had a good view of the inhabitants preparing to go to bed on the roofs of their houses, which are flat, and always used as the sleeping apartments of the family. The ramparts are 20 to 25 feet high, and as the houses are all one-storied, the roofs were much below us, and we saw more of Afghan domestic life than usual, as the people did not anticipate that anyone would be passing round then, and the roofs were covered with ladies, who, however, very quickly let down their veils when they saw us in the distance.
Guns recovered from mutinous troops.
July15.—News from General Burrows received this morning states, that the whole of the Wāli's army was mutinous, and that the situation was so critical that he had decided it was necessary he should disregard the positive orders he had received not to cross the Helmund, and that he proposed todo so, and disarm the mutineers. I should explain that our force is, under orders from the Viceroy, halted on the Kandahar side of the Helmund, while the Wāli and his army are in the fort of Girishk, which is on the Herat side of the Helmund. Later in the day news arrived from the Wāli (which was apparently authentic), that early the previous morning (14th) the whole of his army left him, taking with them the Battery of guns our Government had been so idiotic as to give the Wāli. The letter, which was from the Wāli to his son, who is here, went on to say, that immediately General Burrows heard this, he had crossed the river with his cavalry and Horse artillery, and pursued the mutineers, and coming up with them had killed 200 and recovered the guns. This report seems authentic, though probably exaggerated, but as yet no confirmation has been received from General Burrows. True or not, the report has had a good effect in the city, and will help to show that the people are not likely to improve matters by trying conclusions with us. I had a deputation from the Parsee shopkeepers, who have followed the army from India, and have shops in our camp, where they sell us wine and provisions, &c., at most exorbitant rates, to beg me to give them a place in the fort for their stores, as they were in a dreadful fright for their lives and their property. Even if I had considered they were in danger, I would not have acceded to their request, as I would much prefer their running certain risks, to givingpublic confidence the shock of supposing I thought it necessary for our camp followers to take refuge in the fort, so I laughed at their fears, refused their petition, and comforted them by saying, that even if they now lost the whole contents of their shops, they would still be great gainers, as they have made their fortunes already by swindling us. They did not seem to see this in the light I did, but had to accept the inevitable, and take their share of the risks. As there is a large number of evilly-disposed men in the city, it was decided that it was desirable to show|40-pounder guns moved into fort.|them we were determined to put down any disturbances with a strong hand, so we moved down two of our 40 pounder guns into the fort, and placed them in position to shell the city, and at the same time established a system of strong patrols, which night and day visit the city, and go through all the main streets. There is no denying these patrols would be in an unpleasant position if attacked, as street fighting is, of all, the most disagreeable, but I have given clear and distinct orders for the guidance of the officers in command, from which they learn what they are expected to do, and which will cover their responsibility in resorting, if necessary, to strong measures. The great objection one feels to returning a fire in a street is, that in such cases it is always unfortunate children and women who suffer, and not the men who deserve it, and who take precious good care to remain under cover. I visited the city myself, and found all quiet, and went with the Wāli'schief man to arrange for certain improvement to the fortifications, and was quite civilly received everywhere. It was satisfactory to find that already the arrival of the guns in the fort was known and appreciated, and one Afghan said to me, "They" (the guns) "are very big: two discharges from them and the city would be destroyed." I answered in the language of the country, "I believe you, my boy."
July16th.—Rode out to Kokeran, and on arrival there, met a well armed caravan, the people composing which could give but an unsatisfactory account of themselves, so one of our native cavalry patrols coming up at the moment, I made the lot prisoners, and sent them into the city to be examined. They may only be peaceful traders armed for their own defence, as they were perfectly civil, but even in that case some information will be got out of them. No news yet from General Burrows, who possibly has gone on in hopes of meeting Ayoub Khan. We have decided to disarm every Afghan approaching Kandahar, and I have issued the necessary orders to ensure this being done.
July16th.—Rode out to Kokeran in the morning, returning by the Argandab, all seemed quiet. Visited the city in the evening, and found all quiet there also.
July17th.—Was woke at 2·30 a.m. by the Brigade-Major bringing the officer commanding thecavalry patrol (which is on duty round the camp all night), who reported that a considerable fire was burning in the direction of Kokeran. As these fires very often indicate a collection of men bent on mischief, I desired him to proceed cautiously with his patrol in the direction of the fire, and ascertain its cause, and bring me information, and at the same time I ordered a troop of cavalry to follow in support. The fire proved to be caused by some evilly-disposed persons having set a light to the corn and straw stacks of a peaceably-disposed native, living some 8 or 9 miles from camp, and the patrol found no signs of a gathering of men, so returned to camp. Confirmation was received from General Burrows of his successful fight at Girishk against oursupposedfriends, the troops of the Wāli, in which he had succeeded in recovering the Battery of artillery which our Government had given as a present to the Wāli, and the first time it was used was to fire upon us! General Burrows also recovered a great deal of stores and baggage belonging to the Wāli, and much ammunition, and on the whole made a very successful business, losing but very few men himself, the loss of the enemy being computed by themselves at 400, but was probably not more than half that number. There being a want of supplies at Girishk, General|Retrograde movement on Kushki-Nakud.|Burrows thought it right to fall back to a place 25 miles nearer to Kandahar, called Kushki-Nakud. There were many good reasons, I confess, for this move, but personally I would never willingly, inEastern warfare, take a retrograde step, except under the strongest compulsion, as Afghans know nothing, and care less, about the laws of strategy, and see only defeat in any but forward movements. The fact is, had we known that the Wāli's army intended to mutiny, we would never have advanced beyond Kushki-Nakud, as there are many good objections to the position at Girishk. That we did not know the shaky state of the Wāli's troops is all the fault of the Political officer with the Wāli, who, wishing to see all thingscouleur de rose, persuaded himself that all was right, and could not, or would not, believe any evil of them. Even he must now see what we have felt sure of all along, that Shere Ali is quite without power or influence, and quite unable to maintain his own authority for a day without our assistance. We have, of course, here, the reflex of the events at Girishk, as there has been a very marked increase of excitement and turbulence in the city, since the news of the mutiny of the Wāli's troops has arrived, and had not, at the same time, the intelligence of the licking they had received from us reached the city, we should certainly have had an outbreak there.
July18th.—Moved another 40 pounder gun into the fort, and mounted it on a very commanding position, from which we could soon destroy the best part of the city. Of course there is no intention of a measure of this kind, but a big gun ready for action has a verysoothingeffect on the warlike feelingsof Afghans, or Easterns generally. Intelligence was brought in, that attacks on the posts of Mandi Hissar and Abdul Rahmon were likely, and though it was not thought there was much chance of these places, which are now very fairly strong, being attacked, it was thought wise to send some cavalry to reconnoitre, which was done; but the officer, on arrival at Abdul Rahmon (25 miles off), was able to telegraph that all was quiet and no sign of gatherings or excitement. If, however, the existing state of feeling in the country grows or becomes intensified, it is quite possible these posts may be attacked, but if so they should be well able to hold their own.