The Sun.
London, England, 1842-04-18 00:00:00

AFFGHANISTAN.
t r.,.
Thll , -...,.DASZLIZIEI OP APPGHANISTAN.
i4e 4 boundaries are difficult to be fixed : no definite
, ti(f demarcation existing, either politically or na-
,,•Y, and constant warfare between the frontier tribes
Ctilt a continual fluctuation. Affghanistan, in the era
gittreatest prosperity, extended to sixteen degrees of
I 141° from S' I'dabout 150 miles from Delhi
tsh,,, ir tin ,
, 11, and about the same distance from the Caspian
' ' dla breadth it extended from the Oxus to the Per-
. IF, a space of 910 wiles.; but its territories have
yeatly reduced by war, and the authority of the
iligil irregularly acknowledged. In defining the
131,..1' r limits'of this diminished kngdom, it should
-4: 'seJ that, from the east of Bengal, in lon. 90 deg.
iits ,t, in lat.. 62 deg., a vast chain of mountains,
; weer aities'e the level of perpetual snow, extends
he names of the Himalaya, llindoo Coosh, and
10
tiiP ila 'sus. The country of the Affghans is bounded
he north by this great mountain-wall, which, from
stare, the eastern limit of Affghanistan, takes a south-
;,irection as far as the snowy peak of Hindoo
.."'derives
north' of Caubul, from which the whole
.. its name. From this peak, the same
nr, with a lower declination, extends westward,
8 the name of the Paropamisan Mountains, 350
Herat, and thus completes the northern bowl-
; ' Affghanistan. On the east, the Indus is the
i
I.)', so long as the river continues near the hills,
54 as far as lat. 32 deg. 20 min. The plain on the
. •• bank of the river to the south of this is inha-
.,'„',llot by the Affghans, but by the Bzioochees, an in-
:l`teet tribe, and intervenes between the Affghan
t,
‘01.)• and the river. The Soliman Mountains, there-
,,,,
i p
there-
which area branch from the Hindoo Coosh, runnine.
45Jteuth-east along the course of the Indus, with their
I,''onate ranges, and the plain immediately at their
Faire included in the country of the Affghans, and
4t ere its eastern boundary. In lat. 29 deg. north,
teethe Soliman Mountains terminate, this plain
tlh Westward, and has new boundaries. On the
it has hills whiqh stretch east and west,
4118 toot angles to the Soliman range, and those
)tin .
tra the southern boundary of Affghanistan, sopa-
sg it from the low and hot plain of Cutch Gundawa
tA4.oestan, on the south. The southern frontier of
h`..tifghan country is extremely irregular. Before
',,sdit!'s; the table-land of Khelat, in long. 66 deg. east, it
Art'", towards the north, and extends west as far as the
~:which separates it on the north-west from Persia.
htUghans have no general name for their country
!of Affghanistan, which vas probably first em-
,tCjoi Persia. It isfrequently used in books, and is
t4,4tuown to the inhabitants. It is sometimes known
q the appellation of the kingdom of Caubul.
OTTNTAINS AND ASPECT OP
Aft,, APPOHANZSTAN.
hicliTanistan, to the west of the Soliman Mountains,
), rural an eastern barrier, may be described gene-
IP a table-land, lying higher than most of the
'oaring countries. The title of table-land, how-
',4,Pidied to Affghanistan, must not be understood in
~",,Laer sense than that it is raised above the level of
; 4tr, °unsling regions ; for so far from its being a
't it is of the most diversified surface, being every-
intersected with chains of mountains, which di-
,, to different directions from the main ridge of
Is,' Coosh. This grand mountainous chain is a
.Nsoation of the great Himalaya ridge, which it rivals
itsimOleur and elevation ; from the elevated plains
ittill'e seen on the north in four distinct ranges. The
and highest range is covered with snow at all
'1)19, and some of its peaks rise to the height of 20,493
14,ittig conspicuous from Bactria, fro the borders
i to, and from places in Tartary, rat the amazing
'e of 250 miles. " The stupendous heights of
Ili,mountains," says Elphinstone, " the magnificence
h ariety of their lofty summits, the various nations by
ct'l
.t b they are seen, and who seem to be brought toge-
,l4 thisscommon object, and the awful and undis-
-04, aolitude which reigns amid their eternal snows.
