The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-03-03

ers The last war was again caused by Russian
intrigues in Kabool The Ameer Shere Ali chose
to receive deputation of Russian officers and
to decline to receive. mission sent to him by
the government OF India. Lord Lytton, then
the high priest in the East of Earl Beacons6elds
aggressive foreign policy, at once declared war
against Shere Ali, and in rapid succession there
followed the fight and death of Shere Ali, the
massacre of Sir Louis Cavagnari and
his companions, the capture of Kabool and
kandahar. the deposition of Shere Ali's son
Yakooo o Khan lnow state prisoner in India
and the elevation Of the Bokharian Abdurrah-
man Khan to the musnud at Kabool. 1t is worth
while to recall these few facts in order to Under
stand England's feelings when she now finds
that Russian troops are actually at the Gate of
India, as it has become the fashion for Sir
Henry Rawlinson, Sir Lewis Pelly, and other
rabd Anglo-Inda and Russophobits to call
Herat These gentlemen hold that Afgahnistan
must, at all hazards be kept as kind of buffer
between India and Russa's Asiatic possessions,
and it cannot be denied that they have large
and powerful following in Great Britain as we'll
as among the Anglo Indian officials of the East.
The passes by which alone it is possible to in
wade India from Afghanistan are the Jugdulluck
dehle ending in the Khyber Pass; the Shutur-
gurdun Pass, 49, 900 feet high terminating in the
long and tortuous valley of the Kooram; and the
Bolan Pass. stretching from the vicinity of Kan
dahar to point near the river Indus Men who
have actually seen those awful passes doubt
whether it would be possible for Russia even
with an Afghanistan coalition to penetrate sue
cessfully into the northwest of Hin
great ranges of formidable mountains and
keep and dangerous rivers Running east and
west and dividing the Kooram Valley from the
khyber Pass the Sufeyd Koh, or White Mount
aims, rise to an average height greater than
Mont Blanc. and finally twist off north and
south 80 as to form high eastern wall for the
| famous Logar Valley, which is the granary of
the country, and extends all the way from
where Kabool sits enthroned upon high spur
fO fho ~ ahar
The Siah Koh Tor Black) Mountains fill the
| southern portion of the country with shattered
! mass OF Titanic precipices and canons
which are infested by wild tribes who
do not care oven for the authority Of the Ameer,
and plunder and murder at their own sweet will,
without being any respecters of persons Then,
again, stretching from north to south along the
west bank of the Indus, the great snow clad
Suliman range forms what at first sight would
appear to be an impenetrable wall between
Afghanistan and Hindostan.
A PERILoUs COUNTRY.
The rough sketch of the general confguration
Of Afghanistan, which is probably the widest
country on the face of the globe, and the worthy
home of about 400O 600 courageous, powerful,
handsome, treacherous, and fanatical tribesmen,
viii probably give the reader an idea that
Russian invasion of India is by no means
| such an easy task as it has become
thefashon of good many English statesmen to
| imagine. These get most of their ideas from
books and excited pamphlets written by men
who have really no knowledge of what an awful
| country Afghanistan is. If they were once to
attempt the journey from Peshawur by way
either of the Khyber Pass, or the Kooram val
ley, they would probably concede that long
as the government of India is able, by her net
work of railways through the Punjab Bengal,
Bombay, the Presidency of Madras and central
India to mass along the northwestern frontier
and ggaF1 every vulnerable point the integrity
of Victorias eastern empire cannot be
.much harmed by Russia for many a
day to como. One thing is certain, that it
would take several months for Russia to cross,
! with an army, to the Indus from Herat, and in
that time England could easily fortify the passes
! in such way as to make any attempt to ira
verse them next to an impossibility. Already
| she has powerful garrisons at Rawul Pindee and
Peshawur to guard the entrance to the khyber;
| at kohat and Thai to guard the KORAN Valley;
and at Quetta and Hyderabad Sind to perform a
| like Office for the Bolan
| The fact that out of sheer gratitude Abdur
rahman Khan may consent to philander with
| the Russians who are now supposed to be knock
| ing at the "Gate of India," is being dwelt upon
| by the Russophobsts of England, for they
cannot forget that when he was compelled to
/ fly from Kabool he received an asylum in
| Russian Central Asia for many years. as we'll
as pension from the government which enabled
him to reside at Bokhara with considerable pomp.
Gratitude, however, is not trait of the Afghan's
Tcharacter He is shrewd enough to perceive in
| which direction his interests lie and to follow
/ that direction either by treacherous or straight
| forward means. Abdurraham is well aware
| that he was propped on the throne by British
/ bayonets, and that for the price OF his friend
| ship to England he receives large monthly
| subsidy which he could not very we'll afford to
| dispense with. He would. therefore, probably
refuse to enter into any compact with Russia to
the detriment of England's interests in India,
and it is safe to say that if he opposed
a Russian advance from Herat or from
| any point along the valley of the Mourgh-Ab-
| for it must be borne in mind that according to
fsthe shibboleth of the Russophobists, Merv is
| the key to India"-any direct attack upon
| India by Russia would prove simply disastrous.
| The terrible nature of the country would prove
| to the Ameer tremendous ally, as may be
| readily imagined by any one who recalls the
massacre of 16, 900 British troops in the Khyber
| dehes in lS42, or the striking fact that during
| the last invasion of Afghanstan the road from
| the Indus to the Shuturgurdun Pass could be
| followed simply by the skeletons of men, camels
| horses and mules that lay bleaching on the
| ground in line extending 200 miles, If En-
! gland suffered such terrible losses with her
bases of supply tolerably along the north
| west frontier of India, it is impossible TO i'm
| agine what Russia's losses would be when her
nearest base of supplies is in the heart of
| TurkeStan.
| Thus it is improbable that Russia will ever
| venture to undermine Englands power in India
| by open warfare, but there is no reason why she
| should not seek to do SO by intrigue. There are
| many native princes and chiefs in India who
| possess powerful armies, which are at present
merely ornamental, for the troops OF tie British
| government do the garrisoning of the country
and guarantee the independence of each princi-
pahty Several of these Princes are ambitious
enough to aspire to possess military power in
reality as well as in semblance. and
they are not so much in love with the
English raj or rule that they would not
listen to any covert suggestion that Russia might
make to them concerning the subject of achiey-
ing their independence. Scndah, the Mahara
iah of Gwallor, the best native general in all
India, has 40.000 well-trained Mahratta troops.
and he would certainly be one of those Princes
who would not object TO strike blow at Eng
land, which he conceives to have done him a
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