The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-10-10
M THE INDIAN FRONTIER.
r>rIRE ENGLISH ARMY WAS
DESTROYED IN 1912.

chr 20
- the Famous Khyber Pass.
,,o,, the English Army Was Ami
,.,,,cd Through the Treachcry
che. Afghan Chiefs-Out of u
mast of 1890, Only One White
Am 1scaped-Many Heroic Deeds.
s,rift Vengeance For the Massa-
ere.
r-om the ST. Louis Globe-Democrat.
,r1s s,ere of the present English trou-
3 ,,.. nm the frontier of India is the region
4 -..-r,ar iirs the famous Khyber pass, a
s-e1a in Eastern Afghanistan, through
-r..b runs the road from Peshawar to
C,1ooI TIE pass is traversed by the
r,toor river. and for many miles to the
,o--b AMI south is the only practicable
u,.ia rbr5u- n the mountains for an army
~ large caravan. The district is noun
toirors. and the mountains are among
.te ruzgeIest on the face of the earth,
brrs masses of broken crags, precipices
many hundreds of feet in hight, inacces-
sHr. paaks the sides of which are cover
oil with snow that never melts. That so
f,rbdding a country should have inhabi-
tarrs at all is remarkable; that the in
btbitants Of such a country should be as
ru1s as the rocks which surround them
is TO be expected. Living in stone huts,
which elsewhere would hardly be deemed
fin for cattle; cultiVating a few square
yards Of soil that is kept in place by
retaining walls; marauders by profession,
thieves and murderers by instinct blood
thirsty, knowing no faith, utterly disre-
eardful of promises given, the mountain
GERS OF Eastern Afghanistan are among
the worst men in a country which from
time immemorial has been noted for the
peridy and righteousness of its popula-
tion. They have not materially changed
since Alexander the Great marched
through the pass on his way to India;
they are now what they were when they
and their country first appear in the an
mas OF the historian.
The British are to-day engaged in fight
ing the sons and grandsons of the men
who in 1912, were responsible for the most
crushing disaster that ever befell an army;
for in that year a British force was abso-
lutely annihilated, not figuratively, but in
the most literal Gense of the word, only
one man escaping to tell the tale of the
massacre. The story of the disaster and
the events which led to it is one of the
most thrilling episodes in Indian history,
and illustrative alike of the English desire
TO annex contiguous territory and of Ash
atic intrigue and pertidy India was then
under the rule of the powerful East India
Company, whose principle was to take
anything that could be taken and was
worth the trouble, and Afghanistan was in
a state of misrule that practically amount
ed TO anarchy. Various claimants We're
asserting by force of arms their right to
the throne, and the strife between these
went on for some years before a plausible
excuse was offered for English interfer-
ence. From 1880 to 1889 the country was
nominally ruled by three brothers, of
whom the noted Dost Mohammed was the
most powerful, holding the northeastern
region. and having Cabool for his capital.
Dost Mohammed was constantly engaged
in war; either with his brothers, with Per
STA. on the west of his dominions, or with
the Indian princes on the east, and out of
the latter contests came the complications
which led to the famous disaster to the
British arms.
Early in the course of the Dost Moham-
med wars, Shah Shujah, a claimant of
the Afghan throne. took refuge in India,
and placed himself under the protection
of the Indian government, which warmly
tspoused his cause, and, upon the preteXt
mat DoSt had made war upon an ally of
the company formal declaration of hos
tilties was proclaimed, and in February,
1889 the British army, composed of about
1900 fighting men, with 10000 camp fol-
lowers, cross the Indus and entered
Afghanistan. At first the expeditionary
force was apparently successful every
where. One Afghan position after another
fell before the British guns; Ghuzni, the
impregnable, was stormed, the army Of
Dost Mohammed melted away, Cabool
opened its gates to the invaders, Dost sur
rendered and was sent TO India as a state
prisoner; Shah Shujah was installed in
Cabool as the sovereign, and the country
was regarded as not only conquered, but
paCiied. But the conquest of Afghanistan
by the English was like the conquest of
Spain by the French, nor were the people
of the former, any more than the latter,
reconcied to the idea of a prince support
cd by foreign arms. Popular uprisngs
took place all over the country, the troops
We're kept constantly on the move for two
years and the expense of maintenance
exceeded 100000 a year. The Indian gov
eminent notified Sir William McNaghten,
the British envoy, that expenses must be
reduced. The only way in which this
could be done was to cut down the al
l1Wances of the native chiefs, who had
btFH SUBSIDIZED, anu DIS SOOu d. tAlS was
suggested they broke out in open revolt.
The English army quartered at Cabool
occupied barracks a short distance from
the city, and was commanded by Gen.
ElphinstOne very aged officer, who by
reason of govt and other infirmites, was
equally PROSTATE in body and mind. There
was practically no leader of the forces,
and when the city rose in rebellion ev-
elything went wrong. McNaghton, the
envoy, and Burnes, the British resident,
their cantonment, the commissary fort,
weakly garrisoned, was taken, and the
British force was reduced to starvation.
As winter was coming on, the impossi-
pilly of remaining in a hostile country
without supplies was recognized, and
Preparations for evacuating the position
Was begun. The irresolution of Gen. Ell
lhnstone however, delayed the evacua-
uon as he hoped that, by negotiations
with the chiefs. matters could be arrang-
co. or that help would arrive. Both eX-
leetauons were disappointed, and finally
lAe British army capitulated, promising
TO eVacuate the country, while the At
eA3ns guaranteed them safe conduct out
Oh Atghanistan and supplies for the
march. on Jan. ], 1912, the capitulation
was signed, and on Jan. 5, the army, COM
plising $500 fighting men and 1900 nom
''nDatdnts, marched out of the barracks
AT CabOOl and tOOk the Rad To JelalabaQ