The herald., 1897-12-11
HOW AFRIDIs FIGHT
Crafty at Daylight and Cunning at
Night-Peculiar StrateQies


Night-Peculiar Strategies
In any account Of the ways the Afridis
fight, 1t Is necessary to include in the de-
scription the military characteristics of
the frontier natives without regard to
differences Of tribe.
Their style Of fighting Is specially
adapted to the geographical condition
Of the country. Both at Fort Sarag-
hard and at Fort Cavagnarl had an op-
portunity, with other officers. Of learn
ing the peculiar fighting ways Of the
Afridis. Every race, Of course. has its
own method Of combat, and the Afridis
conduct their operations against an en-
emy in a manner altogether their own.
It Is as shlfty as It Is effective. Few
civilians can realize how deadly II may
become.
1t Is bad enough when an enemy,
creeping slowly up a hillside, lodges it.
self In sections behind huge boulders,
and, under cover Of these, pours volley
after volley at the Human targets-as
those engaged in the task of guarding
the summit become. Watching the ad-
vancement Of foe Is not at any time
an inspiriting occupation; It is worse
to see the half naked Afridis creeping
slowly from boulder to boulder. This Ia
what takes place in broad daylight but
even then the cunning Afridi can cir
cumvent nature. Take. as an illustra-
ton OF this, the way in which Fort Sar-
aghari fell. 1t occurred in broad day
light and within sight Of the neighbor-
Ing fort OF Cavagnari. where the das-
tardly operations Of the tribesmen were
observed by the imperial troops At
tempts were made by means Of signals
to warn the defenders of the British flag
Of their danger. but to no avail.
Although considered impregnable
Fort Saraghari, built of square stone
with two bastions at opposite angles,
was fatally defective in design. 1t had
O dead" point underneath each bastion
i. e., a point from which an enemy
could be neither seen nor hit by the de-
renders. The result was that while the
contending forces were firing at each
other-the defenders in the forts and the
assailants behind stone breastworks
and within ten yards of each other-a
few native-born engineers" among the
Afridis who had crept up to the dead
point were mining a breach In one OF
the bastions- Before this was made
sufficiently large TO admit the savage
tribesmen to make their deadly rush
into the fort the undermining opera
tions were seen by the small force hold
ing Fort Cavagnar. These signalled to
their brothers iu arms the danger
awaiting them. but the latter were too
busily employed in repelling the on
slaughts OF the enemy to benefit by. the
telescope observations OF their COM
rades. And 80 every one Of the twenty
one sikhs guarding saraghar1 died at
his post.
All this took place on the afternoon of
September 18th. II the Afr1das were
crafty in daylight. his cunning at night
became superhuman. Many a sentry
has fallen silently and mysteriously in
the Indian night. A naked form moving
steathily in the dark as the sentry
PAGES backwards and forwards, getting
almost mottonlsss as the, sentry draws
nigh; sudden bound followed by a
dagger thrust; this Is the end Of many
an Indian soldier. and the secret Of
many a tribal victory.-"An Officer In
London TeleRraph.