The San Francisco call., 1898-04-10

unrest has made the Afghans one of the finest fighting races in the world, as the British have time and again round out to their cost. Despite the large force which was sent against the Afridis last autumn the tribes are still unsubdued and the task will all have to be done over again as soon as the return of spring renders renewed fight ing possible.
 The mountainous nature of the coun- try gives it's defenders every advantage. 1t Is but a succession of precipitous ranges. each one forming an impregna- ble position which a few determined men can hold against thousands. And when, as at Darghai, one mountain Is captured. with great gallantry and loss of life, the victors are only confronted with another and equally strong posi- ton, which must likewise be stormed The difficulty of obtaining supplies and keeping open the line of communication renders the movement of any very large fierce impossible, and the only way in which victory can eventually be se- cured is by hemming the tribes up on some mountain top and literally stlrv- ing them into submission.
 This style of border warfare Is no new thing to the Guides and other regi- ments which constantly patrol the northwest frontier of India The only difference is that of size. The eXpedi- tion against the Afridis was under taken on an extensive scale, therefore it was called a war. The small expedi- tionS which are constantly going on to discipline some unruly tribe or other are never officially recognized in this light; the Government of India pru- dently says as little about them as pos Sible, and the British public never re- alizes that another successful little war
 hn. hoo tA,~A, h at fEAr~y 1ir1f 4FsNTl
 Sometimes, as at Cultural, the massa-
 ere of a British party throws ghastly light on the affair, and 1t becomes
 necessary to occupy the country in force; at other times the troops, having blown up a few mud forts and de-
 stroyed a fsw villages 1uiet.y with draw and amicable relations with the tribe are resumed.
 It costs the Indian Government a large amount of money to preserve even
 a Semblance of peace on the border,
 for ever since the first disastrous Af-
 ghan campaign of 1889, it has been found cheaper to subsidize the tribes than to fight them. If headman will govern his people in quiet, avoid raid ing, and keep the passes open, then he will get an annual payment, if not, then
 he will have to fight the British. Be fore any hostile operations can be carried on in Afghanistan, the passes must be secured. Especially the fam ous Khyber Pass, through which the
 river Kabul makes it's escape from the ranges of the Hindu Kush to the plains of the Punjaub. Every expedition of
 any size which has entered Afghanis-
 tan has gone through this pass, and ii
 was the neglect to secure it properly
 which led to the terrible disaster of 1S42 one of the most severe defeats which British arms have ever sustained.
 1 It is always Russian intrigue which 1 commences the trouble in Afghanistan | The recent rising of the Afridis is more l than suspected to be due to a secret ] agitation carried on by Russian agents ! though the Ameer has been careful to deny any complicity in the actions of his unruly subjects. But in 1889 there was no doubt about the matter. The Ameer of the day. Dost Mohammed,
 was openly dallying with Russia, and the British sent an expedition under Sir John Keane, which dethroned him and placed Shah Shuja on the throne. Unfortunately Afghan treachery was not so thoroughly understood then as it is now, and the force of 5000 men, left to support the new monarch on the throne, took no precautions to keep open it's line of retreat to India. In consequence the Afghans soon organ ized an insurrection against their new ruler and his friends, the English. The
 whole country rose, and after a num- Der of officers, and even helpless wo-
 men and children. had been treacher-
 ously murdered, the British made a
 treaty with the Afghans, agreeing to
 withdraw from the country, on condi- tion of being supplied with provisions and escorted in safety to the frontier. Neither clause of this agreement was kept. Tn the middle of winter, in the bitter cold without food the troops be- gan their disastrous retreat. Day after