Ilslnind with an admiration and astonishment which
'."tams
can express." Of this complicated mass of
11,ta.tos, the ridges branch off southward, in irregular
40° the distance of 60 or 70 miles, when they decline
1
Wee level, and these ridges are separated by inter-
if,!'alleys, each of which is watered by a river flow-
Co the southern declivity of the Hindoo Coosh
t 7,48 into Caubul, which, after an easterly course
tk_'" base of the mountains, of about 350 miles,
~ great Indus. These valleys, or glens, all open
t,,.p south into the great valley of Caltbul ; the
slit!ower down is fertile and delicious. The narrow
vial plain at the bottom, through which the river
LI : highly productive. The valley of the river
lithich may be taken as a sample of all the others,
11
'h ~ ,*0 harvests, and produces most sorts of grain,
h',,"loberries, fruits, and planes.
z:t‘vard from.the Indus, about 150 miles, an im-
kh
4rri ere or angle projects southward from the moun-
of the ,country into the interior, to the di5,,,,1!
,,,,1! 70 miles, when the snowy mountain abruptly
k, `t! into the low and hot plain of Jellalabad. rho
illea resumes ' its westerly course, forming the
sfe, or high lands of Caubul, a well-watered and
th,Coontry. The Paropamisan chain bounds this
Itilit
on the west, and forms a range of mountains,
' I,'ol,ffurd a habitation to some wandering and preda-
Ati.lues- This description applies to that portion of
i' from,' east to west, which extends southward
it).,so 0r.160 miles" from the Hindoo Coosh moun-
-114 -14eyond this the aspect of the country is varied
4
• range of the Soliman mountains, which, com-
With Stiffaid Coh, or the White Mountains, so
'at the snow with which they are covered at all
!extends smith south-west, almost parallel to the
.s I the Indus. 'Theae mountains decline towards
ti, by loWer ridges, which run nearly in the same
' as the main ridge ; while other ridges branch off
' toward thaindus. The height of these mountains
inferior to that of the Hindoo Coosh, but it is still
they }tore covered with snow to the end of spring,
,„ the tatitude of 31 degrees, gives a considerable
Beyaid....the Soliman ridges on the west, the
. Consists, for the most part, of high and bleak
' !terspersed" with moderate hills : in some places
li ill-cultivated, bare and open, better fitted for
'e than- the plough, and inhabited by migratory
I;,i'llepherds. The tract, however, watered by the
NI " and its tributaries is excellent for pasturage :
l'ttii,4,l/141t Candahar it is fruitful and cultivated; to the
'tti "tvertheless where it recedes from Helinund, it is
Pkte desert. '
~,Illt,,
'h -`IVINCES or APTGRANISTAN.
$.
it!th tekc'untry is divided into 27 provinces, in 18 of
Ora,'ll,o ros al authority prevails, and the' King's
' Icaukims and sirdars, constantly reside.
kk're Herat, Farrah, Candahar, Ghuznee, Caubul,
;1)41 and Ghorebund, Jellalabad, Lughman, Pesha-
, t'a. Ismael Khan, Dera Glotuzi Khan, Shikar-
‘4le,`')wee, Scinde, Cashmere, Chuch Hazareh, Leia,
Atihtan. Several of these provinces, owing to the
4111iss°t1 of the country, have since aspired to inde-
ea 1? ; and in the other nine the royal authority
tll),' little weight.
jktssll'urepean name of Affghan, signifying " loud
''
iS a nick-name given to the people of Caubul
It, surrounding. rounding tribes. The native name is Pusht-
';',lquialects of the Puslitoo language are spoken by
,iiis,„ " which are the most numerous, viz, the Caukers,
1;:, end Kheibers : the people of Caubul speak
-I.ian and Pushtoo,

~'`A4i,I'EVETES Ar.TGANHISTAN.
