The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1878-11-02
The English in Afghanistan.

new aspect. The topic of interest is
Tor the moment no longer that of the
feasibility OF Russian advance upon
Cabul or Kandahar, but of the practical
difficulties in the way of that forciblv
entry into the dominions of Shere Ali
which those who have the control of
our Indian policy may at any motion
deem incumbent upon us in the inter-
estS OF British reputation and influence
upon the northwestern borders of Hin
dostan. Some more complete account
therefore of the nature of the passes of
the Sullman mountain range may be
acceptable to our readers, and this will
perhaps be best afforded by a glance at
the experiences of British commanders.
who have attempted, with or without
success, to conduct an army through
these passes in the face of hostile
forces.
The advance of Sir John Keane into
Afghanistan in 1889 was effected by the
less direct route of the Botan pass-or
rather by the succession of ravines and
gorges, gradually ascending from east
to west, which is known by that name.
1t was the refusal of Runieet Singh to
fulfill his promise of preparing the way
for an easy advance of the British
army through the Sikh country to
Cabul which finally led to the selection
Of Shikarpoor, in Scinde, as the princi-
pal rendezvous of our forces, and the
determination to approach the Afghan
capital by the more circuitous way of
the BOlan, Quettah, and Kandahar-
the ameers of Scinde, more complai-
SAINT than the ruler of the Punjab, hay
ing promised to provide supplies
and means of conveyance. The diff
culties encountered by the Bengal col
umn under Sir Willoughby Cotton, con-
sisting of $500 men and the enormous
number of $4,000 camp-followers, were
rather of a physical than military
kind. The Bolan pass is sixty-six
miles in length, winding, rugged, and
thanked by high rocks, its width grad
ually narrowing from three miles to
about $50 feet, and forage and water
being entirely wanting. When the
column reached Dadur, at the foot of
the mountains, on the 9th of March,
provisions were already SO short that
rations. Nevertheless the troops
reached Quettah after enduring great
privations. In the graphic words of
Sir John Kaye: "When Cotton APP
peared with his troops on a clear, still
morning, at the mouth of the defile,
there was little likelihood of any OBJ
stacle being opposed to his free prog
ress. But the baggage cattle were
falling dead by the wayside; the artil-
larry horses were showing painful
symptoms of distress. The stream of
the Bolan river was tainted by the
bodies of the camels that had sank be-
meath their loads. The Beloochee free
hooters were lowering about, cutting
of our couriers, numbering stragglers,
carrying off our baggage and our cat
tie. Among the rocks of this stupen-
dous detile our men pitched their tents,
and toiled on again, day by day, over
Wretched road covered with loose, flint
stones, surrounding, at first, by a
scarcely perceptible ascent, and after
ward by difficult ACTIVITY, the great
Brahoo chain of hills. The Bolan Pass
is nearly sixty miles in length. The
passage was accomplished in six days.
They were days of drear discomfort,
but not of danger. A resolute enemy
might have wrought mighty havoc
among Cotton's regiments; but the
enemy with which now they had to con-
tend were the sharp flint stones which
famed our cattle, the scanty pasturage
which destroyed them, and the maraud-
ing tribes who carried them off. The
way was strewn with baggage-with
abandoned tents and stores, and luxu-
ries which, a few weeks afterward,
would have fetched their weight twice
counted in rupees, were left to be
trampled down by. the cattle in the rear.
or carried off by the plunderers about
them. Happy was every man in the
force when the army again emerged
into the open country" AT Quettah
the troops failing to find the supplies
they expected were compelled to push
forward in famished condition to
Kandahar, distant, $50 miles, which
place they reached on the Goth of April,
having marched 1000 miles since leav-
ing Ferozepoor.
Such Is brief outline of the passage
of the Bolan pass and the British in
vasiOn of Afghanistan in 1889, which
for a brief time at least presented the
aspect of a brilliant success. A deeper
interest, however, attaches at the pres
ent time to an episode of that campaign
which has yet to be noticed. We refer
to the advance of Sir Claude Wade
through the Khyber pass in the month
of July of that year in the teeth of the
opposition of its defenders. Wade's
force consisted of considerable but If
regular levies of Mussulman Punjabees,
partly led by British officers, conjoied
to a small detachment of native in
fantry, and accompanied by two howitz-
ers of our native horse artillery. With
this force, intended to act in concert
with corps of the Sikh army-an aux
iliary which, of course, was not forth
coming until after news had been re-
ceived of the British successes-Gen.
Wade advanced from Peshawur. At
tempts had been made to obtain posses
sion of the detiles of the Khyber by cor
rupting the Momands on the left bank
of the Cabul River and the Kyberee
tribes in the mountain Businesses, but
those intrigues failed. Mahommed
Akhbar, the eldest son of Dost Mahom-
med, made resolute defense of the
famous fort of Ali Musjid, which stands
at point in the pass where the valley