The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-01-10 00:00:00

OUR TROOPS AT CABUL.

The following are extracts from the letter of an officer
serving with his regiment at Calm' (says The Times):—
" The late Ameer seems to have had some Central
Asian notions of becoming a first class military Power,
for, besides 260 pieces of cannon, all of which we have
got hold of, his arsenal contained no end of rifles of all
sorts, besides the unissued portion of the 10,000
Enfielis and 1,000 Sniders we so insanely gave him,
and among these were several sorts of breech-
loalers made in Cabal, mostly Sniders, of the
Afghans ability to make which we had no
notion. Cabul - made breechloading ammunition,
for the most part Snider, fell into our hands, and
one of his mountain batteries had small Cabul-made
breech-loading Armstrong guns. All this is pretty
tall for a halt.savage Power, and evidently the Ameer
spent every sou he got from us in bribing our best
native armourers to Cabal and getting up a store of
material.' His store of powder—stored in glazed
earthenware 'Ali Babe' jars, sft. high, pointed at the
base, planted a fifth of their depth in the earthen floor
of the magazines—was enormous, and he had planted
willows for charcoal near half the streams in Cabul.
All this powder was stored with Asiatic trust in God,
but the habit of going about barefoot probably pre-
vented accidents.
"On the sth of October, as the Commissary of
Ordeance, Captain Shaf to, R.A„ was visiting one of
the two magazines in the Baler Hisser some loose
powder flashed off and burned his beard, moustache,
and eyebrows nearly to his face, and about one p.m.,
on the next day I saw the walls of my tent shut
inwards about a foot, and a dull roar and a blow
in the pit of the stomach, told me that some big
magazine had gone off, and on looking out there
was a dense pillar of smoke 1,000 or more
feet high. We soon had news from the scene—
the Bala Hisser—and found that twenty Gourkhas
were missing, that Shafto's pistol had been
blown over the 67th camp (say 500 yards), and that
the 67th camp was plentifully strewn with burning
fagots, though only one 67th man was killed. All the
lower end of the Bala Hissar between the fortified
walls seemed on fire, every minute parcels of powder
or cartridges exploded, and at 4 p.m. came another
explosion perhaps twice ao severe as the first, the
column of smoke being some 1200, or 1,400 feet high.
From 4 p.m. till midnight jars and parcels were ex-
ploding every few minutes. We were told that the
largest magazine was still unlit, though we could see
the huts burning towards it, and for some time the
wind was straight for it. However, by mid-day
on the 17th the fire was out and some people
got to the Baler Hisser. The fortified wall
was half demolished, the houses within a quarter
of a mile, including the late Residency, were
much damaged, mainly by live shell, which blew up
and came down in bouquets in every direction,
and the hill north of the Bala Hisser was strewn with
burnt timber. Our loss was Captain Shafto, one
soubadar-major sth Goorkhas, one pay hevildar, who
had the half month's pay of the regiment counted out
in silver in front of him when blown up, four havildars,
13 privates sth Goorkhas, one private 67th Regiment,
five kahars, and many camels, mules, and horses which
were either killed or, breaking loose, dashed over the
debris of the wall and down the precipice. Some
Afghans seeking loot after the first explosion met the
second as they entered the gate and were blown to
atoms, The Bala Hisser being now a wreck, we are
all to crowd into Sherpur, where there are 20 tons of
powder in the same 'Forty thieves" jars. . . .
"I have just been looking at the guns we took;
they are of all sorts and sizes. including a very heavy
smooth-bore siege train, which in Russian hands
would have been a great annoyance to us, as the
Afghans have machinery (water power) for rifling
cannon and for making breech-loading Armatrongs.
Among the braes guns lay a quaint, old piece with the
figure of a ship of war with high poop and bow raised
in high relief on it and marked 'Assume Roster me
fecit : Amstelredam, 1630.' The bore was scored
and grooved from the passage of many a queer
charge of miscellaneous old iron, and the gnu had
probably been in a dozen Anglo-Dutch sea fights
before it got into Asiatic hands by purchase, con-
quest, or shipwreck, and worked its way, rid
Kurrachee, the Bolan Pass, and Candahar to Cabal.
I expect not a few of the double-humped camels
which Central Asiatics use to carry guns got a back-
ache from the Dutchman's bit of brass. The idea
that Cabal has a good Asiatic bazaar is a myth,
some gaudy, and in St. Petersburg probably
cheap, china tea-sets at about £lO each, and some
indifferent Turkestan rugs seem the chief imports,
and sheepskin coats, felt cloth, grapes, baggage
ponies and arms, the chief home products. I am
trying to get a real Persian rug, and cannot hear
ot one, There are some, but the people still hide
their valuables and the shops are not yet all open, and
at present only display trash in their most filthy dens.
As for arms, though we know these people have
elaborate and quaint arms and knives, every one being
armed till we came, none can be found, though knives
and pistols have not been ordered to be given up.
Everything is far dearer than when we came; no
means have been taken to let one know what should
be the price of necessaries and we an] our native
followers are accordingly bled."