N-r_ring the extent of the country, and its inter-
ti,-"1 so many mountains, Affghanistan has few
hit,.*.e,l'a •in comparison.. For the greater part of
tglitnere is not one but is fordable, except the Indus,
tut its course, and the majority partake of the
Of mountain torrents, swelling rapidly and
it, °if, or they are sometimes all drained awar for
Vtlgtation of the fields. The greatest of the
tii;:4ich run through the west of Affghanistan
r Helmund or Etymander. This river,
411" between the Soliman and Paropa-
INI„ quntains, rises in the latter, and, running a
\lttle-It';t course of four hundred miles, terminates
y Seestan. The Urghundaub rises eighty-
"ea north-east of Candahar, and after passing
titlitlllo4 few miles of that city, joins the Helmund.
ti4el' more than 150 yards broad. The Turnuk is
Iv-ft,Y of the Urghundaub, which it joins about 75
tls4t of Candahar : it is a rapid torrent, and re-
trghessaun, and other small rivers : notwith-
these additions, its stream rather decreases,
\l'ltLtZarned in the irrigation of the country, or in
),ecl and barren sands through which it passes.
ski „k•"Irood which is a larger river than the Urghun-
Wll5 the Helmund after a course of 150 miles.
14111hrood is a still larger stream ; it has a course
and it is uncertain whether it reaches the
itcik iiileatan, or is lost in the sands. The Lora, which
taektlctli'l,l,e south of Affghanistan, has a western course
I Colin:an mcuntains of 200 miles, where it dis-
,,ll, orore it reaches the Helmurid.
AND ITS THIBUT.PI.I3,IES.
N'''%l,`is, which forms the eastern boundary of Aff- '
ki;r1110 may be accounted, from its volume of water,
ntt,;eagth of its course, which has been traced
h h:',,Ts from its mouth, and which has its source
,thelZler, one of the :greatest rivers in the world.
j;'.v(Ts of Affghanistan it alone is navigable,
4ttle use is made of it fur this purpose. All the
Noc,"4 this country which take their rise in the
m. e,soosh mountains are tributary to this great
he Caubul is the drain of all the waters which
I;iZttlii;" southern declivity of the Hindoo Cooah
q is:3,,* The most important river which it re-
c"Le Xaushkaur, which has its rise beyond the
Vkllt "30Sh range, in the same snowy peak which
ti • 'l) qtlth e sources of the Oxus ; it rushes with
violence into the valley of the Caubul
deli it joins about 100 miles west of the Indus.
Mlir,"'n, the Indus is joined by the Koorum,
i',4loaol%iest. The only river south of this which
the Indus is the Goinul, which, however,
10i4„e,r1 it is swollen by the rains, never reaches
being generally consumed the irriga-
4'„e9antry. The Indus is navigable, according
,r-Qarnes, from Attock to the sea ; this com-
in4tance of about 1,600 miles : the river at this
litill%;,° Miles broad, and the current three and a half
400 r. The width at Bukkur, where a bridge
,iyht across the stream, is 1,800 feet : the depth 30
k,‘ tlietlrrent three miles and 72 yards per hour. It is
t;t4'4tl j„„rvery sudden rises, and has been known to
kij again three feet in a day and a half : the
let,‘l'k:N.:(lkl'-ess of sailing vessels against the stream is
4t1,.11,!r- day. During the dry season, the Indus is
b fret deep below the Punjab, and half a mile
•
AJ
,r .k --urivrENT or THE .&PPGMANS.
41'41114 ACTION IN EMERGENCIES.—The rude and
Lktti leaterials of a free constitution are presented
NI:t11-Z13' the political institutions of the Affghans.
tt)kk tll tts form of Government, the nation is sup-
*n4a4 its origin from four tribes, which are di-
't families
into inferior clans, until no more
'l/4441. 'itinilies are included in the last subdivision.
8)
Who axe the chiefs of them) tribes, are elected