The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1897-08-26
THE UPRISING IN india.
The Situation on the Frontier Grow
ing More Serious. -..
HOSTILE TRIBES STRENGTHENING

Tho Rc-Conquest of the Khyber Pass,
Which Has Fallen Into the Hands OF
of the Afridls, VIII be q Formida-
bio Task For British Troops.
Bombay, Aug. 2s. - The latest dis
patches received from the front ind-
cate that the situation on the frontier
Is getting worse. 1t is evident that the
Indian government must face a grave
crisis involving heavy expenditure
and probably great loss Of life.
The government Is confronted with
the following state of affairs: Khyber
pass has fallen Into the hands of the
Afridis; the posts in Kurram valley are
threatened by the powerful tribe of the
Orakzais; the Mohmand tribesmen
are meditating renewal of hostilities
around Fort Shabkadr. while thousands
Of troops are engaged in crushing the
revolt in the Swat valley. and two
large brigades are holding the Tochl
valley, where the Mahsud-W azcys are
again restless.
The authorities are convinced that
Fort Ali-Musjid could only have fallen
after desperate fighting. and the native
garrison of Khyber rifles, grand fight
ers, was made up Of men who rendered
valuable assistance in the Black noun
tain expedition of 1888. The fall of tn
fort is very serious blow, for 1t $50
lates Fort Landi- Rotal, which Is at the
extreme end of Khyber pass, garrisoned
by 800 Khyber rifles, and necessitateG
the prompt re-conquest of the pass.
This is certain to prove a formidable
task, of which the British troops had a
foretaste on Monday when a body OF
artillery, cavalry and infantry left
Fort Bara, south of the Peshawar. In
order to reyel the Afridis, who were
then advancing down the Bazai val
ley. The troops returned early Tues
day morning and reported that many
of them had dropped out from want
of water. none being procurable along
the route, while the Afridis, although
shelled by the British, maintained their
position on the heights, threatening
the loyal villages Of Kadam and The
British position, Fort Jamrud, at the
mouth of the pass.
Fort Jamrud is held by strong force
of British and native troops, and the
British front extends about IS miles
from Shabkadr along the north side
of the Cabul river and southwark to
Pcshawar, where the troops are mass
ing as a base Of demonstration against
the Orakzais, who occupy the region
south of the Afridis, but have not yet
assumed the bclligerent proportions OF
their northern neighbors. There Is an
uprising. however, of small parties,
which is proving troublesome near
Kohal, and it is expected that both
tribes will try to close the Kohal pass.
Numbers of tribesmen are moving up
towards Khyber from Kohal and that
district, making the salt tariff the pre-
text for hostitios.
The widest excitement prevails
among the Hindoo traders at Banu, on
Kurram river. 1t is rumored that
1000 Walters intended to swoop down
there, sack the town and massacre the
Inhabitants The mulla and his ennis
saries, especially those from the AT
CHAN governor of Khost, are active
ly stirring up the WaEcys, who are
also affected by the disloyal attitude
of the Kurrum tribes and emboldencd
by the knowledge that the garrison at
Banu is very weak.
There is one ground for satisfaction
in the fact that, except in a few in
stances the Afridi levies remain loyal
in the face of temptation to join their
kinsmen, as was conspicuously the case
at Fort Maude.
Far more hopeful intelligence comes
from the Swat valley, where the Bon
erwals have opened peace negotia-
tons. The authorities expect that this
will have widespread influence, espec-
tally if it is followed by submission.
1t appears that the Bonerwals have
suffered far heavier losses during the
recent fighting than has been sup
posed.