The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1878-12-26
qfNfsceIIameutrs.
JELLALABAD, THE CITY oH
DJELLAL.

wur does to the Khyber, being the outer
gate that an enemy invading India must
find very hard to unlock. The Khyber
forced, Sir Samuel Brownies column
found itself at Dakka, from which Jella-
labad is forty-one and one-half miles
west. The road offers no obstacles to
the easy march of an army, save at the
Khoord-or Little Khyber Pass, de-
file about three quarters of mile in
length, which is entered about two miles
out from Dakka. The raVine is deep
and narrow so narrow that in some
places two horses cannot ride abreast
the road is good, but if the high banks
we're held by good troops it could not be
forced without difficulty, though it is not
nearly so eligible a spot for resistance as
Ali Musjid. Huzarnow, nine miles from
Dakka, is cluster of villages with
good deal of cultivated land, with good
grass and grazing for cattle. To Char
deh, eleven and three.iourths miles, the
road leads over a plain, sandy and stony
in some places, but fairly easy; from
Chardeh to i-Boghan, fourteen miles
is long and difficult march, the Soorkh
Deuker, a wide, stony valley of three
leagues across, where in April and May
the deadly simeon prevails" being in the
road. From Ali-Boghan to Jellalabad,
six and three quarters miles, the advance
is easy.
Jellalabad is described by Hough as "a
small, dirty place, with mud walls, and
round towers, narrow streets and pep
ulation of about 2,000." 1t is situated in
the midst of large plain, 1864 feet
above the sea, where, cattle, sheep, mules
and camels abound, and though forage is
scarce, fuel is TO be obtained in any
quantity from the zine clad mountains
that surround the plain. 1t offers very
convenient halting place for an army
during the winter MONTHS and will be
an eligible base whence to begin opera
tions in the spring against Cabul, which
is little over 100 miles distant.
Jellalabad is memorable in English
military annals in consequence of Sales
gallant defense in the winter of lS4l 2.
The Ghilzes having gathered with a
view to cutting off the British Communi-
cations with India, Gen. Elphinstone sent
Sir Robert Sale with two regiments from
Cabul to force the Khoord Pass. Sale
set out on the 18th of October, and
fought his way through to Jelalabad,
which he reached on the 18th of Novem-
ber. Almost Immediately afterwards a
body of Afghan hOrsemen brought let
ter from the weak and con6ding Elphin-
stone, in which The convention entered
into with Akbar Khan was announced,
and Sale was ordered peremptorily to
march with arms, ammunition and stores
to Peshawur, the Afghans promising that
the "troops would not be molested on
the way" Serious as was the RESPONSE
bility of refusing to obey orders, Sale
called a council of war, where (though
there was doubt and hesitation) it was
decided mainly through the persistence
of Havelock and Broadfoot, to remain at
Jellalabad and defend the place against
all comers. 1t then consisted of an irreg-
ular quadrilateral, surrounded by lofty
ramparts, with a perimetre of about 2l0O
yards. The works were of earth with,
out parapets, bitches, covered way or
outwork of any sort; there were thirty.
three bastions, but their construction
WIS so faulty that they were worse than
useless. The town contained but 800
houses, and had the reputation of being
one of the filthiest places in the East. 1t
WAS surrounded on all sides with walled
gardens incosed fields, ruined forts and
mosques, affording admirable cover TO an
enemy; on three sides, at distance of
about five hundred yards, lay the ruins
of the walls Of the ancient city; opposite
the southwest angle ran range of hills
completely overlooking the town; and
parallel to the north side, within $50
yards, there was a mud bank nearly 20
feet in height. This extended sew
eral miles to the east, and afforded a se
cure and unseen approach for any num-
ber of men. r
Three days after the council had deci-
ded that ut would not be prudent to act
upon such document, and that the gar
rison would therefore remain where it
was till further ORDERS" a sentinel saw a
mounted man in the distance, rider
who appeared to be European, faint
wounded, coming on halt starved pony
from the pass. 1t was DR.. Brydon, the
only man of Elphinstone's force that
reached Jellalabad; he was faint, bleed
ing and covered with wounds, and grasp.
ed in his hand small fragment of a
sword, his only weapon. Four miles
from town the cavalrymen sent out to
bring him in, found the mutilated re.
mans of three of his companions, after
killing whom the Afghans had gone back
tn the hills, leaving BrYdon, who had
Jagged behind, to pass unnoticed; but not
another living soul came through the
pass, though for some nights lanterns
were suspended on poles above the walls
and the bugles sounded to encourage any
strsggler. Sale set to prepare himself
for a siege, and while the walls were
manned with non combatants trained to
handle pixies made ont of old hooks and
other scraps of iron the garrison turned
out to forage. In two days 180c and
700 sheep were brought in, the former
being slain and salted down and the lat
ter sent out to Craze near the walls.
Trees and bushes that might afford cover
to an enemy were cut down, and even
the doors and windows of unoceupied
houses were torn away and laid up for
fuel. On the 18th of February, 1912, Ak
bar Khan's army arrived before the
walls, which were strong already and
daily becoming stronger. On the 10th,
just as the men marched out and set to
work, there came trembling of the
q ground, and a noise like the sound of a
thousand heavily laden wagons rolling
and joltingover an ill-pavedbtreet The
/ men, panic stricken, rushed out of the
trenches, and in an instant, walls and
houses, splitting asunder, came crashing
q down. The whole of the parapets were
reduced to shapeless heaps Of ruins, and
breaches were made in the walls more