The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-09-28
On the Indian Frontier.

As yet none of the fighting on the Indian
frontier is taking place at q greater dis
lance than thirty-five miles from P%eshawur,
the British base of operations. Before any
advance can be safely attempted up the
Khyber Pass. the country Of the Mob
munds north Of the dcfile, and the Tirah
country to the south of it. must be cleared
of the enemy. and the influence of HApDAH
Mullah, If possible, broken. At present
he seems to hold to the Afridi tribes the
same position as the frequently killed and
still living OsMAN DIGNA holds to the Arabs
Of the eastern Soudan. His capture, if it
could be effected, is therefore of great i'm
portance, and it is hoped that supplemented
by bombardment by mountain guns and
the play of Maxims the Mohmunds might
be sufficiently dispirited by it to submit. 1t
is improbable, however, that this result will
be attained at An early date in the cam
paign, as the difficulties attending the adj
vance of any considerable force into the
mountains inhabited by the tribesmen are
immense.
The most the present British force oper-
ating among the frontier hills can do Is to
clear away the veil hiding what Is going on
behind the Afghan frontier, and prepare the
way for the advance to the boundaries Of
the Ameer's dominions Of the larger army
that is being slowly assembled behind
Peshawur. The great difficulty is that of
transport. The loss of camels during the
last Afghan wal was so great that the sup
ply is still very limited, and efforts are
being made to procure animals from Soma
liland and the border country of Abyssinia.
Tl. LN:.- ---A f---- NJ
land have also to be waited for, so that ex.
tensive operations are not to be anticipated
for some time yet.
The first movements undertaken by the
English regiments as yet have not been en-.
couraging, the men having proved incapable
of standing the fatigue and privation Incl.
dent to hill warfare. In one regiment
nearly so per cent. Of the men were de.
clared on inspection to be medically unfit
for arduous service, and they had to be
rclegated to the inglorious safety of garri,
son duty. This explains the fact that as
yet the principal fighting has been done by
Sikhs and Goorkhas. Some satisfaction ia
expressed that the Twentieth Punjab Regi.
mcnt that captured the enemy's position at
the Bedmanai Pass on Wednesday Is partly
composed OF Afridis. There is nothing very
remarkable in this, as this regiment is one
of those known as mixed regiments, that
is, made up of companies each of a differ.
ent race or religion, in which one race would
be oyerpowered by the others. The inability
OF the English troops in India to face the
fatigue Of actual war Is a startling con,
drmation of the predictions made some
short time back when the diseased condi
tion of the men composing the English regi
mcnts was exposed, and it cannot but be
the cause OF considerable anxiety to both
the Indian and English Governments. In,
deed, it Is said that the question of intro
ducing compulsory military service in the
United Kingdom Is already under the con
sidcration of the English Government, as a
consequence of the danger disclosed by the
medical reports of the physical incapacity
OF the army as at present constituted.
But rs If they had not trouble enough
already on their hand, In the frontier ris
ing, the increasing ragagcs OF the plague
and the famine, and the general discomfort
the Indian Government has taken the ex
traordinary course of arbitrarily extin